Great and Precious Things

by Rebecca Yarros

Darkness is drawn to the light, right? And there’s nothing brighter in this town than you.”

“So you saw my grief, but you never stopped to see my relief.”

“I’m not a replacement for Sullivan!” I shouted at her. At the world. At God. At whoever cared enough to listen. The breeze carried the steam away just long enough to see her stricken face. “No,” she whispered, but it carried. “Sullivan was the replacement for you.”

“It was always you, Cam.” She closed the inches between us, resting her hands on my chest, on the heart she didn’t realize only beat because hers did. “I’ve loved you since forever. I’ve been in love with you since I was old enough to understand what that meant. No one else ever had a shot of getting close. How could they, when you took my heart with you?”

“I’ll probably never be good enough to believe that you could be mine,” I said softly, splaying one of my hands over the bare skin of her back. “I made peace with that years ago. But I’ve always been yours.” Her eyes widened, and I knew I owed her the full truth, the same as she’d given me. “Only yours. Always yours.” Holy shit, I’d finally said it.

“I saw you leave and knew you were upset, so I went searching for you. If I had to guess, I would say that I was about five minutes too late. Instead of manning up and telling you how I felt, dealing with all the shit we were going to get in town because I’m me and you’re you, I watched you kiss my brother. It fucking killed me. That was why I joined the army the next day.”

I was afraid I’d lose it one day and beat the shit out of him—my little brother—for having the only thing I’d ever wanted for myself.”

“Yeah. I’ve messed up just about everything in my life, but this?” I kissed her gently. “This, I’m going to get right.” So help me God, I was not going to screw this up.

“Willow isn’t Sullivan’s girl. She’s mine. Nice ink, Dad. Call me if you need any help.”

“Trust me,” I told her, switching my grip to her hips. “You do it for me. You more than do it for me. You’re it for me.”

“If you can handle the Taliban, you can definitely hold your own against my mother.”

“Of course not. He’s good, Mr. Daniels. He’s the best man I know, and you…” My breath shook as I exhaled. “You ruined him. And I don’t know if I can fix the parts you broke. He won’t let anyone in. And I have to get through to him, because he’s just so…” The words clogged my throat, threatening to choke me. “He’s so very lonely.”

“All great and precious things are lonely.”

“I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.”

You’re not scared of hurting me. You’d die before you let that happen, and we both know it. You’re scared I’ll hurt you.”

“There is no me without you. I’ve known that since we were kids in this room.”

Man, she had it bad for Cam, and Cam only had it bad for me.

“I can only tackle one problem at a time, Pika. My first priority is and will always be you. This, what we have, isn’t something I’m willing to risk.”

“I will love you for the rest of my life, no matter what happens. None of this is your fault. Do you understand?”

“You’re not a complication in my life, Willow. You’re the reason.”

My soul in exchange for her life is a trade I’ll make any day.”

“She will choose me, Mr. Bradley. And sure, partly it’s because she loves me as much as I love her. But mostly, it’s because I won’t ever make her choose.”

My heart melted into a puddle of goo as I realized what she’d done and what the man I loved had inadvertently done for her.

You were going to change the world, Xander. That’s why I took the fall for you that night when you set the bunkhouse on fire.”

‘You’re free to make your own choices, but you’re not free from the consequences of that choice.’”

You have to love your choices, Camden, no matter what they are, because you have the freedom to choose.”