Page 52 of War Of Fire and Fortune
A shudder rippled through me as a tear slipped out and trailed down my cheek. I remembered the blood-soaked ground squelching under my boots, the scent of iron and smoke winding its way into my nostrils as I wove through the chaos of that battlefield when I’d still been with the Western Wyverns. My heart pounded against my ribs because it hadn’t been glory or honor that had brought me there. It had been her. And when I’d seen her and Ace falling from the sky, it had forced me into action. It had been desperation, a need to protect her at any cost.
Then I’d seen my mate lying still next to her best friend in the bloody soil. It had been my first time seeing her in person, and even though she’d been unconscious, I’d trembled with nerves. My breath had hitched, time had slowed, and all I could see had been her pale face. I’d gathered them both, tended them the best I could, and had dragged them to Willow.
I’d wanted to stay with her, to be there when those fierce eyes had flickered open. But I couldn't. She couldn't know who I was—not yet. So I’d vanished into the shadows, leaving before she could see the man behind the mask.
When fate had twisted again and I’d found myself keeping her captive on my ship, the guilt had bit at my insides. But circumstances had penned us both into roles we’d never wished to play. I’d tried to keep my distance, but when I finally couldn’t stand the thought of her being down there anymore and I’d found her being attacked by my soldiers, I’d killed every single one of them. It hadn’t erased the image of her pain, nor had it quenched the fear that I had come so perilously close to losing her again.
I couldn't stay away any longer. Every fiber of my being had screamed to be near her. Coming so close to losing her had broken the final chains of my restraint. Whether she hated me or not, I would not let her slip through my fingers again. So I’d gotten her to the rebellion, where I’d known she would be the most safe.
And as we’d grown closer, I had never felt more alive. But even as her kiss had branded itself into my memory, I’d known the truth and she hadn’t. I’d known she would never want to be with me.
Then Valla had came for her, and it was as if every nightmare I had ever had replayed in my mind. Atreya had ordered me to leave it alone, but I couldn’t, wouldn’t leave her there. Then, while we’d been in Ember, we’d grown closer, and when I’d finally revealed the truth to her, I’d thoughtmaybethere was a chance she could love me.
But after what had happened to Ace, I’d thought everything was destroyed. I’d watched her wrestle with the tangle of lies and loyalty that bound us, fearing that the last strands of our connection had frayed beyond repair.
She could turn me away, curse my name, deny my existence—but it wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn't stop me from giving every last piece of myself to her for the rest of my life. Whether she accepted me or not, I would be hers to command because the only thing I knew how to be was the man who loved her wholeheartedly.
I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears from my vision, but it was no use. Through the blur of all the memories, the realization hit me. Never in the countless nights spent under cold, indifferent stars had I allowed myself to fully imagine this moment. I’d never thought she would want me after everything. Yet here it was, unfolding before me.
This woman, this incredible, maddening, beautiful woman, my mate, saw through all of those things. She saw the man who had loved her from afar, who had waged wars in her name, who had burned with silent longing that now threatened to consume him whole.
"Say it again," I urged, desperate to hear it again, and again, and again.
Her lips curved into a smile. "I love you, Kade."
Each word was a salve to the wounds that marred my battered, black heart. I drank them in, letting the truth of her love wash over me, cleanse me, renew me.
And as I held her there, amidst the chaos of a world too cruel, I understood that there was nothing I wanted more, nothing I needed more, than those words spoken from my mate's lips.
I cupped her face, and she placed her forehead against mine, her eyes never leaving mine.
“I love you,” she said again, swiping the tears from my cheeks as she leaned in and sealed her words with a kiss.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ace
Ientered Cyran’s tent. He sat hunched over a dimly lit map, his fingers tracing possible routes, each one a potential march to his death, but I didn’t think he cared. I knew what he was feeling. I remembered knowing that no one would stop me from saving Emelyn.
He didn’t even look up as I sauntered over to the desk, until I tapped on the wood. "Kade's awake," I signed, and his body snapped up, eyes igniting with a feral glint. He surged to his feet, knocking the wooden stool over with a clatter that echoed off canvas walls. "We can go now. He can Hollow us, get us to Ember, and we can save Rhet,” he growled, moving past me. My hand shot out, latching onto his arm to stop him.
"Wait," I urged, feeling the coiled tension in his muscles beneath my palm.
"Ace, let go," he hissed.
"Kade just Hollowed the entire rebellion to camp a few days ago," I shot back. “He’s going to need his rest before trying to Hollow for a little while. Besides, we need to be smart about this. Ember somehow knew our plans, knew where Rhet was, and took him. We have to be careful.”
"Careful?" Cyran spat out, wrenching his arm free at last. He stepped back, putting space between us. "Careful," he repeated, more to himself than to me. With a bitter chuckle that sent chills down my spine, he faced me again, his expression twisted in a grimace. I knew what was coming. "That’s just peachy coming from you. When Emelyn was in trouble, you—"
"I was wrong," I interjected sharply. The memory of Maeve's lifeless eyes seared into me. "Because of me, Maeve is dead, and it could have been all of us." My breath hitched. "I will live with that the rest of my life, and I refuse to let you make the same mistake."
The air between us thickened with unsaid words and shared grief. Cyran's gaze locked onto mine, his soul laid bare in the depths of his tear-filled eyes.
"He's alive—" His voice broke. "And they’re probably doing the same things they did to you."
My torment after being captured by Valla crept back into my mind. I knew the agony, the despair, the darkness that threatened to consume one's very essence in her presence. But Rhet was her brother, and he was a prince of Ember. I’d been nothing but a means to an end. Surely, a prince would have better odds than I had. That was what I kept telling myself anyway.
"Fuck, Ace, I almost lost you. You've been the closest thing to a brother to me since you came to the rebellion, and now that wegot you back, I can't bear the thought of losing my mate to that fate."
