Page 109 of Monsters in Love

This is what happened to my love.

The entire year she’d mourned him, he’d been alive beneath Windhaven. Why had she never spoken to the demons? How could she have missed this? Her chest wanted to crack in half, her heart wailing at the unfairness of it all. And dear Gods, it hurt more than she’d imagined possible.

“I am Talos.” He hunched his shoulders, ears flattening on his head and wings curving around his body. “There is no Thomas.”

“No,” she said again, and this time certainty threaded her voice. “You’re my Thomas. Or you were.”

That massive head turned away from her. “No…”

Good grief. That was the least convincingnoshe’d ever heard.

She marched around the tiny stove and parked her fists on her hips. With him sitting and hunched over, she had just enough height to glare down at him. “Don’t you lie to me, Thomas Marr. Talos. Whatever you wish to call yourself.” With a huff, she reached up and pulled on her necklace, revealing the silver ring. “Iknowyou.”

He regarded her from beneath a wing, eyes desperate. “Don’t.”

How could a creature so large appear so vulnerable?

It was as if he was trying to disappear within the thick ruff of fur around his neck. The sheer pain of that pose sliced through her. She longed to bury her fingers in his fur and soothe his hurts. Except she couldn’t heal this wound with a poultice and bandage, and she had no idea how he’d respond if she touched him.

Heart aching, she crouched down and willed him to meet her gaze.

“I know you,” she said quietly. “Please. Please talk to me. You didn’t abandon Emmi and I to our fate. Just as you looked out for me before you were thrown down here and…and…”

Realization crashed over her.

“Dear Gods.” She gaped at him. “You’ve been watching me from the belfry. Haven’t you?”

He nodded miserably. “I should not have.”

Unable to stop herself, she brushed the back of his hand with her fingertips. “It gave me comfort.”

“Comfort.” A bitter huff escaped him. “Impossible—”

“Not so.” She laid her hands on his. “I—”

“Don’t.” The word sounded like a cry torn from his very soul. He pulled away from her and lurched to his feet, stalking over to the window. The leather wings protruding from his back rustled, the tips scraping the floor. One of those massive hands swept the air before his frame, as if to encompass his entire form. “How canthisoffer comfort?”

Over seven feet of muscled creature stood before her.

Almost more bat than human in appearance, his legs swung back like a wolf’s and sharp teeth glinted when he spoke. With those ears and claws and wings and fur, he was a monster worthy of the Chastry’s scariest tale.

She should probably be afraid.

But she wasn’t.

Not in the least.

The only thing she feared was letting him stand there, alone and hurting, for a moment longer. Yet she couldn’t throw herself into his arms as she had in the fields—the people they’d been in those sun-kissed days were gone. What they’d both become required patience. She sucked in a breath and prayed she wouldn’t lose this chance. This gift.

She approached him slowly, as one might approach an injured animal.

“Don’t,” he warned, deep voice crackling with emotion.

Yet he didn’t pull away as she drew near.

Head tipped toward the ground, his enormous body seemed to vibrate with worry—or was that anticipation? Leathery wings quivered, claws lightly tapped against the floor. Did he long for her the way she did him? She hoped so, because the pull to his side was stronger than anything she’d imagined possible. If she didn’t touch him, right now, she’d fall to pieces.

She gently cupped his face.

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