Till Death (The Never Sky, #1)

by Miranda Lyn

You never let someone defeat you. You stand. You step. You rise. This world will eat you whole if you let it.

I hated that I was feared, but there was comfort in the boundaries. Solace in the solitude.

“So, she’s just alone?” He tucked his hands behind his back, dipping a chin. “I think we’re all a little bit alone. Don’t you?”

“Some of us chose to be alone, Old Man.” “Yes. And some of us are plagued by it.”

there was something so soothing about being enjoyed. As if the world surrendered to me just a teeny bit.

The darkness in his eyes seemed to fade beneath the moonlight. “I need to hate you.” “Why?” I didn’t mean to sound as weak as I felt. He pulled me closer, squeezing those fingers along the back of my neck. Time slowed in his grip. The world stopped. “Because as long as I hate you, you cannot destroy me.”

“I’m not going to lie to you, Deyanira. I’m going to choose you.” He turned back to look at me, a swell of emotion in his eyes I’d never seen before. “And I think I need to find a way to process that. I should choose the good of the world. I should be their hero. But I think when it comes down to it, I’d rather be yours, because you have no one.”

“I’m sorry everything is broken, Deyanira. But I want to fix it. I don’t think I’m supposed to want that. Hell, I don’t think I’m supposed to want you, but here we are, and I can’t help the way my heart fucking aches for you.”

“I am not enough. You are the stars and the storm, Wife. Somehow, you’re both peace and destruction. Nightmare and a daydream. You’re hell and home. Fear and solace. Slumber and panic. Kindness and rage. Light is easy to love, but I’ve seen your darkness, and I want that, too. I crave it. I want to fucking drown it in. But how does any man live up to that? Deserve that?”

“Why do you absolutely insist on doing everything I explicitly ask you not to do?

“Are you flirting or fighting with me right now, Deyanira?”

I think it’s you, the way you consume me. You are the darkness.” I shook my head, smiling. “No, Husband. I am the abyss that calls to your shadows, the tempest that matches your storm. We are not mere darkness, we are the symphony of our scars.” He leaned his forehead to mine, holding my gaze steady within his own. “Two sides of the same coin.”

“When you speak, I can hear the battle. When you glare, I can feel your repulsion. And I can’t breathe when you are near. I can’t think or see beyond my own rage. Whatever power you hold over me is a vicious form of torture. And I am weak for you. Only you.”

“Give me everything. I want your sadness. Your guilt. I want your happiness, too. And every moment that makes those lips curl into a smile.” He leaned down, breath hot against my neck. “I want to hear the little growls you make when we fight. And I want to hear you purr my name when we are not fighting. When I am buried between your beautiful legs, I want every breath and every pant.”

“Don’t let this world break the goodness buried within you. Hold on to it.”

“No is a complete sentence, and that’s my answer.”

“You can’t just escape this, Wife.” “I’m my own person. I can do as I please. Haven’t you had enough? Aren’t you tired of this yet?” “No. Never. I want a thousand lifetimes. If you go, you’re only pausing a clock on something inevitable. Because I will find you. And I will bring you back to me over and over again until you learn that I will never give up on this. You became mine the day you stood on that temple and bound yourself to me, and just because I’m free of my uncle, doesn’t mean I wasn’t willing to give away the rest of my freedom for you. That hasn’t changed just because this world is cruel.”

“Did you just threaten to stalk me for the rest of our lives?” He grabbed my hands, kissing my fingers. “Don’t act so surprised, Wife. When have I ever let you get too far from me? I can’t promise you’re not going to want to bury that blade into my gut a time or two before this is all over. But I can promise I will still chase you. There will never be a part of me that doesn’t crave you. Even in madness, you’re my only desire. In rage and fury. In weakness and wonder. You may question whether I am sane, but I am wholly yours. For a thousand lifetimes. Eternity is not going to be long enough.”

“No one fully recovers from death, son. We just learn to breathe with it in the room.”

“What’s wrong?” “You’ll never understand it.” His strained whisper intertwined with his breath hot on my collarbone as he kissed my neck. “I’ve spent a lifetime reining myself in, controlling everything around me. Every move I’ve made. But this is a new kind of torture.”

should any harm come to you, Deyanira, I will become the thing of nightmares. I will bring this world to wreckage. It’s the only thing I can give you. My only promise.”

“Whatever this is, it’s not fear. It’s fucking obsession. It’s the chase. The capture. The godsdamned overturn of everything I thought I knew about what a man and woman should be. I want to savor every moment for eternity. I won’t rush, because the craving, the anticipation, is intoxicating. I will drag these moments out for as long as I can because once we cross that bridge, Wife, we burn it to the ground and never look back. Nothing else will matter to me.”

You’ve been my match and my balm. The only thing I have ever truly needed in this world.”

I’d learned that love, no matter the depth, would always leave a mark on your soul. Even if you walked away from it, that wound would never heal. Love was finding yourself lost in the world and realizing that, in the arms of your family, you had discovered the most profound and enduring sanctuary, where your heart could always find its way back home.

I fell in love with my enemy, and as the truth unraveled, I couldn’t bear to lose you for so many other reasons. For the smile you give when you think no one is looking, the way you feed that damn dog so much he doesn’t eat his supper anymore, for the way you love my family so fully, for Hollis. Because he loved you more than all of us, I think. “I was selfish. I just kept holding on to the moments I had with you because I knew the end was near. Every single night, I’ve prayed to gods I don’t know the names of to help me find a way to keep you. You always deserved the truth. I don’t care how complicated this gets. I still want you.”

We are meant to be. You’re my counterpart. You are the balm to my broken soul, and though you hate it, you know I am the only man you want. When I kiss you, your knees weaken. When we’re alone, your eyes linger.” He stood, closing the distance between us, leaning over the bed. “Whatever it is you need to forgive me and stay, speak it, and it is yours. There’s not a single mountain I won’t climb.”

“Omitting the truth is exactly the same as lying.”

“I promise to do whatever it takes to coax this beautiful smile every day for the rest of my hundred years.”

I offer you a vow that reaches into eternity itself. I will stand by your side through all the storms that may come our way. In a world where uncertainty reigns, I vow to be your anchor, your steadfast companion, and your refuge in times of sorrow. I pledge to honor you not only in the light but also in the darkest of hours. At the end of this mortal life, when Death walks beside us, our love shall defy the limits of eternity. It will be a testament to the enduring power of the human heart. I vow that our love will be our legacy left behind, not our power. With Death’s blessing and the gods watching over us, I bind myself to you from this day till death.”

I vow to always be a safe space for you. When the darkness consumes you, I will be your light, your beacon. I will never let you fall. With Death’s blessing and the gods watching over us, I bind myself to you from this day till death.”

“Tell me you are mine,” he growled, wrapping my hair around his fist, tilting my head back. “Tell me this is forever.” I dug my nails into his arms and dragged them down until he hissed, delight showing on his stunning face. “I am yours and you are mine.”

“I need you. Every second of my life, I need you. Not because of the power. Because I love you. My world doesn’t exist without you in it.”

“I am not afraid to wait for you in eternity, love.”

“I thought I loved you, but I was wrong. We both ran from madness for so long, love was impossible. There’s only obsession. Only compulsion. You are not a desire, Wife. You’re a godsdamn addiction. Love makes you a weakness. But you’re my strength. My future. Mine. All of you belongs to me. Every heartbeat, every breath. Every second of your eternal life is mine and mine alone. In malevolence, in anger, in hysteria and darkness, you are unwavering. You’re the crescendo, my love. The pinnacle of every song, the climb, and the purpose. And I will love you beyond the final note.”