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To those who feel forgotten and betrayed. To the lonely hearts who feel love will never find them. To the broken souls who believe they can’t be mended.
They all feared death in the end, no matter how cruel their actions were in life.
For some reason, Rion wanted to erase the emptiness in those eyes. He wanted to make them shine. He wanted to know what they might look like if—
His lips parted as she picked one up, speaking to it in hushed tones, and for the first time in his existence, Rion found himself believing in fairytales.
“You just have to trust me.” He let out a breath, showering her in his scent. “You ask the one thing I find impossible.” His eyes remained locked with hers. Hungry. Full of desire. “But I can try.”
“The Divine and the Cursed. How fitting.” He stepped back and started toward the cabin, glancing behind to see if she’d follow. She did, her entire body flushed from their brief, yet intense encounter. Arianna couldn’t help but smile. Rion. The general of Brónach’s army. Her greatest enemy and the most feared warrior in Alastríona had just kissed her.
He clenched his fists. Someone had taken her from him. Someone had taken his Arianna. And he’d ensure their suffering rivaled his own.
Rion’s feral gaze slid to hers and his eyes, usually so filled with hate, softened. Softened for her. Arianna felt like someone had struck her. Anything, she realized. Rion would give her anything.
“My demons aren’t yours to bear.” “What if I want them to be?”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” He paused. “Are you sure I’m what you want?” “Yes.” No hesitation.
She wanted to spend the rest of her life with this male. She’d figure out the details along the way. There’d be obstacles, she knew that, but the thought of spending a single moment without him was so painful, Arianna thought she might shatter.
At this point, he’d give her anything. No matter what it cost him. And he’d never leave again. To hell with the war. To hell with his country. The only thing he needed was sleeping right beside him.
“Are you afraid?” She kept her voice soft. “No.” His hot breath tickled the back of her neck, sending pleasant shivers down her spine, then he whispered, “I’m terrified.”
“Why?” She wanted to break down that wall gently, brick by brick if she had to. “Because you can hurt me in ways I’ve never been hurt. Without lifting a finger, you could shatter me completely.”
“Before you make any decisions, I need you to know that I’d give you anything, Arianna. No questions asked. If you want to go home, I’ll take you. If you want me to leave, I’ll go.” He took a shuddering breath. “If you want my life, it’s yours.” “I want you to stay.”
Arianna didn’t know what her future would hold. She didn’t know how hard it would be to keep Rion in her life, but she knew one thing with utmost certainty. No matter what challenges they’d have to face, she wanted this male at her side.
And in that moment, Arianna made a vow. She swore she’d never let Rion feel alone again. Not so long as she lived. Because he was hers to protect now and she was his.
“You’re not real.” Her brow creased. “You’re an ethereal dream come to torment me, granting every wish only to strip them away when I’m content. You’re the beautiful wave before it crashes over the shore, dragging everything out to an icy sea.” His voice lowered. “You’re my salvation and my damnation.”
How did one mend when the remedy for their soul lay beyond reach?
I’ll protect you. She’d sworn it from the depths of her soul. What a horrible lie. How many times had she failed him? How long would she continue to fail him?
“He didn’t,” she cleared her throat, “because I did.” The entire room fell silent and slowly, as if in a daze, Alec turned toward his little sister. “I killed our father.”
“Because I watched a father try to kill his son for no other reason than being different. Then I watched a nation rise against a child who’d done no wrong. A brother who, at ten years old, understood the need to protect his sister. And then I let him. Like a coward, I let that child suffer from pain and exile.”
If they killed her … Rion ground his teeth. If they killed her, he’d rip their country apart.
“I’m tired of fighting. So tired of fighting. It’s all my life has been, just one impossible battle after another.” The guards started walking again and she stepped aside. “But there are other things worth living for.”
Another growl reverberated from deep in her chest as her father regained his composure and stepped toward them. He didn’t stop, and every fiber in Arianna’s body screamed at her to protect the male in her arms. To protect her mate.
No, she’d make them all realize, make sure they knew that no one, absolutely no one, was going to take her mate from her.
“Mine,” she growled. “He’s mine.”
“You will not touch my mate.”
“You will never, never have to spend another day in this life alone. I won’t allow it.”
