Page 108 of The Blood Traitor

Inhaling shakily, Kiva made her choice.

“You did know who I was.” Her voice was so choked that it was a wonder he could hear her. She stared at his hand covering hers and forced herself to go on, “You knew me better than I knew myself. I was dead for ten years, and you breathed life back into me. You saved me. You freed me. Youmademe. And in showing me who you were, in sharing your family and your kingdom and your life with me, in sharing yourheartwith me, you gave me the strength to carve my own path.” More tears fell as she made herself look into his emotion-filled eyes and continue, “You’re right — I should have told you about me. But it wasn’t because I didn’t trust you. You made it impossible for menotto trust you. It’s just — I thought if I told you the truth, that I was torn between my family and yours —” Her voice broke, and she rasped, “I was afraid I would lose you.”

Jaren’s gaze was so intense that it almost burned, but she didn’t look away as she pushed aside the last of her fear to declare, “You helped me realize what I wanted, just by being you. You gave me the courage to say no to my sister and the rebels.” Her entire body was trembling now, butshe made herself whisper, “I chose you, Jaren. I willalwayschoose you. Because I love you, and I —”

Kiva didn’t get to finish before Jaren’s lips slammed down on hers, swallowing the rest of her words.

A surprised sound left her, but then her mind caught up to what was happening, urging her to hold on to him with a desperation that was rivaled by the force of his own embrace.

The kiss wasn’t gentle — it was fierce and bruising and full of everything they’d both repressed for weeks, formonths.Kiva wound one hand around his back, sliding it beneath his pack, while the other moved up into his rain-damp hair, holding his face to hers. She couldn’t stop a sob from leaving her when they broke for air, too overwhelmed by all she was feeling, but then he was kissing her again, his tongue darting into her mouth, causing her to whimper against his lips. Her knees buckled, and he took her weight, their kiss deepening even further. A moan left him and slid down her throat, causing tingles of awareness to flood through her. Warmth pooled in her stomach, fire blazed across her skin, her body coming to life beneath his hands. She never wanted to let him go, she wasn’t even sure if shecould—

But then a loud boom of thunder sounded, breaking into the haze of their passion. They both glanced upward, neither having noticed that the rain had begun to fall in earnest, soaking their clothes and dripping down them to the rocky salt at their feet.

Kiva was panting, her fingers still tangled in Jaren’s now-mussed hair, her other arm wrapped around him like her life depended on it. She stared at him, still dazed, seeing a reflection of that in his expression, with him looking back at her as if — as if —

“You really don’t hate me, do you?” she whispered tremulously.

A soft laugh left him, the sound so light that new tears touched Kiva’s eyes, the gaping hole in her heart beginning to stitch seamlessly back together.

“No, sweetheart,” he whispered back, kissing the tears from her cheek. His lips remained against her skin as he murmured there, “I really don’t.”

She couldn’t help it — right there in his arms, she began to cry, her shoulders shaking, her chest heaving as everything flooded out of her in deep, cleansing waves. She was aware of Jaren rubbing comforting circles into her back, of the soothing words he murmured into her ear. But that wasn’t what she wanted from him. Breathing his name, she tilted her head up, and he was instantly there, his mouth taking hers again, tender, loving, everything he was, everything he’d always been.

“I’m sorry,” she said against his lips, needing to say the words, needing him to know she meant them. “I’m so sorry.”

“No more apologies,” he whispered against her mouth.

“But I —”

He kissed the protest right off her lips, making her forget what she’d been about to say — making her forget her ownname.His joy, his forgiveness, hislove— that was all Kiva knew, her heart so full that it hurt, the pain beautiful and perfect and unending.

But then another rumble of thunder came, followed by a flash of light, and they couldn’t ignore the danger anymore.

Jaren tore his mouth from hers, his eyes glazed and heated, his face flushed, his breathing heavy. But he managed to come back to his senses faster than Kiva, and linked their fingers, saying, “We need to get to the cave.”

Kiva marveled at the feel of his skin against hers, his easy, willing touch, hardly daring to believe this was real. But when she looked at him, she found the truth staring back at her, right there for her to see.

He didn’t hate her. He didn’t blame her.

He loved her.

Just as he’d said.

“Truly, as much as I want to continue this —” Jaren’s voice washusky, his eyes darkening as he stared at her lips. “And trust me, I really,reallydo —”

Thunder crackled across the sky again, followed by another flash of light, closer now.

“We’re sitting ducks out here,” Kiva finished for him, not needing any more prompting. It took a mammoth effort, but she somehow set aside everything that had just happened and tugged him forward as the heavens opened, the rain suddenly pouring down in sheets, limiting their vision and making it impossible for her to hear anything, even her own thoughts.

They sprinted blindly forward, putting distance between them and the crevice, slipping and sliding on parts of the salt mountaintop where thin layers of moss had grown, now slick from the rain. By some miracle they managed not to fall, closing the distance between themselves and the cave with every step, lightning now beginning to streak continuously around them.

But finally, they made it, leaping through the entrance to the cave just as a bolt of lightning struck the mountain, near enough for Kiva to feel the static on her skin, her hands slamming over her ears at the deafening crack of thunder that accompanied it.

“That was a bit too close,” Jaren murmured, panting hard.

Kiva couldn’t respond, too busy trying to draw air into her lungs.

When she eventually stopped wheezing, she swiped hair from her face and frowned down at the water cascading off her body, unable to keep from stating the obvious: “I look like a drowned rat.”

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