Page 175 of Of Blood and Banes
I continue, “Because it’s your mother’s. And I feel like you should be the one who has it?—”
He rests his hand on mine, his voice gentle. “Stop. It was always meant to be yours, whether you loved me or not. Whether it was prophesied about you or someone else. I don’t want you to feel guilt over it. The day I met you, I couldn’t imagine it on anyone else.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, my gaze shifting to his strong hand resting overtop of mine. Shaking my head with a laugh that is anything but comical, I mutter, “Gods…I would have never thought we’d end up here…”
“Yeah…” He glances down at our hands. “There are many things of mine that belong to you. That are inherently yours…”
A tension builds in my throat and chest. He doesn’t have to spell it out for me.
He whispers so simply. So honestly. “I am…sosorry, Katerina Blackwind. I’m sorry for who I was. I’m sorry I hurt you. I don’t deserve your forgiveness—I know that. But I will try my damndest to make it up to you someday.”
Then he gives my hand the tiniest squeeze before rising to his feet to leave. After he takes a few steps, and the warmth of his hand fades from mine, I turn to watch him walk away.
“Cole…?”
He pauses mid-step and glances over his broad shoulder at me, his expression unreadable.
“I do forgive you.” The words tremble on my lips, tears sting at my eyes.
He smiles sadly and dips his head. “I know, love.”
Then he continues his walk back to Everden.
CHAPTER 55
BEYOND THE HEIGHT
We received the go-ahead from Sethan’s contacts in Nightfort, and we’re making the trek south. Daeja and I join Sethan and the rest of the dragon riders in the sky. Away from formation, Daeja glides in and out of clouds, each puff whipping me in the face with a bitter moisture.
I wave each assault away, coughing as I tighten my other gloved hand around the saddle horn.“Too high, too high!”
She dips her nose down and dives into the massive gray cloud, my stomach dropping down into my toes, and my eyes watering as the wind rakes its sharp claws up across my face. My knees lock around Daeja as I silently thank all the Gods for these blessed straps and hooks. Otherwise, my ass would have been half a mile higher from such a massive drop.
“Trying…to make…me…piss myself?”I ground out through each breath.
Without responding, Daeja releases her wings, snapping them open and jolting me forward, the saddle horns slamming into my chest hard enough that it knocks the wind out of me.
“Too quick, sorry about that.”
She’s still learning, and there’s not a single bone in my body that can be angry with her. Plus, it’s not like I’m an expertat maintaining my balance and weight, either. Dragon riding is definitely a skill I need to hone. Forcing myself to straighten, I glance down at the ground hundreds of feet below us, my stomach churning at the thought of how long of a fall it would be.
“Get out of your head,”Daeja warns, sensing my queasiness.
I swallow, attempting to force down my nausea.“Hard to get out, when you’re already in here.”
“Isn’t it a nice view at least? Just take a look. Look beyond the height.”
I focus on the colors first: the splash of various evergreen shades from the pine trees, the dusted grays frosting earth, and a snaking blue river cutting through the land. The jagged edges of the forest versus the smooth liquidity of the river. How the water ebbs and flows, as easy as if it were…
Wait.
I scan the rest of the valley and the peaks spanning out around us. The gargantuan Serahaven mountain range, framing the distant Vitalis castle with waterfalls spilling down into pools, spurs a flicker of a thought. The river whips and flows throughout the land, connecting at different branches and clustering in distant areas to form lakes.
Flows as easily as if it were blood. And as if the rivers wereveins.
I turn in the saddle, staring out beyond Daeja’s tail to the south. The river twists through the forest, and out beyond what I can see. Memories of the Arterian map flash through my head in rapid succession, luring me into a trance.“Daeja, tell A’nala and Sethan we’re taking a quick detour. I need to see something. Head south along the river.”
“In case you were wondering, A’nala is just as ornery as Sethan is.”
