Page 83 of Chaos Carnival

“I love you,” I whispered, the words tearing through centuries of weight. “Not because fate tied us together, or because some cosmic thread says we're meant to be. I love you because you're perfectly stubborn, and beautifully brilliant, and tempting and terrifying in ways that make even ancient monsters like me question everything.”

Tess's eyes glistened with unshed tears until she blinked and they slid down her cheeks. “I love you too, you overprotective idiot.”

I laughed, the sound raw and real, and pulled her closer. “Even when I drive you crazy?”

“Especially then.” She stretched up to kiss me, and I could taste her smile. “Someone has to keep you in line.”

The mate bond hummed between us, stronger than any prophecy or curse. I cradled her face in my hands, overwhelmed by how much I needed her to understand. “You're not just my mate, Tess. You're my miracle. My everything.”

I’d do anything for her, without question. There were no bounds I wouldn’t break, no force that could stop me, if anyone ever thought to try. Tess wasn’t just mine; she was sacred.

Chapter 37: Chaotic Harmony

Tess

Fatesangthroughthefairgrounds as our opening night crowd gathered, their anticipation humming in harmony with the streams weaving through the air. I traced my fingers over my fortune telling table, feeling every future that would unfold across its surface tonight. My skin still tingled with the memory of Maverick's touch, of whispered confessions and the raw vulnerability in his eyes when he'd said those three words. The mate bond thrummed with contentment.

Each crystal was already placed right where it needed to be. I'd seen their positions in a thousand successful readings, though my visions were steadier now, anchored by the certainty of what Maverick and I had just shared. The confession I'd seen comingin a hundred different ways had somehow still managed to take my breath away.

“You're sure about this?” Maverick asked from the entrance of my tent, his presence solid and fierce. He cut a striking figure in his ringmaster's suit, and I smiled. The strands around him shimmered with pride and possession, but there was something new there too—a golden warmth that thrummed in time with our heartbeats.

“I'm sure,” I said, turning to face him, fighting back a blush as I remembered how those same hands had traced reverent patterns across my skin minutes ago. “You're about to tell me we don't have to do the fortune telling tonight if I'm not ready.”

His mouth quirked, unsettled by my anticipation of his words. The bond between us flared with equal parts frustration and affection. “Stop it, monstre.”

“I can’t.” I moved closer. “In some versions of this conversation, you convince me to let Stone guard the tent. In others, you try to cancel the show entirely.” I traced a finger down his lapel. “But in all of them, something is coming.”

“What kind of something?” His voice dropped lower, protective instincts flaring.

“Shadows,” I murmured, watching them dance. “Hunters, maybe. Or something worse.” Blood on snow, ravens circling, a knife in the dark. But also, our triumph, our survival, our ascension. “But it doesn't matter. This show happens tonight. It has to.”

Maverick's hands found my waist, and I leaned into his touch a moment before he made contact. “You're doing that on purpose,” he lamented.

I smiled. “Yes. Does it bother you?”

“Everything about what you've become bothers me,” he admitted. “And fascinates me.”

A burst of laughter from outside drew our attention. Through the tent flap, Addie directed our human staff with bright enthusiasm. These moments of perfect alignment were becoming my new normal.

“Five minutes to doors!” Lux's voice carried across the grounds, right on schedule.

“You should go,” I told Maverick, already seeing how this moment would end – with his kiss, with his reluctance, with his eventual acceptance. “The ringmaster needs to make his grand entrance. Don't worry,” I added as he opened his mouth to protest, “I already know every threat that might come tonight. None of them will catch me off guard.”

His fingers tightened on my waist. “That's not as comforting as you think it is.”

“I know,” I intoned, pulling him down for a kiss before he could. He responded with a growl that sent heat pooling in my belly, his power flaring possessively.

“Go,” I whispered against his mouth. “Your audience awaits. And so do mine.”

He pulled back, hesitating as he searched my face. “Promise you'll—“

“Stay alert? Call if I need help? Not take any unnecessary risks?” I finished for him, smiling. “I promise. Now go be magnificent.”

His thumb traced my lower lip. The tent's atmosphere shifted, the night's energies gathering, a taste of metal on my tongue, sharp and ancient.

“Tess?” Maverick's concern rippled through the air between us.

“Go,” I said, knowing how the crowd would gasp at his command of the ring. “Make them believe in monsters.” I smiled, knowing we were them—the real monsters.

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