Page 15 of The Unseelie War
“Hmph.” Anfar turned from him to walk away. “Ah yes. The Duke has arrived. As has Lord Bayodan and Cruinn. Lady Alexandra is absent.”
Valroy narrowed his eyes for a moment. “And what of my wife?”
“Still no sign or word.” An inky darkness opened up before him inthe ground. Anfar hesitated before stepping in. The fingers of one of his hands twitched.
This was goodbye.
Somehow, though much could change, though the future was yet unwritten?—
Itwasgoodbye.
All the words between them had already been said.
All the words of hatred.
All the words of loathing.
All the words of friendship.
All the words of forgiveness.
And all the words of love.
There was only one word left to say.
Anfar stepped into the inky puddle of water and disappeared beneath it.
And he was gone.
Valroy shut his eyes.
Ava woketo the sound of Serrik's breathing.
It was such a normal, human sound that for a moment she forgot where they were, forgot about the merged worlds and the impossible responsibilities weighing on her shoulders. She just lay there in the pre-dawn darkness, listening to the steady rhythm of air moving in and out of his lungs, and marveled at how something so simple could sound so miraculous.
They could just be lovers.
For just a moment.
Then she opened her eyes and saw the sky.
Above them, aurora-like lights danced between the three merged skies. Purple, greens, golds, and blues painted everything in a slowly evolving array of colors that was utterly breathtaking.
“You’re staring,” he said without opening his eyes.
“The lights are beautiful.”
That got his attention. He opened his golden eyes and looked up at the light show above them, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “They are,” he agreed. “Though I suspect they are responding to something other than natural atmospheric conditions.”
Ava pushed herself up on one elbow, studying the dancing patterns. When he didn’t say anything for a long stretch of time, she glanced at him. He wasn’t looking at the sky anymore, he was looking at…her. And he was looking at her with a strained expression. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
He paused, as if the question required serious consideration. “I am more than okay. I amalive, Ava. Truly alive for the first time in eighteen centuries.” He turned to look at her, and there was something in his expression that made her breath catch. “Do you have any idea what that means? What it feels like to have a heartbeat again, to feel air in my lungs, to be able to touch something and know it isreal?”
The intensity in his voice, the raw wonder and gratitude, was astonishing. This wasn't the cold, controlled Serrik she'd grown accustomed to. This was someone discovering what it meant to be human—well, at least physical—all over again.
This was dangerous. She was playing with fire.
But she was terrified of this new un-reality, multiple-reality, whatever-the-fuck, cluster-fuck she’d made of things, and she wanted a distraction. No, sheneededa distraction. She needed some comfort. And it looked like he needed some, too.
