Page 82 of Hell Gate

Alder catches me in his arms before I make it to the door. He cradles my face. “Do you still feel any pain?”

“No, I’m good as new. Look.” I flash my hands back and forth. Only the scars of the fire from my childhood remain. “Please?”

“Someone go with her,” Vale says. “She’s not to be left alone for a second.”

“I’ll do the ward spells.” Alder kisses my forehead and I hug him, enjoying his warm bare chest against my cheek. “Then I’ll join you.”

Matthias plops my beat up duffel on a rickety chair and coughs at the cloud of dust. “Do you want something warmer to wear before we go out, Lils?”

I pluck at Alder’s shirt. “I’m good in this.”

He flashes me a wink. “If you get cold, I’ll be with you to warm you up, babe.”

Valerian sighs behind me. He winds his arms around me and I spin to face him. The openness of his expression takes me by surprise. His mouth presses to mine in a fierce crush and he breathes me in like he’s committing me to memory.

“I’ll return to you,” he promises.

“I’ll be counting the seconds until you do,” I murmur.

He steals another kiss before he leaves to meet Rainer. A piece of my heart goes with him, the hole left behind waiting for him to come back to me and make me complete again.

Matthias takes my hand. “Ready to see the beach? I wish we could take you to a nicer one as your first experience, but—”

“Yes.” The corner of his mouth kicks up at the excitement brimming in my tone. “I don’t care. I just want to see it.”

“Let’s go then, pretty girl.” He kicks off his boots and leaves them behind.

We make our way through the back door that has a small deck and steps leading down to the sand. I freeze, staring past the break in the dunes protecting the old house from the tide.

“Wow,” Matthias breathes.

“Yeah.” I blink, realizing he’s staring at me instead of the ocean. A blush colors my cheeks. “Come on.”

The first touch of the chilly sand against my bare feet startles me. A delighted laugh slips out as I squish my toes in it. Matthias smiles at my joyful reactions. We move onto the beach and I pick up a shell. He holds out his hand and tucks it in his pocket for me.

It’s beautiful. The beach is wild and unmaintained, but it’s so perfect.

I watch the waves crash against the shore, the long drag as the saltwater rushes back out to sea, leaving its mark behind on the wet sand. Clumps of seaweed dot the sand and seagulls glide on the wind overhead.

This is amazing. I made it to the beach.

We stroll hand in hand along it. In the distance past an inlet that separates this part of the beach from the rest of the island, I spot a pier with a lone fisherman.

“Thank you,” I murmur throatily. “This is the best gift.”

“Anything for you.” He grasps my chin and kisses my nose.

Beaming, I pull his face down for a kiss.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

LILY

Alder joins us on our walk back, his smile soft and tender as I dip my toes in the water. Matthias splashes me first and I shriek at the frigid cold. He hides behind Alder and I scoop water into my hands and fling it at both of them to get him back. Alder glances between us with a lethal smirk and the two of us dash away as he chases us.

I laugh hard enough my belly cramps. His brawny arms catch me around my waist, lifting me. We’re both soaked from the splash fight. I kick and scream as he wades deeper into the freezing waves, shirtless, strong, and unbelievably sexy.

“Truce?” I wriggle around to plant kisses all over his square jaw, licking away the salty droplets.

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