Goldfinch (The Plated Prisoner, #6)

by Raven Kennedy

But still, I try to fucking fight. Because I will always fight for her. For as long as I can.

As long as there is breath in my lungs and a heart in my chest, I will fight for her with everything that I am.

My name is Auren Turley. And I am stronger than the dark.

“I need a bag.” I glance down at the huge pile and start counting all the pieces. “This is too much shit, woman.” She gives me a look so chilling it might actually make my balls shrivel. I clear my throat. “I meant, I’ll make this shit fit.” “Yes, you will,” she says haughtily.

I’ve never had more to live for than I do right now.

When a woman faces an impossible problem, whether she be mother or queen, she must find a solution. She must find a way.

I let my rot free. Let it reign. And it rules with pure tyranny, showing them exactly who I am.

I told her I’d be the villain for her, and I was. Now, I need to also be the hero she would want me to be.

They’re safe. They’re being fed. They’re alive. A miracle only made possible by the most vicious threat. King Rot.

What Ravinger is capable of is utterly fearsome. That power, that creature he had with him, his pointed ears…he’s been a fae hiding in plain sight. Yet…he’s helping Orea. I’m as grateful as I am petrified.

I don’t know when something spurred between Auren and him, but it doesn’t matter. To stand here with him now, to witness him seeing this barred room, it coats me in terrified shame. He looks at me, full of fuming contempt and utter blame, and the truth is right there in his eyes. We caged the woman he loves.

“Who is Auren Turley to you?” the leader asks. Who is she? She’s fucking everything.

There is no growth without rot. There is no sun without the dark sky. And there is no me without her. But even if we were never paired, it wouldn’t matter. Because I would have made her mine, whether the goddesses deemed it or not. And I’m going to find her.

Her brightness, her soul, sings a song I’d follow anywhere. I know because she’s my other half, and her aura is leading me back to her. I know because she’s mine.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect to find a dragon,” Auren mutters to him. “No?” I say. “Well, I did expect to find a goldfinch.”

“Slade.” Our auras might’ve shattered the sky, but her saying my name shatters me.

“You found me,” she whispers, lip trembling. The relief and heartbreaking joy is so intense I have to shove it aside before I can answer. “I’ll always find you, Goldfinch.” Always.

for a male who was never anything but rot and hate, Auren has become my salvation. My purpose. My other half.

“You’re mine now.” My heart squeezes at the fierceness in her words. “I was always yours, Goldfinch.” Even when she didn’t know it.

“Oh, Goldfinch. My love for you consumes every part of my soul. It’s in every word, every movement. With each morning that dawns and every night that falls. You are completely mine, and I am yours, and that is all I ever need in this life and all the others.” I kiss her forehead, tears burning in my eyes. “I love you, Auren.”