Page 73 of The Dragon's Captured Heart
And with one more punch, Callum ended it. Cleye’s body went limp.
I had seen death before. I knew the difference between that and unconsciousness.
Cleye was gone.
I had no time to dwell on that, however, because Callum was there, ripping me free.
“Callum,” I rasped.
“Shhh,” he said. “I’m here now. It’s okay. It’s over.”
I waved him off. I had to make sure I’d heard right.
“Did you …” I had to pause for breath. “Did you say what I think you did?”
He nodded solemnly, his eyes fixed on me, radiating happiness and calm in a way I’d never seen before.
“I love you,” he said evenly. “I would do anything for you, Maddie. I’m ready to move on. With you. No matter what it takes. Even this.”
Before I could protest, he reached up and dug his fingers under the scale embedded in his chest.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Callum
The pain was too great.
Howling in agony as I pulled on the scale to try to free it from my body, I stumbled backward, losing my balance.
The bright white light faded only slowly, leaving me on one knee, gasping for air as the spikes of pain that had driven themselves deep into my brain eased.
“Callum, what are you doing?”
Madison was there at my side, holding my arm. The sound of her raspy voice drove me wild with a fury I could only contain because Cleye was already dead. If he weren’t, he would’ve been in that moment. Nothing would have spared him from my wrath.
Howdarehe lay a hand on my woman!?
My dragon backed the sentiment up, snarling and hissing with impotent anger. It flashed the thought of incinerating his body with fire, but that wouldn’t solve anything.
“Are you okay?” she asked, grabbing my jaw, forcing me to look at her. “What on Earth was that all about?”
“The scale,” I said through the breaths. “Has to come off. Has to go. Only way to move on.”
“You’re going to kill yourself,” she said. “It can’t come off. You told me that yourself.”
“Has to,” I repeated. “I’m ready.”
“Ready to die?”
I cocked my head at her. “No, Madison. I’m ready tolive.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, and I held back a fresh spike of anger at the sight of the bruising already showing itself where Cleye had attacked her.
“It’s okay,” she said at last. “You don’t have to hurt yourself just to prove that to me. I believe you.”
I watched her eyes, her face, searching for any sign that she was saying that just to get me to stop.
I couldn’t find anything. All I saw looking back at me were genuine care, trust, and, most important of all, belief.
