Page 31 of For Her, He Falls

"I know I'm young," I say after an immeasurable stretch of silence has passed. "But I have seen kingdoms fall and legends come to life. Enemies can become lovers, Alphas can become ash, and a flower can grow enough to reach the moon. I have to believe that curses can be broken, and gods can forgive what they did not understand. I know they can. And you should. Because the world is changing, my lady. You can either change with it, or you can get left behind."

She quirks her head to the side ever so slightly, and I can't tell if I've amused or offended her.

"And that is not a threat," I add quickly. "It's the truth. Nothing stays the same, and if there was ever a single thing in existence worth changing for, it's love."

I turn slightly on the ledge so my back is to the window and face her directly. Maybe I can prove it to her.

"You marked my heart and stopped it, but look inside of it now," I tell her. "Look inside me and see my truth."

After a pause, the Goddess raises her hand and lets it hover just over my chest. Up close, her opalescent skin shimmers softly, and I can't help but wonder if she's actually solid. Her palm lingers a few inches away from me, and I feel the faintest tingling sensation around my heart. For a moment, I wonder if I'm imagining it, but then it's gone.

My brows shoot up in surprise as I glance back up at the Goddess and find something fond tugging at the corners of her lips. Her smile is the loveliest thing I've ever seen, but before I can really focus on it, the Goddess's hand presses against my chest.

I gulp at the contact, half-expecting her to be intangible, but her touch is firm and sudden. It feels far harder than it should as if she'd slammed her palm against me at full force rather than simply raised it and laid it softly over my heart. It knocks the air out of my lungs, though I'm vaguely aware of the fact that if my heart wasn't beating, I probably shouldn't be breathing either.

My head spins, and I feel myself fall backward, the world toppling around me. Behind me, there is no shattering window and no glass to support me or prevent me from dropping back and tumbling out the window. The next thing I know, I'm falling.

Did I just get pushed out a window by an ancient deity?

I don't have time to wonder. I don't even have time to scream. The world flies past me, flooding my senses as I fall. I get flashes of memories, dreams, wishes, ideas, and everything in between, and I wonder if this is what Alice felt like when she fell down the rabbit hole. Down and down I descend, too fast to think, feel, or react. There is only the fall.

And then there is the end of it.

I flinch at the sudden feeling of something solid beneath me, but it doesn't hurt. Gasping, I lurch forward, sitting up way too quickly, only to have a wave of dizziness pull me back down as I blink a few times, clearing my vision.

I'm staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom in the nightwalker's castle, panting for air as my head flops back on the pillow. Everything is too bright and colorful compared to the soft and cohesive white glow of that other place. There are hands on my shoulders, and as some of the fogginess clears, I realize that someone is calling out my name.

Tristan appears, filling my field of vision as he looms over me, his hands brushing some of the hair out of my face as I suck in a shaky breath.

"Iris! Iris, you're okay. It's alright. I'm here. I'm right here. You're safe. Just stay with me."

I want to tell him that I have never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life. I want to tell him that I love him more than anything and that I told the Goddess as much before she shoved me out of a magical window. Instead, a single word slips past my lips, raspy and haggard:

"Ow."

There's a tightness in my chest that feels decidedly unmagical. Tristan chuckles as I pout, wincing at the discomfort all over my body. I look over at him, and my eyes widen when I see that behind the affectionate laughter, he's in tears.

"Hey," I mumble, groggily reaching for his hand. He catches mine in his and brings it to his lips to kiss the backs of my knuckles. "Why are you crying?"

He shuffles on the bed, lying down beside me as I curl up against him, instinctively seeking the comfort of his skin against mine as I try to chase away the soreness clinging to my bones.

"I thought I lost you," he whispers, wrapping his strong arms around me.

"I'm right here." I feel drowsy and dopey, but I'm here. He feels solid and warm against me.

Real. This is real. I'm alive. I'm here with him.

"My chest hurts," I groan, absently rubbing at the spot over my heart. I feel like I've been punched.

"Sorry about that," Tristan says, and I frown.

"What do you mean?"

"You passed out, Iris. Your heart stopped beating. I gave you chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth to try and bring you back, but you were... you were dead," he explains, his voice catching as if the word physically pained him.

Wait.

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose as my thoughts start to

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