Page 119 of Stolen
I stopped the knives from hitting her.
All but one.
It fell too fast, too sharp—struck the edge of her armor and glanced off, slicing a thin red line along her jaw.
Just a scratch.
Just a breath of pain.
But itshatterssomething inside me.
My knees hit the stone beside her.
The world narrows to her heartbeat.
Her breath.
A smear of crimson streaks her skin, and I wipe it away with shaking fingers, my hand cradling the fragile strength of her face.
My palm trembles.
Thank the gods, she’s breathing.
“Jules,” I whisper, my voice cracked glass, all the fury and fear I’ve kept buried rising like floodwater.
Behind me, I hear the chaos still unraveling—Kael, Thorne, and Dagan tearing through the wreckage, dispelling what remains of Dauphiné’s black enchantment.
Shade moves like a shadow at my side, her hands gentle as she leads the children away, each one waking slowly, confused and frightened but safe.
And all I can do is kneel here and hold her.
I kiss her cheek, her chin, her brow—reverent, desperate.
“Alaric?” she breathes, stirring faintly, lashes fluttering like wings.
Her voice is soft, bewildered.Alive.
“You foolish, fearless woman,” I choke, wrapping her tighter against my chest, my body curling around hers like a shield. “You were supposed towaitfor me. I told you I’d come.”
She blinks up at me, dazed, her lips curving with quiet defiance.
“You’re here now,” she whispers, echoing the words she gave me earlier.
And just like that, I almost fall apart.
I almost unravel entirely.
Because I almost lost her. And I will never be whole again if I do.
I bury my face in her hair, breathing her in, shaking with too many things—grief, gratitude, rage, and overwhelming love.
“I’m here now,” I vow, my voice raw and ragged.
“And I’m never leaving your side again. Not for anything. Not for crowns. Not for war. Not for the gods themselves.”
She is my heart.
My viyella.
