Page 140 of The Shadow Bride

Michal lifts his head. “You could’ve let go at any time,” he growls. “I never asked you to tag along.”

Dimitri scoffs and jerks his chin toward the river. “Right. Because I wanted to stay overtherealone.”

I stare at the two of them, speechless—then I stare some more, unable to believe what I’m seeing. Because Michal has not returned on his own. He—he somehow broughtDimitriwith him, which explains the sheer weight of the cord. Filippa and I brought them back—both of them—and now they’re pushing to their feet together; now they’re making their way toward us, and they’re grinning—grinning andalive.

And I think my heart might burst as Michal pulls me against him, as I fling my arms around his neck.

“I knew you’d find me,” he whispers into my hair.

When I kiss him, I hold nothing back.

Chapter Forty-Five

A Gentle Night

A moment later, I run my hands over Michal’s face, tracing his flushed cheeks and his chiseled jawline. Learning him all over again. His skin looks different now—still pale, but fair instead of alabaster—and when my fingers reach his throat, a steady pulse greets me. He exhales sharply at the touch, as if pained, or perhaps simply relieved. His chest still rises and falls with great effort after almost drowning, and water sluices down the hard planes of his body.

Hishumanbody.

Michal has turned human too.

“You are so beautiful,” I whisper, and now my fingers trail over his shoulders, down his arms, across his abdomen. So alike, yet so different from the Michal I’ve known. And I cannot stop touching him, near giddy with excitement—with a touch of fear, but mostly with anticipation. And questions. Dozens upon dozens of questions, all of which surge forward at once, tangling my tongue until I can say nothing at all, can do nothing except gape up at him.So beautiful.

As a vampire, he resembled a fallen angel, or perhaps an avenging god—dark and untouchable, born of Hell itself—but now, as a human, he exudes warmth and vitality. An energy I cannot quite pinpoint.His hair is still silver, I think in wonder.

Grinning wider, he pushes the wet strands from his face and says, “You aren’t disappointed?”

And I thought I knew every version of him—the villain, the accomplice, the friend. I’ve seen him as a brother and a cousin, as well as a craftsman and a king. He has been my abductor. He has been my savior. I have even known him as my lover, yet I have never seen him like this—exhilarated, yes, but also hesitant and unsure as he waits for my response.

This Michal feels... newly vulnerable. Through the bond, I sensed only hints of that vulnerability before, but now I canseeit in how he swallows and searches my gaze. I canfeelit in how his hands slide down to grip mine, his fingers clinging as if terrified to let go.

I love it.

I lovehim.

“Disappointed?” I stretch to my toes, peppering his face with kisses. “You look like—like a dream, like a—”

He captures my mouth swiftly, swallowing the rest of my words until we’re breathless once more, before whispering against my lips, “We aren’t dreaming, Célie. This is real. I am Michal Vasiliev, son of Tomik and Adelina, and it is a pleasure to meet you in earnest.”

I clutch him closer in response, and his body melts into mine, one hand splaying against my lower back while the other cradles my jaw in reverence. When he drags his nose along my throat, my core tightens, but my teeth—they do not lengthen. I do not crave him that way anymore, yet my body seems to wind that much tighter because of it. I love him, and Iwanthim, and when I close my eyes—turning my cheek into his palm—the feeling could be heaven.

“God, I missed you.” My voice is a ragged whisper between us.“I missed you so much. Please tell me you aren’t—that you aren’t upset.” Pulling back to look at him again, I hasten to explain myself. “I had no idea what would happen by coming here. If Ihad, I would’ve warned you, and you could’ve—I don’t know—chosen differently.” I inhale a sudden, anxious breath at the word, and my lungs expand painfully, still aching from the river water. “Yourchoice, Michal. Death and I took it away from you, and I—I am so sorry—”

He laughs at that, sweeping my hair aside and kissing me again. “Thiswasmy choice, pet. And how could I ever be upset when I’m holding you in my arms?” Another kiss, this one slower and more sensuous than the last. His voice lowers. “How could I be upset when I can taste you on my tongue?”

Behind us, my sister scoffs, but Dimitri only laughs in delight—whether at her or at us, I do not know. I do notcare. My cheeks still heat like an open flame, however, as I say, “Yes, but you’ve—you’ve been a vampire for a thousand years, Michal, and now...”

“Célie.” His thumb brushes my lower lip, and he presses down, just like he always did. A shiver sweeps my spine. “Please hear me now because I will not say it again: I have never cared whether you’re a vampire, whetherIam a vampire, and I do not care that we’re human now either. Because you’re right—Ihavelived a thousand years, and for every single one of them, I’ve been waiting to find you.” He laces our fingers together, lifting mine to kiss them gently. “To be with you like this—it has meant everything to me. You are worth any cost.”

And so is he. “I love you, Michal Vasiliev.”

He smiles again, and the sight of it—wide and uninhibited—literally takes my breath away. “I love you too, Célie Tremblay. Moje sunce.”

“If the two of you are finished,” Filippa interrupts with a scowl, “perhaps we shouldreturn. I’m getting a toothache.” And just like that, the sweetness of the moment vanishes, dissolving into the breeze.

Leaving us standing here—dripping wet and shivering—on the shore of a celestial river.

I whirl to face her, to demand she allow me a few moments with this man—mysoul mate—who could’ve been lost forever, but the wind increases at that moment. Flower petals swirl between us in an eddy of snow whites, blood reds, and shadow blacks. Filippa catches one between her fingers, lifting it between us, and my stomach churns at her grim and determined expression.

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