Page 106 of Stolen
“Magic, Myrrin. Armor of my own skin for protection. And this knife is enchanted as well.”
I tuck the small blade into a sheath on her belt. I hate that she might have to use it, but it is there, should she need it.
“It’s beautiful,” she says eyes wide with wonder, and something else.
Fuck. She is so precious to me.
I cradle her face in one hand and my voice cracks as I gaze into her bright eyes.
“I’m sorry I took so long.”
Jules lifts her chin, fierce and glowing and so fucking pretty my heart breaks just looking at her.
She lifts her hand, fingers brushing my cheek, and I lean into the touch.
“You’re here now,” she breathes, fierce and trembling, her hands tangling in my hair, splaying over my chest like she’s anchoring herself to the only truth she can find. “And the people of the Eyrie need their Lord.”
“No, Myrrin,” I say, voice low and sure, though the ground still smolders with the echo of my rage. I press my forehead to hers, needing her closer, needing her alive, real, and with me.
Always with me.
“They need us. Both of us.”
She blinks, and a smile blooms across her face—soft and devastating, like the twin suns of the ancient stories, rising after the longest, darkest night.
And in that smile, I see home.
I set out to steal a human, to use her as a pawn in a game as old as Nightfall itself.
I had plans, dark ones. Clever ones. Ones that were meant to cheat the Fates.
But the Fates—fucking hell—the Fates saw right through me.
They gave me Jules.
Not the compliant, docile creature I expected. Not a tool. Not a means to an end.
They gave me fire and tenderness. Wit and courage.
A woman who fights for others. Who holds children behind her shield and storms a solar to defend her place beside me. Who challenges me, holds me accountable, calls me hers without apology.
I am so fucking grateful it wrecks me.
So unworthy of her, it nearly brings me to my knees.
But gods help me, I will spend every breath proving I’m not a mistake she regrets.
I will earn her. Every day. Every night.
Because she’s not just the woman Fate placed at my side.
She is the beating heart inside my chest.
More sacred than bloodlines. More valuable than magic. More real than any crown I’ve ever touched.
Jules is my whole heart.
And I will raze entire realms before I let the world take her from me.
