Page 168 of Fate and Flame
“You can’t leave me,” I whispered. “Not you too.”
He turned, and I could tell he’d been crying. Just like his soul had been for all of these months since we’d lost his mate on the battlefield. “I couldn’t save her. By the time I got to her, it was already too late.” His voice was raw. As if he’d been screaming into the fog before him, begging for her to come back.
“Tell me how to help you. Tell me what to do.”
“She’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He looked back to The Mists. “I could be with her again. Right now. I need only step forward.”
“Greeve, please. Don’t do this.”
“I don’t know how he did it. Tolero. How did he go on?”
I grabbed his hand, if for no other reason than to be an anchor in case he tried to move. I could use my magic, but if I obliterated The Mists, I’d free whatever monsters Aibell had hidden behind them when she recreated them.
“I can’t promise you it’s ever going to be better. I still cried today from missing her. But I promise to always be here for you, Greeve. I promise to never forget her. And if you have a bad day and need space, that’s fine. If you want to stay up all night and talk about her, that’s fine too. But you can’t leave me. Fen needs you, but I need you too.
“Come home. Talk to Loti. She lost her mate a long time ago and she still manages a smile every day. But if you won’t come home for me, and you won’t come home for Fen, do it for Kai. Because if he was still alive, he’d be the one standing here, begging you not to do this.”
He squeezed my fingers and turned back to me. “I’m sorry. You left on your wedding day to chase me down. I just can’t . . .” He moved his fingers through his hair and looked back toward the mountains. “We had plans. Dreams. We were supposed to marry and have a child. We were going to move back to the dunes and raise our baby among the draconians. And now? Now I have nothing. No one. Forever.”
“You’ll always have me. I know I’m not a replacement for her. I know it’s not the same. But you still have a family that loves you. If you want to go back to the dracs, then do it. But live, Greeve. Choose life. Find a way. I’ll beg, if you need me to.”
He stood staring at me for an eternity. I watched the clouds of frozen breath move through the air as his mind battled his heart. “I’ll try to find a way.” A single tear fell down his sun-kissed skin.
“Thank you,” I whispered and hugged him. “And if you don’t want to walk me down, you don’t have to. I know it’s going to be hard for you.”
“I still want to. I was the one who gave you to the parents who raised you. I should be the one to give you to Fen.” He rested his head on top of mine, and I listened to his broken heart beat for several moments.
We’re going to be late, but we’re coming home.
Thank you. Oh gods, thank you, Ara.I felt Fen’s wash of relief.We will be here waiting when you get back.
“Care to visit an old friend?” I asked, pulling him to the dragons.
I whistled at Cal just in case that yellow fucker wouldn’t give us a ride, but I was supposed to get married today, and the dragon was the fastest way home.
“Hello, little liar,” he said as we approached.
“Hey beast. I need a ride home.”
He chuckled. “You’re lucky I like you.”
“You’re lucky I like you back.”
We landed in the middle of the night. It was pitch black outside apart from a trail of Fen’s floating flames.
“I’m probably a mess.” I lifted my fingers to run them through my wind-blown hair.
“You’ve never looked more beautiful.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Don’t get too used to it.”
I smiled and hugged him once more. He took my arm, straightened his back, and we followed the trail of flames Fenlas had left for us. They wound around the castle and down to the beach, creating a comforting warm glow against the red sands of home. We stepped into the rocking boat and rode it across the still water of the bay and out to Efi’s Aisle. My eyes landed on Fen waiting for me at the front of the aisle.
I’m so sorry you had to wait so long.
He pinned me with those dark eyes and my heart stopped as they crept down my body. He was beautiful and he was mine. I couldn’t drag a full breath into my lungs as he took me in.I’ve waited my entire life for this moment. A few hours made no difference to me.
