Page 47 of The Scattered Bones

“No.” It’s the truth. “But I refuse to live one more second without him.”

“Then I shall begin.”

He kneels beside Kaid’s corpse and places his broad palms over his heart. A tidal wave of fear crashes into me, and I feel like I’m choking. I’m afraid to watch, but I force myself to as darkness emanates from The Stranger. My heart has stopped. Or it is beating too fast? I can’t tell.

The smoke swirls around him in pulsing black waves as he begins to speak in an ancient and guttural tongue. The ground shakes. The sky darkens. The world ceases to exist except for him and those words. Those horribly dark and violent words. His voice is demonically cruel, and his white eyes flash in the blackness. The smoke dances around him in thick pulses, then with a vicious command, it shoots for Kaid’s body.

I yelp as his corpse jerks unnaturally. This brutality is unlike anything this world has suffered. The darkness is so oppressive; I worry I’ll pass out under its weight. It’s too much. I want him to stop.

Lightning electrifies the sky, and the thunder that follows is so loud, it cracks the earth. The dirt collapses as the land splits apart, but still, The Stranger calls to the darkness. I want to snatch Kaid’s body away from him as it convulses at awkward angles, but I can’t move. The Stranger’s power roots me to the ground, and all I can do is watch in horror.

When it feels as if I’ve been trapped in this hellish storm for days, the black shroud collapses onto Kaid, burrowing deep into his body. His corpse jerks, and I want to scream for The Stranger to stop. My husband has been violated enough, but just when I open my mouth to demand he end this, I realize the darkness didn’t move Kaid. He did that of his own volition, and he scrambles backward on unsteady limbs, putting distance between himself and the Stranger before his arms give out.

I gasp as I watch him surge to life, and his eyes snap to mine like a cornered animal as he collapses in the dirt. They’re wild with alarm, and I can’t tell if I’m overjoyed or horrified. He’s alive. My Kaid is breathing, moving, seeing, but he stares between The Stranger and me as if we’re monsters come to devour him.

His pale chest moves awkwardly fast as panic consumes him, and a new fear settles over me. There’s no recognition in his gaze. Only terror. Has he been dead for too long? Has he forgotten this life? The Stranger said he might be different, but has his resurrection erased me from his memory?

With slow movements, I snatch the blanket from the dirt and move to cover his nudity. He flinches, chest heaving as he fills his empty lungs, and his fear feels like an accusation. What have I done? He was dead, nothing but severed limbs for over a cycle, and I forced him back to the land of the living with a darkness I don’t understand. Did I do the right thing? Have I made his suffering worse?

Kaid watches me warily as he struggles to breathe, and I gently place the blanket over his legs. He studies me with uncertainty, staring deep into my eyes without recognition. I love him more than words can convey, and I long to pull him into my arms, but his panic has paralyzed me.

His gaze remains on my face, never turning toward The Stranger, who’s the more terrifying sight. It’s undoubtedly because the dark man frightens him, but my heart longs for it to be because he finds comfort in my features. With that hope, I find my voice.

“Do you know who you are?” My words are barely a whisper. I don’t want to spook him.

“Yes.” His voice is rough from disuse, but its deepness resonates in my chest, and I can’t stop a smile from curving my lips. I forgot how glorious that sound was.

“And…” I falter. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes.” He pauses, and I hold my breath until my lungs hurt. “You’re my wife.”

Seventeen

You’re my wife.

Three simple words. Three words to undo me, and he’s in my arms before I realize I’m moving. He grunts as we collide, and I recoil, ashamed I hurt him, but his weak arms wrap around my waist before I can pull away. We collapse to the dirt, his body unable to hold us upright, and he groans as my chest lands atop his. The sound is heartbreaking, and for a moment, I fear I’ve damaged his stitching, but then I feel dampness against my throat. Tears. His tears.

The sound comes again, and I realize it isn’t agony flooding his tongue. It’s sorrow and joy and love, and I break into a thousand pieces. I pull him tighter, burrowing my face into his neck, and for what feels like forever captured inside a moment, we cry together. His skin no longer stings, and while it’s still cool to the touch, it isn’t dead flesh. My husband isn’t dead. He’s here and whole and alive. He’s in my arms.

Unable to wait any longer, I twist in his embrace and kiss him. He tries to reciprocate, but his lips are awkward from disuse. It doesn’t matter, though, because it is the most beautiful kiss we’ve ever shared.

“I told you,” Kaid says against my mouth, his words garbled as he struggles to use muscles that lay dormant for seasons. “I would love you until I was dust.”

“I don’t love you.” I cover his entire face with kisses until he attempts a weak smile. “Because love isn’t enough for what I feel. It is too much. It’s everything.”

Kaid grunts as my lips find his but this time it’s from the pain, so I peel myself off his body. Unwilling to be parted from him, I cradle his torso until he’s leaning against my chest, his head resting on my thundering heart, and tuck the blanket securely around him so he’s no longer lying on the dirt.

“How am I here?” he whispers against my breasts, his voice exhausted.

“Someone special promised that if I found you, he would return you to me.” I meet The Stranger’s gaze, and I swear tears brim in his white eyes.

“Hmmm,” Kaid grunts, his eyelids heavy with sleep.

“Rest, husband.” I kiss his hair, pulling him closer. “I’ll tell you all about it when you wake, but rest now. I’m not going anywhere.”

Kaid falls asleep, his breathing steady in my embrace. I still throw The Stranger a wary look, though, but his comforting smile assures me everything will be all right. Kaid’s no longer dead, no longer scattered bones to be found. He’s resting, but he will wake, and every day for the rest of his life, I’ll be there when he does.

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