Page 54 of Claimed By Stone
“I don’t care. You’re not my enemy, Seraphina. You’re my heart. And I’ll protect you, even from yourself if I have to. But I won’t cage you. Never again.”
"Please, Thavros, you must. I don't know what I'm capable of."
He cupped my face and let out a ragged breath. "I would rather die than live without you."
A tear streamed down my face. "Your death would kill me all the same."
He took my hands, kneeling before me, and pressed his forehead to them. Just like he had done the night he rescued me from that cell. My valiant orc kneeling before me, pledging his fealty, was more than I deserved.
But when he stood before me, I had to say, "When the time comes, Thavros. Promise me. I will not hurt you or your people."
"If the time comes. But I will never leave you."
I gave a nod, and he did too.
I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to be in his arms. I needed to feel him around me. I needed this day to be over.
"Will you hold me?" I ask timidly
A warm smile spread across his face. "I want nothing more."
We crawled into bed, and he held me to him. I could feel his heart beating against my back as his strong arms held me close, and my body finally started to release some tension. While there were no answers, in this moment, all I had to do was breathe and relax into the safety of my orc.
"You’re safe now," he says, voice low and rough. "As long as I breathe, no one will harm you."
I looked up at him, eyes searching his face, as if trying to hold onto his words like a lifeline.
"I don’t deserve you," I whispered.
"You don’t get to say that," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You’re mine, and I take care of what’s mine."
I shivered, not in fear, but in the way someone does when they hear something they’ve been craving deep in their bones.
He started to kiss me again—slow, indulgent, the way only someone fully in love dares to—and when I gasped his name, he whispered, almost to himself, “My mate…”
I stilled. The word hung between us like smoke, curling and dancing, impossible to catch.
I wasn't even sure if he knew he said it. But I heard it, and I felt it.
Just that one word echoed hope deep inside of me. Maybe being Thavros's mate would be enough to save me and, in turn, save us all.
Chapter 23
Thavros
The following morning, I lay in bed holding Seraphine close. She looked so peaceful with the blankets pulled up over her shoulders, but with her head on my chest and a mess of curls spread out around her. I ran my hand through those curls and breathed in her scent: wildflowers and books. It was the most intoxicating smell imaginable.
I knew she feared she might be our destruction, but as I lay there watching her sleep. I couldn’t imagine her being anything other than our salvation.
It was clear to me that she was my mate, but I worried about what that meant. Because while I did truly believe she would not bring our destruction, there was clearly something sinister at work here. If it had anything to do with the Westerly Clan, Frema would figure it out, and then I would find out how to undo it. The mating would only further complicate it. But she was worth it.
As I stroked her hair, her eyebrows scrunched, and her breathing turned into little pants. It was happening again. The same thing that happened every morning.
“Shhhh,” I soothed as I kissed the top of her head. “You’re alright, little flame.”
She jolted up out of bed as a scream ripped from her throat. It broke my heart that someone had caused such deep harm that she was tormented by her subconscious, but what could I do now except offer comfort?
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.
