Page 67 of Bound By Blood
"I have a speech prepared. Don't get me flustered." She ducked her head, her face turning pinker.
No. This wasn't bad news. That was just his fears whispering again.
He nodded and kept his arms at his sides, though he desperately wanted to take hold of her and drown every fear out.
She cleared her throat, her gaze darting back to his once more. "I'm also far more experienced in everything that is not related to being a blood fae or navigating a floating castle or flying. And through my years, I have fallen in love and come to understand what it means to be loved, used, and abused. After wounds, it is always hard to trust again. Experience can be a bitter teacher. And I can't say I am not afraid, Ryul. This might be the scariest thing I've done in my life. But…" She lifted her chin. "I absolutely refuse to bind these words from my lips."
He swallowed hard, his hands clenched at his sides with need.
"So…" She stepped closer. "Ryul, I have something I need to tell you."
He met her gaze. Could he touch her? Would that disturb her now?
Her face had paled, but she nodded as if she read his thoughts. She placed her hand on his chest, spreading her fingers over the thin fabric of his silk shirt. Her touch seared through him, igniting the flames he'd struggled to contain.
He closed the distance between them, bringing one arm around her waist and touching the small of her back. She fit so perfectly in his arms. Even better when he held her tighter.
"Ryul," she said again, her voice trembling. "I love you."
Relief flooded through him—then a sharp surge of energy. Everything went black, the energy coiling and expanding within him, too intense for him to even breathe. It wiped everything away and left him spiraling in darkness.
No one had ever given him the power of a wish before. In all the times he'd heard what it was like—all the times he'd been warned of what the temptation and corruption would feel like—nothing compared to its reality.
It sparked and grew within him, filling his ears and drowning out his other senses like the roar of a tornado. It rooted his muscles into place, twining through him and binding him in chaotic paralysis as if he were nothing except a conduit.
He could choose.
Anything. He could have anything. Ask for anything. And maybe—
An old raw panicked desire rose in his chest as memories peeked up. What did he want most of all? To be home again. To have his family once more. Siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and more. Their faces flashed within his mind. All the loss. All the sorrow.
The possibilities cut through his heart and sliced through his mind, pulling him into an even darker place. They whispered in his ears and filled his mind. Everything. It would be all right. What was the harm in asking? Why not? What reason was there to have restraint when this had been given so freely?
The thoughts crushed in around him, driving everything else away.
His arms tightened. Something warm pressed against him. The dullness in his mind fought against recognition. But it was a familiar form.
Erryn!
A panicked jolt shot through him. He focused on her. He was holding her—why did she feel so far away? He had to come back—had to find his way back.
He smelled her hair and that distinct combination of rosemary, celery, and garlic that always clung faintly to her even beneath the fresh scent of soap. He felt her gentle curves and her warmth, and her heartbeat—her heart was racing so fast.
Oh.
A pang of awareness cut even deeper. He was frightening her. How long had he been silent?
The chaotic power of the wish stilled within him. It was all just temptation. A ruse that tried to contaminate what actually was with the offer of what might be. Seeing it for what it was shriveled that temptation up even as it suggested that perhaps their love was strong enough that all would unite to grant it.
No.
He couldn't risk her. His family and home were gone. One day, perhaps, they would find one another again. But he wouldn't place that burden on her. She meant too much to him. She didn't deserve that burden.
The clamor and humming faded as his sight returned, and he became more aware of her again. What she'd given him was powerful. Beautiful. Freely given. Wholly felt. Precious beyond words. Just like her.
He nuzzled her, bringing his mouth to her ear. All that he had planned was gone, but he knew precisely what to say as clarity returned to his mind and body.
"Erryn, I wish for your happiness, joy, and fulfillment. That we be bound by love, by choice, by blood. My heart to yours. My will with you. My life to its end with you alone. Forever and always. No matter how long or how short, forever my love with you."
