Page 63 of Bound By Blood
He laughed wryly and drew her to the right. "There's a thornbush there."
They carried on for the rest of the night, picking a path through the moonlight and darkness, moving beneath broad branches and climbing over rotted logs. Nothing disturbed them. It was as if the moonlight-dappled forest had been reserved for them and them alone. He kept his arm around her waist most of the time, and more than once, they lapsed into pleasant silence. He was someone she just enjoyed being with. Even when words weren't enough.
At last, they stopped at a point where the trees fell back. Dull purple mushrooms with pale stalks clustered around the overgrown roots of a grey-barked elm. Moss clung to the cracked stones, and the tree branches parted to allow a full view of the sky.
He laced his fingers together and placed them on the top of his head, sighing. "I'm sorry, Erryn. I can't get us back to the castle or to the boundary marker before dawn breaks."
She set Buttons down and peered up into the sky. The rich indigo had already lightened to a softer purple, and the lavender and yellow of dawn spread across the eastern sky. Based on how long it had taken him to reach her, she guessed the castle was quite a far distance still. She had no real idea where they were.
"If you go ahead on your own, can you make it? Fly with all your strength and speed. I'll be fine here. I'll get somewhere safe. With that staircase in the air and what Ilvan and his band were doing, most of the predators are gone. Maybe all of them. That's where the night gryphons went, I think, so you can go on ahead."
His grimace turned into a sad smile as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Are you trying to torment me? You want me to spend even a minute more away from you?"
"I don't want you to be hurt."
"I suppose we shouldn't have been born then. Life is full of pain." He hugged her close, burying his face in her hair. "The castle is east of here. The boundary marker is south. It'll be the easiest one to find. Now, I know you don't want it, Erryn, but please, think about what I've said. If you're willing to accept me, I will return that prism to you, and we can bind those words from your mouth. I don't need you to say them. All I want from you is you. For my part, I will do whatever it takes to be with you, Erryn. But what I want most is for you to be happy. If you cannot be happy with me, I will accept that. If you can, just tell me what I must do. Use the prism. I will take whatever it brings. I swear to you that I will not regret it."
"You seem to have a hard time understanding this, so I'll be clearer. It will wound you, Ryul. Do you think I could put that on you?"
"Does it count as wounding me if it frees you from torment?" He clasped her hands between his and kissed her fingertips. "I do not count it as such."
Off in the distance, morning larks called out the first notes of dawn's arrival. His shoulders sagged.
She slid her hand along his strong jaw and up along his cheekbones. "How can I make this easier?"
The smile that reached his lips warmed her heart as he pulled her closer. "Stay with me until the dawn takes me. Be with me. Let me hold you. Just let us be."
She twined her arms around him and rested her ear just above his heart. "I can do that."
The day would not pass swiftly enough before they were reunited. Emotion choked her. There was so much she wanted to tell him, but the words stuck in her throat. Not just the three that would change everything, but so much more.
The birds sang louder now. Little chirping songs that told one another "I'm here. I made it through another night."
She pressed her face into his chest. She'd be singing something similar when night fell.
He winced, but then he curled closer to her. One hand cradled the back of her head above the bruise while the other pressed against her back.
It was starting.
She held him tighter but tilted her face up to look into his beautiful amethyst eyes with flecks of indigo and black. "I'll see you soon."
"Not nearly soon enough," he whispered.
The soft rays of light passed over them. His body tensed against hers. She wanted to clutch him even closer, but she peered up at him instead.
"I—" She bit the words back before they escaped. "I can't wait to kiss you again."
He winced a little but smiled, then opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, he vanished like smoke on the sunbeams.
She shuddered, suppressing a cry. It was only for a little while. Only for a day. Her heart swelled and ached. She couldn't have felt more for him if she had tried.
Pressing her hand over her heart, she steadied herself and her breaths. Oh, those three words did burn within her. And they were true. So true. There could never be another like him. How could she still have any fear about this?
"Pining for him already?" a familiar voice asked.
She hinged her gaze to the right, not sure if she was surprised to see Traelan there or not. What was surprising, though, was that his clothing was once again immaculate, and his wounds had all been healed. He looked every bit as sharp and dashing as the day she had met him.
"Were you waiting for him to leave?"
