“You need to ground me,” she whispered, just before her lips met mine.
How could I possibly manage that? When I was drowning in her and the power enveloping us, my pain dissipating into oblivion, replaced by an exhilarating rush? This felt unlike my usual command over Chaos—warmer, brighter, a kaleidoscope of vivid lights piercing through me. I opened up to her immediately, languidly taking her mouth, her taste sizzling on my tongue. With a groan, she deepened the kiss, her hand tangling in my hair, the magic intensifying, burning hotter now. My teeth sank into her bottom lip.
“Careful,”I murmured, already feeling revived by the steady pulse of power through my veins. It was so utterly natural to let my mind brush against hers, our connection immediate.“No need to rush. We have all the time in the world.”
Rada instantly gentled the flow of magic, returning to thosesinfully slow kisses from before. Her deep sigh vibrated through my entire body.
“Maker,”she whispered into my thoughts.“I forgot how wonderful this feels. To share it all.”
I lost track of time as we stayed entwined, reveling in the magic and each other’s touch, unabashedly greedy for more, acutely aware of how close we had come to losing each other again.
Eventually, it had to end. A disappointed groan escaped me as Rada pulled back, thelyr-stone underneath our hands becoming uncomfortably hot.
“You look better,” she remarked, her smile radiant as she gazed down at me.
“I feel a lot better,” I replied, pulling her in for another kiss, this one only wet heat and her taste. And just as perfect.
She indulged me for a moment longer before checking the bandage. “It worked,” she said, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes.
Indeed, some of my strength had returned, and I was finally able to sit up. I couldn’t resist teasing her a little. “Are you sure? Perhaps one more time wouldn’t hurt.”
Rada raised an eyebrow. “That remaining wound is far less severe than the one Tharion gave you.”
I looked at her with wide-eyed innocence. “You never know. Mortals die easily.”
“Impossible man,” she laughed, rising to her feet. A flash of surprise crossed her face as she tested her leg’s ability to bear her weight. “It’s better,” she exclaimed, her voice tinged with wonder.
“The Chaos magic must have healed you as well,” I commented, grasping the hand she extended to me.
Her brow furrowed in confusion as she helped me to my feet. “But I used Chaos earlier. Against Deira.”
Still feeling slightly weak from the blood loss, I slid my arm around her waist to steady myself. “Yes, but this time you were connected to me,” I said thoughtfully. “It must have given you the same advantages I have when summoning its power.”
Rada glanced at the second Chaosdagger, gleaming ominously beside Kaius’s lifeless body. “We should take that with us. We might need it.”
I nodded in agreement. If Deira’s words held any truth and my former servants could find me anywhere, we would need every bit of power we could get our hands on.
With a grave expression, Rada retrieved the dagger. “And now, back to Aron-Lyr,” she said. Tendrils of Chaos swirled around her, forming a shimmering gate. “Let’s hope we can salvage some of the damage the Chiasma have wrought.”
CHAPTER
50
Rada
As soon as we stumbled out of the gate from the Other, I sensed something was dreadfully wrong. A tension in the air. Every gaze snapping to Noctis and me. The rain had ceased, the ground turned into squelching mud. Someone had dragged the bodies of the slain Rakash to the edge of the clearing, a gruesome reminder of what had happened. The Sundered must have left, taking Calder with them, as only Briseis, Varien, Kyree, and Tristan remained, deep in conversation.
“Rada!” Briseis cried out, stepping toward us. My instincts warned me even before I saw the fierce expression on Kyree’s face as he overtook her, charging at us.
“Murderer!” he screamed, his voice raw with fury. The Aerieth lunged at Noctis, gray feathers gleaming in the light of the setting sun, a long knife appearing in his hand.
Starfire flashed between them, halting Kyree’s advance at the last moment. Only the healer’s honed reflexes saved him from impaling himself on the sharp blade.
Our eyes met, and the hurt and betrayal in his hazel gaze cut through me like a knife. Briseis and Varien cried out in alarm. Tristan cursed under his breath, rushing to intervene. Yet my aim didn’t falter.
“You must think me a complete fool,” Kyree spat. “Did you really believe I wouldn’t find out?” He pointed his knife at Noctis. “I thought he was one of your Anima, joining you in exile. But he is someone else entirely, isn’t he? Skilled in Chaos magic, the Chiasma calling him Master. How could you lie to me like this?”
I took a deep breath, struggling to find the right words as guilt and sorrow churned within me. I had always known Kyree would feel utterly betrayed when he discovered Noctis’s true identity, yet I had accepted the inevitable pain it would cause him. To have fought alongside the man he blamed for everything he had lost, the enemy he despised so deeply—it must be tearing him apart.
