“I’ve been angry with you,” she says.
I don’t respond. I let her speak.
Her gaze doesn’t leave mine as she continues. “After I left your office, I thought I’d done the right thing. But...” Her fingers rise to touch her chest, right where I feel our bond beneath my own ribs. “But the right thing shouldn’t hurt like this.” She frowns, her forehead furrowing.
I feel it too. The pain, the yearning, the unquenchable thirst.
Maeve’s eyes narrow. I feel her storm stirring in our bond, as if I’m the one with magic in my veins.
“But what I said that day hasn’t changed. I don’t need you to protect me, Severin. What I need is for you to see me, to respect my choices. You can’t choose my path. Only I can do that.”
Her hand drops from her chest, fingers curling into a fist at her side.
And I know now that it’s my turn to speak, to tell her the truth that’s been battering at my throat, trying so hard to come out. She deserves to know.All of it.
I step forward, though there’s still enough distance between us that I can’t yet reach out and touch her.
“You’re right,” I say.
The bond thrums with her surprise. Her eyes widen just a fraction.
“Out of my own fear, I confused protection with possession.” I hold her gaze. “But I know I can never possess you, Maeve. Storms refuse containment, after all.”
I can tell she wants to smile, but she resists. I continue.
“I feared losing you. I feared what the bond would do to you. Your future is yours, and I worried that I was commandeering it, steering it to my will.”
She gives a quick shake of her head. “You’re wrong,” she says, taking a step toward me. “That’s where you need to stop.” Her voice is softer now but no less powerful. “Believing you have the ability to commandeer my life just shows that you don’t think I have control over my own destiny. And in a way, I don’t. There’s only so much I can do to guide my life forward. But you need to trust me, Severin. You need to let me make my own choices, regardless of whether you think they’re good for me or not. Even if it means making mistakes.” Her lips press into a firm line. “If you can’t do that, it means you can’t see me as my own person.”
Her words land with quiet conviction, cutting through the walls we’ve both built up. I draw a long breath and let it out in a sigh that steams from my lips.
“You’ve never needed saving, Maeve,” I say softly. “I see that now. I seeyou.” My gaze meets hers. “I will always want toprotect you—so long as I draw breath—but I know you don’t need it. And I know trying to restrain you is not the same thing as loving you. Loving you”—I take one more step, the snow crunching beneath my boots—“means standing beside you as you become exactly whoyouwish to be.”
The wind stirs around us, making Maeve’s hair and cloak flutter. She tips her head back to meet my eyes. “And if who I’m meant to be,” she says slowly, “is someone who chooses you? What then?”
My thirst flares, clawing at my throat. Her scent is all around me now, but I push it aside to focus on her. And there’s only one response I can give her.
“Then I will spend the rest of my existence striving to be worthy of that choice.”
Her eyes narrow. I feel a challenge rising in the bond. “I don’t want half of you. Choosing you means choosingallof you. I don’t want distance and to wonder what you’re holding back from me. I want truth. I want an equal partnership. I want to make choicestogether.”
That word makes the bond pulse, and we both catch our breath.
“Can you agree to that?” Maeve asks.
It doesn’t take me long to consider it. I’ve already been over this in my own head—hundreds of times now, if not thousands. I’ve spent too many sleepless nights lying awake, imagining this exact conversation.
“I see the mistakes I made,” I whisper. “And I won’t make them again.” I steel myself. I have to tell her. She needs to know. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”
Maeve’s gaze sharpens, but she says nothing. She waits, head canting slightly to one side.
I draw a breath. And I don’t look away as I say, “The blood bond... If it fuses permanently, if I continue to feed from you, it will change you.”
She arches one brow.
My fists tighten at my sides. “It may extend your lifespan. Beyond what a human life should be. Though I don’t know by how long.” I shake my head once, frustrated at my lack of knowledge, angry with myself for not knowing with certainty what this could mean for her.
At first, Maeve doesn’t react. She just looks at me, searching my face, as if trying to determine if she heard me correctly.
