She reached out to them automatically, a yearning passed through the connection, and it took me a few seconds to put a name to it. She wanted these babies. Our babies. She wanted them with a fierceness that obliterated every doubt and worry I could imagine. The strength of her longing made her reach out for me. I met her hand without a word.
“Can I?” she asked, but I was already reaching to lift one glowing orb from its stand.
As I brought it closer, the shadowy, ethereal movements became more visible. Or at least the barest shifting of light. We were holding a little soul—our future child—in our hands. I shifted closer and my chest pressed against Elena’s back. In that moment with her in my arms holding our future, I felt her understanding. She knew why I was willing to risk everything to save these lives. She flung out her thoughts, searching for me, and I caught her without hesitation.
When the time was right, if we ever broke the curse, ne of these souls would choose us to bring them into this world. It was an honor above all others. One I hoped we’d get to experience together.
“I want this with you,” she said.
I released a long, slow breath and wrapped my hands around her waist and held her so close there wasn’t a breath between us.
“You won’t regret it.”
We stood there for a long time. I wasn’t sure how long because there was no light save for the eggs. Tears slicked down her cheeks, and I held her as long as she liked.
I tucked my face into her neck as she cradled the egg in her hands. “I love you, Elena,” I said aloud, and for a second the words echoed around us without response.
She turned to me, slowly. “What did you say?” she asked.
A little smile tugged at my lips and I moved closer, the heat around us snapping and crackling with dangerous intent. Emotions swirled between us, held aloft by a turbulent storm, whipped into a frenzy by hope and elation.
As though she were the most delicate thing I’d ever beheld, I caressed her face with the back of my fingers, then kissed her eyelids, then her nose, and finally her mouth.
“I love you,” I said.
She pulled me close, needing the three-fold connection, craving her touch. The moment my lips touched hers, the air around us became charged with electric heat. I swear I could hear it sizzle as her tongue met my own and my hands touched everywhere I could reach.
Finally, our bond said.
The connection between us, without barriers, was indescribable. Joyous, terrifying, heart-wrenching. A maelstrom. It was as though we were forged by the same blacksmith, from the same ore. A lock and its matching key. Wrought from unbreakable metals and tested by the brightest flame.
“Take me to bed,” she moaned against my lips. “I need you.”
“We may not make it to the bed,” I warned as I cursed.
Elena replaced the egg with care, and then we began to stumble through the pedestals.
We were halfway across the never-ending room, when I surfaced enough to realize the eggs didn’t look the same. Elena must have noticed it too because she tugged at my hand to slow me down.
“Look,” she whispered, afraid to speak too loudly and stop the sight before me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, then I followed her gaze.
What I saw made my hand tighten painfully around hers, but she didn’t seem to notice.
All I could focus on were the eggs. Which were shining even more brightly. Their incandescence was almost hard to behold, and we had to squirt in order to see.
“What…what does this mean?”
I was at a loss for words. “We must find Alaric.”
We were nearing the room’s exit, the eggs still glowing madly, when we heard a great crash and the caves shuddered under the impact, dust showering down and rocks shaking loose and shattering in the halls.
I met her gaze and I didn’t need to say a word. She already knew what I was thinking.
We were under attack.
24
