“No. No! This is all wrong!” Damien screamed at us, his hands lacing through his hair. His eyes were wild as he took us in. “YOU CAN’T HAVE HER! I WON’T LET YOU!”
Matthew rolled his eyes. “Really, Damien… This is all getting a bit tiresome. The lady and I were just having a simple conversation, but I think she’s made her decision quite clear.” He cleared his throat and nodded at the doorway once more. “You need to leave.” His eyes narrowed, “And if you ever insinuate anything less than honorable about her, I’ll kill you where you stand.”
Damien lunged forward, but before he finished his step, Matthew had taken my hand and transported us. We left the desolated cottage far behind, and I felt my heart fracture just a little more. This felt like a concluding chapter in my life. There was no coming back from this. At least, as far as I was concerned with Damien.
Matthew immediately turned to me and clutched my face in his hands. “Are you okay?” Night had truly fallen during the argument. I wanted to look around at our surroundings, but Matthew’s hands kept my face locked on his. “Eva?”
I blinked, not registering anything he was saying. I felt completely numb with Damien’s words from the past month playing over and over in my head.
“This isn’t her.”
“She would never turn her back on me, on her family.”
“The Eva that I love would never do this.”
“Did you fuck him? Is that why you’re defending him?”
“I don’t want damaged goods, anyway.”
I was going to be sick. I stepped away, hurling the contents of my stomach onto the ground beside me. The tears followed, falling swiftly to the ground. I tried to inhale the chill evening air, but I felt like I couldn’t get the deep breath I needed. The cold air nipped at my skin, a reminder that I was effectively homeless. I would have chuckled if it wasn’t so damn heartbreaking. Matthew came up behind me, resting a hand on my back. I let my body fall back into his embrace and he wrapped his arms around me as I continued to cry.
“He called me a whore. He thought I slept with you, that I was damaged goods.” Sobs wrecked my body and rain poured from above. I screamed out into the wide-open area and lightening crashed through the sky. Matthew held me closer and rocked me back and forth, murmuring soft praises in my ear. How could someone be so selfless? He didn’t know me, he owed me no loyalty. Yet here he was, comforting me as if I was a long-lost friend. He risked everything to bring me with him, barely questioning me when I told him what I wanted. And he stood by me as I confronted Damien, steady as a rock against the tide.
Time ceased to exist, as if it had no meaning at all. My focus was on his soothing voice telling me to take deep breaths. The rain intensified his scent, and I wanted to lose myself and drown in it.
“I could kill him for how he spoke to you,” he whispered in my ear. “How he can claim to love you and say those things to you…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head. I turned my head to face him. The tears and the rain seemed to ease up just for a moment as we locked eyes. I opened my mouth to say something, but there were so many things that wanted to come out, but nothing felt right, so I shut my mouth. What could I even say when I didn’t understand what I was feeling? Tentatively, I reached out and touched his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch. The site would have brought me to my knees had I not already been on the ground. I turned my body to face his, and my other hand snaked around his neck.
“Eva…” My name was a mix between a plea and a warning on his lips. It was intoxicating, and I wanted more. I needed to do this… I needed to know if he felt the same way, this undeniable current that passed through us.
I crashed my lips onto his, and the touch was like a lightning strike. Nothing had ever felt so right and wrong at the same time. My entire body tingled with the sensation. It was as if I had been drowning my entire life and his kiss had given me air to breathe, like his kiss saved me. I clutched at his shirt in order to get his body closer to mine because I couldn’t get enough of him. The feeling was powerful and all-consuming.
He pulled back, and I saw the passion in his eyes. I let go of my breath and our foreheads met. He kept me clutched in his arms. “The rain seems to have stopped. Would you have anything to do with the sudden weather changes?” His laugh was contagious. I couldn’t help but smile with him and chuckle.
I pulled back to look at him and shrugged my shoulders. “Sometimes it’s a blessing and others it’s a curse – kind of like me.” He kissed my forehead and sighed.
“You could never be a curse, Eva. Might be a pain in the ass sometimes,” I swatted at his chest lightly and laughed. His face grew serious for just a moment, and I felt my heart speed up. “But you’re never a curse.” He kissed my forehead again and kept me in his arms.
I suddenly realized that this was where I’d be content to stay forever.
25
EVA
Iwoke up to soft light streaming in from the window, birds chirping softly outside, and Matthew in bed beside me. In short, it felt like a damn dream. I almost wanted to pinch myself to know if it was real, but when I looked down at the man lying beside me… There was no way that I was going to give this up.
Last night, we had landed in the garden of a sweet little cottage that Matthew had been staying in. He really had been close to Helia. I wanted to ask him how long he had been here, but I think I already knew that he had been here all along. It was comforting to know that he had always been so close. Also, it meant that I knew where I was in the event that I decided I wanted to go back.
Not that I didn’t think Matthew would take me back if I asked, but I didn’t want to put him at risk if he took me home.
Home.
That was a funny word, wasn’t it? Was it even still my home? When I thought about going back, it made my stomach flop and not in a good way. But if we were still by Helia, that meant that we could be tracked, and if they found Matthew, then they would kill him. No questions asked, especially after last night. I’m not even sure if he would get a trial. No, I was sure that he wouldn’t. Damien wouldn’t be able to see past his rage and petty bullshit. And then what would happen to me? Would I be put on trial because I ran away from my duty, my job, and my birthright? My father would be heartbroken to know that I ran away willingly, but perhaps Damien would remain insistent that I was under a spell, and that wouldn’t help Matthew’s case.
I shook my head because I couldn’t think that way. I wouldn’t let him get himself killed, no matter what consequences I had to face in order to keep that from happening. We hadmuchlarger problems to face.
Like the fact The Horde had launched an attack on Helia. They were getting reckless, which meant they were either grasping at straws because our defenses were too strong to infiltrate or it was part of some larger scheme that we, unfortunately, had no more information on. We knew Helia was their intended target because they couldn’t infiltrate it in the past and because of Lachlan’s personal ties to the kingdom. It seemed like he always wanted what he couldn’t have. He had wanted my mother and killed her when she wouldn’t be with him. If he couldn’t have her, then no one could; that’s what he had told my father as a threat and he followed through on that promise.
I wasn’t sure what was so important, now she was gone though. Was it just petty revenge at this point? Did he want my father to bow down to him? He had already taken his mate from him. There was no way that my father would let Helia fall away, too. Nor would I, for that matter. My mother’s sacrifice would not be in vain and if he really was alive, then I would make sure she was avenged.
