Her miserable nod was all the answer he needed.
A guttural sound escaped Fael’s throat—a harsh, angry noise filled with pain.“He loved you first.And now I’m left wondering if I mean anything to you at all.Does he take my place?Retake his place?”His fists clenched.“When he looks at you, I hear the earth breathing with his magic.He knows you from a lifetime I’ll never share.And when you look at him…” His voice dropped.“I remember I’m nothing but a brute born of rage andfire.”
“You’re nothing?You could take him apart with your magic—piece by piece, or faster than a blink.You could destroy him with a twist of your hand.You are everything.Everything.”Her voice trembled.“Look at me,Fael!”
His eyes snapped to hers, and fire and death battered against each other between them.Red and black tendrils of magic warred along the ground, the air filled with a distant rumble—thunder, or maybe screams.
“What is he to you?”Fael whispered.The quiet in his voice was more dangerous than his snarl.“And whatam I?”
Everything.
Like the finality of death her power often brought, the truth was undeniable: Fael was home—life and breath.He was her anchor and her shield.And she was his ocean, his foundation.
Ren’wyn stepped into the space between them, shattering the shadows with a sweep of herhand.
Fael gasped as his fury broke loose, stumbling forward as his power surged like wildfire around her—but it didn’t harm her.His magic recognized their bond.It always had.His shields had wrapped her; his hands had called her back from the Void.And the Void had always shown itself freely tohim.
How strange,she thought,to see him so off-balance—this warrior who carries himself with such grace and strength.
She took his hand, lacing her fingers through his.He stared down at the flame encircling her wrist—a living bracelet of fire that traveled up her arm to the edge of her sleeve.Wonder filled hiseyes.
“Fael.”Her voice broke.“I never thought I’d be free or trust myself again.I didn’t think I was strong enough.But I am strong—and I’m brave.You helped me seethat.”
She paused, then continued, her voice steady.
“You are my home, Fael.My truth.”
She pulled his hand and the fire toward her, sure and confident, and pressed her lips to his, claiminghim.
His arms wrapped tightly around her back, one hand sliding down to grip her backside, curving beneath it.Tighter, he gripped her, until she could barely tell where they each ended and the other began.Their breaths came fast as the kiss deepened.His tongue brushed gently against her lips, and she opened to him.He was gentle but insistent, every sweep of his tongue a plea formore.
Ren’wyn didn’t want to breathe or think—she only wantedhim.
Forget Esrin.Forget Erst.Forget fear and weakness.Fael blazed a path forward, and she chose to walk it with him—a path they would forge together in strength andhope.
She pressed harder into his chest, and he broke the kiss with a ragged breath, staring down at her swollen lips, still parted.
Fael groaned as he pressed her back gently.“We can’t.Not here.There’s no privacy.”His voice was strained, thick with frustration.“And I don’t think I can…” His eyes darkened with want.“I want to—but not likethis.”
His words sent a thrill through her, and she blushed as he tilted her head and brushed his nose along her neck, up to herear.
He stepped back, flushed and breathing heavily, and Ren’wyn almost begged him to forget the circumstances.They had certainly fought loudly enough for everyone tohear.
But she respected him and stayed a hand’s distanceaway.
A few deep breaths, and she could almost pretend she was calm again.
She turned and reached for the water flask resting on the travel box at the foot of his cot.The movement hurt physically—an ache in her chest and a thrum between her legs that made her knees weak.The feel of him clung to her—his eyes, his hands, his power.She took a long drink, trying to cool the heat in her body before facing him again.
Fael had recovered.His breathing was even, his arms crossed over his broad chest.She wanted to touch him but clenched her hands in her skirt instead.
Dangerous.This closeness is dangerous.
“Goodnight, Fael,” she said, voice thick with raw vulnerability and desire.
As she stepped toward the tent flap, his hand slid to her hip, and he pressed his solid chest against her back.Heat rushed through her as his lips brushed herear.
“I made you a promise yesterday,” he whispered.She arched into him, and he smiled against the shell of her ear.“I’ll make it again.I will have you.The first moment we are truly alone—there will be no stopping us.Untilthen…”
