A Heart of Bitter Poison (The Shadow Realm, #2)

by Brynne Weaver

Ediye gives me a smile that splits me right in two. “You fight, Lu,” she whispers, her voice fierce. “You fight and when you think you can’t, you keep fighting. I’ll be right here fighting with you.”

Ashen steps closer. His palms warm my cheeks. His breath heats my skin. He places a gentle, careful kiss to one closed eye, then the other. “Look at me, Lu. Please,” he whispers. And I do. He looks back at me with such determination and longing that I know without any doubt that what I see is true. “The worst thing was that I never told you I love you, Lu. I should have told you when you trusted me with your voice for the first time. Or when we sat in the desert at Saqqara. Or when we stood beneath your name in the library. Even when I held you as we passed into the Shadow Realm. I should have said it over and over until I was sure you would never doubt it. You would have known I was coming for you. That no matter what happened, I would find a way to get you out. That I would give up anything for you.”

Ashen’s eyes seem scraped away when he looks at me. And not just at me, but into me, right into my soul like he can see its shape and color. His grip tightens around my hand. “I know I have not given you reason to trust in my promises, my Lu. But I swear to you, I swear, I will do everything in my power to give you your vengeance. If you want to burn every realm, I will hand you the match and stand with you until the last cinders fall. I will pay for this promise with my life if I have to.”