Page 56 of Monster's Secret Baby

We lie in silence for a long moment, our breathing synchronizing as we gaze up at the stars through the canopy of his wings. His fingers trace lazy circles on my shoulder, each touch reverent, as if he's still convincing himself I'm real.

27

ADELLUM

Ipull Harmony closer against my chest, her back pressed to my front as we lay tangled together on the riverbank. The soft rushing of water provides gentle background noise to our breathing. Her hair smells of meadowmint and sunshine, and I bury my nose in it, inhaling deeply. Five years of emptiness—of cold beds and hollow victories—and now she's here, solid and warm in my arms.

"Missed this," I murmur against her neck, tracing lazy patterns across her stomach. "Missed you."

The setting sun casts long shadows across the clearing, turning the water to liquid gold. My wings curl instinctively around us, enclosing Harmony in a cocoon of soft gray feathers. Protection. Possession. Mine.

She shifts, turning to face me, her hazel-green eyes studying my face with that quiet intensity that first drew me to her. There's something there—a question unasked, a confession lingering. I brush my thumb across her cheekbone, waiting.

"I need to tell you something," she finally whispers. "About why I left."

My muscles tense involuntarily. This moment—this exact moment—has haunted my dreams for five years. The why. The thing that stole her from me. My fingers find the blue crystal geode in my pocket, squeezing it hard enough that the edges bite into my palm.

"Tell me." My voice comes out rougher than intended.

Harmony sits up, drawing her knees to her chest, putting distance between us. I hate it immediately.

"I saw you. With her. That day in your gardens." Her words come out fragmented, each one cutting like glass. "The xaphan woman with the silver wings. I saw you kiss her."

The words hit me like a physical blow. I jerk upright, wings flaring out behind me.

"What?"

"I was coming early to surprise you. But I saw you with her instead." Harmony's voice is steady, but her fingers twist anxiously in her lap. "I thought... I thought I was just your human plaything. Your dirty secret until you found someone more suitable."

Fire erupts through my veins, rage and heartache colliding into something primal and shattering. I pace to the water's edge, hands clenched so tightly my knuckles blanch white. Five years. Five godsdamned years of agony—all over nothing.

"Lilleth kissed me." I whirl back to face Harmony, the words torn from my throat. "I didn't kiss her. I pulled away the moment it happened."

She just nods. "Sior told me. I don't think he meant to but earlier, he told me, and I realized how wrong I was."

"Sior was pressuring me to bind with someone appropriate. Someone of 'my status.'" I spit the words out like poison. "He arranged the meeting. I only agreed to get him off my back." I drop to my knees before her, seizing her hands in mine. "And because a part of me wondered if you might be better off without me."

"Adellum—"

"I went looking for you. That same day. When I couldn't find you, I searched the estate. Then the city. Then every road leading away." My voice cracks. "I searched until my wings gave out and I collapsed. Night after night after night."

A tear slides down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb.

"I dreamed of you every time I closed my eyes. Your face. Your voice. Your laugh." I press my forehead to hers. "Those dreams kept me alive at first. Then they started to poison me from the inside out. The wanting. The not knowing if you were safe. If you were happy. If you were even alive." I stare deep into her eyes. "You have to know there was never anyone else for me, Harmony. Only you."

"I'm sorry," she whispers, her hands coming up to cradle my face. "I never should have doubted you. I saw one thing that scared me, and I ran, thinking you could never actually choose me."

"I loved you then, little bird." I curve my hand around the back of her neck, holding her gaze with mine. "I love you now. I will love you until the stars burn out and the universe collapses into nothing. There has never been anyone but you. There never could be."

Harmony's eyes flood with tears, her hands trembling against my skin. "All this time? Even after what I did?"

She might have driven me crazy, but nothing would ever be unforgivable for her. I can't even blame her after how most xaphan treat humans. I just hate I didn't know, that I couldn't have proven to her that she was it for me.

I'm hoping that over these five years, I have.

"All this time," I confirm, voice rough. "Every moment. Every breath."

She nods, tears gathering in her eyes, and I brace myself. She doesn't seem relieved, and I immediately wonder how I can reassure her when she speaks.

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