Page 128 of A Blightress of Wrath
“Lanna…” he trailed, his face tightening.
Mylips quivered. “Ididn’t know orIwould have fixed it.Iwould have gone to her first, butIdidn’t know and then too much time had passed and there was nothingIcould do.”
“Hey…”Heunfolded his arms, cupping my hands to his chest. “Irefuse to believe that was your fault.You’vebeen given this power, but it doesn’t mean you will have the chance to fix everything that could happen.”
“Iwould have, though.”
“Iknow.”Hepulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around me. “Howmany times have you done this between the two of us?”
“Justthat one,”Imumbled, my face pressed fully into his shirt, which somehow still smelled of home.
Hisbody shook in a chuckle. “You’vedone better thanIwould have.IthinkI’drepeat both of your kisses at least a dozen times more beforeI’dbe ready to let go of them.”
Itilted my head back and laughed when he caught my lips into another kiss.Weswayed for a moment, the only two people in the world.
“Ialmost did it once.Thatnight we were dancing and you told me how our relationship was changing at a pace we couldn’t slow.Andthen you told me the risk would be worth it, andIalmost did it.Ialmost reversed time to admit that you were right.”
“Itdoesn’t matter now,” he started, holding my chin.
“Itdoes,”Iurged. “Itmatters to me that you understand why.I’vealways been…afraid to lose thoseIlove.Iwatched my mother grieve over my father all my life.I’vebeen afraid every moment thatIcould also succumb to such a fate.ThatIcould one day feel the depths of her sorrow, and soI’veheld onto everyoneIlove in a desperate grip, unwilling to change a single part of my life for fear of the risk of losing them.”
Helistened quietly, stroking my cheek.
Ibit my lip and continued, “Thatday,Itold youIdidn’t want to risk losing you.Butby not telling you the truth,Irisked losing you anyway, andIwon’t stand still any longer.Iwon’t wait around, afraid to move for where my steps might lead me.”
“Ilove you,Sae,” he said.
Isighed contentedly. “Ilove you, too.”
Hecocked a brow. “Whatabout that quarter of the time?”
Ilifted my chin, rising on the tips of my toes to meet him in a kiss again, mumbling on his lips, “Shutup and kiss me,Thevin.”
Chapter54
Thevin
“Don’tlookat me like that,”Lannagrumbled, leaning one hand against the side of the castle wall with sweat beading down her face, trying to catch her breath.
“Asif you’d look at me any different,”Imuttered.
“I’mfine.”Herteeth gritted in pain as she returned weight to her right leg.
Iquirked a brow. “Ifthis is you at fine, we’re in trouble.”
“Ihave time to regain strength beforeCommanderAshton’sforces arrive, and we push past theBlightLine.Iwon’t recover that strength, however, ifIdo not keep training.”
“Spokenlike a stubborn ass,”Ihuffed.
Sherolled her eyes and limped toward her tent.
Ifollowed her inside, irritated that her blood was still splattered over everything. “Someonefrom the castle is coming to get rid of this today.”Igestured to the large dark stain on her cot with a cold fear of how close she had been to bleeding out.
“It’sfine,” she shrugged, gulping water and planting herself over the dried blood. “Ifanything, it makes the tale that much more heroic.Icaught severalRunnerssneaking in here last night to see the carnage.”
Ihid my broken knuckles in my pockets and licked my split lip. “Yes,Runnersare simply awful at keeping things quiet.”
Sherose a brow. “It’sfunny, you know?Isaw the condition ofNymandTemmorthis morning.Ialmost couldn’t believe that they had gotten into a fight with each other and ended up such a bloody mess.”Shewinked. “Almost.”
