Page 108 of Gift from the Source
As our verse begins, I run my fingers down her arm until I reach her wrist. My thumb runs slow circles across her pulse as I lift it toward my lips. I kiss the pounding beneath her skin that matches my own, then lay her hand against my neck.
Her delicate touch instantly soothes the wild thrumming, and I glide us across the floor. A soft sigh falls from her as I press a kiss on her forehead.
“Your highness.”
“Princess.”
“I don’t understand what you were so worried about,” she says softly and a small smile breaks out across my face.
“The dance isn’t over yet.”
“No, it’s not, but you had me believing you’d be stepping on my toes and tripping us up,” she teases and we both chuckle quietly.
“Well, any other attempt at this, that’s exactly what would be happening. This time is different, though.”
“How?” She cocks her head to the side as though she’s confused. And she very well may be.
Having to juggle four men with four very diverse intensities and feelings through this dance, she may not notice how truly different it is for us.
“I’ve never had the right partner. As a matter of fact, I’ve only ever tried this dance with Mom or one of my dads would play the role of the Primary. I was never going to get this right without you.”
“I don’t think that’s—”
“It is true. I see it very clearly now. I saw it watching my brothers as well. Sure, they knew the steps, they’ve practiced and done this before, but none of us have ever experienced this connection before. You were the only partner that was ever going to give us this experience. Until this moment with you, the music has always just been noise. Now it’s so much more.
“It’s the beat of your heart. The soothing sound of your soul singing to ours. The roar of your dragon meeting Draken’s. The thoughts spoken clearly between you and Tillman. Cas’s and your shadows covering us all in protection. Our light shining bright over our future. I don’t only see it now. I hear it all. This isn’t just a dance but a reminder of how perfect we were all made for one another. How perfect you are for us. You balance and complete us so truly. You are our greatest blessing, Willow Vito.”
“Core…” she breathes.
“Dance with me, princess,” I command softly.
That’s my last shred of control as I allow what I’ve always called this dreaded song to take me away.
It’s no longer dreadful. The melody is soft and sweet like a lullaby that would lull you to sleep. A hum you’d sing to find a semblance of peace.
I sweep my princess off her feet as we glide across the floor like we’re dancing in the breeze.
In this moment, I feel free.
I never want to lose this. Lose her.
She is my freedom. My forever. My beyond.
Thirteen
Tillman
“Formation,” Ry and I bark at the same time.
Behind us, Willow and Oakly let out small laughs as the students in front of us nearly jump out of their skin. Every time a team returns from a mission, from the first years to the fourth years, they all act like they’re greeting royalty.
It’s as though they forget some of them will be doing this same shit in a few short months.
If they can get their acts together.
“Three laps now, then hit the sparing mats,” I order, glaring at all of them as they straighten their shoulders.
Ry and I stand stoically until the students round the first corner on the trial and disappear from sight. Then we address our men, who just returned, as Will and Oakly come to stand between us.
