“I’m not angry anymore, Heinrich,” I admit with a sigh. “I was livid before, yes, but I get it. You couldn’t tell me about any of it without me blowing a fuse. I have been stubborn, but I don’t want to be anymore. I forgive you, and I am ready to be your luna, and I am ready to fulfill my duties beside you, and help the valley with my powers. But I can’t do that without you.”
Heinrich lets out a long, drawn-out breath as he leans in. “Do you mean that?” he whispers, and I nod as I move in, closing the little distance between our faces, my breath warming his parting lips.
“I mean it with everything in my being. I just need you to come back to me. Please. Just come back to me.”
Heinrich gives a gentle nod as our lips meet, and the kiss erupts into a fusion of dancing tongues and unyielding power that flows from my palms and fingertips into his body as if healing his soul.
That’s what I just met—our souls met in a space that blurs the lines of time and physicality, and those are the lips I am kissing now, the part of him that needed healing. I am healing his soul, so it’s strong enough to fight the effects of the silver in his physical body. And as I continue kissing him and feedinghealing energy into his soul, my eyes open to the physical world where he’s still lying on the couch.
I haven’t stopped wielding magic from the palm flattened on his wound, his blood soaking my fingers where it's pressed against his open wound. He hasn’t opened his eyes yet, but I feel movement beneath my palm, a metallic taste washing over my tongue as if I’m drawing the poison of the silver into my system.
It flows through me without poisoning me, and with my magic, I’m able to transmute the hazardous metal into nothing but invisible mist that disappears into nothing in the air.
“It’s working!” I croak, voice hoarse as I call for the attention of everyone in the room, feeling Heinrich’s skin knit under my touch as his wound heals. A smile of pure excitement grows on my lips as I wait with bated breath until he finally sucks in air through parched lips and opens his eyes.
“Heinrich!” I exclaim, throwing my arms forward and flinging myself at him.
He chuckles hoarsely as he places a loose hand on the small of my weak, still evidently weak from just having his soul returned to a body he was ready to give up on.
“Whoa…a little easy, yeah?” he chuckles, and I pull away slowly.
“I’m sorry. I’m just really glad you’re back. You almost died.”
He smiles softly at me. “You brought me back, my fearless dove,” he says as he gently cups my cheek, stroking my skin with the pad of his thumb. “You brought me back.”
This time, it’s his arms that wind around me, drawing me close as he becomes stronger in an instant, as if he hadn’t beendying just now. With the warmth of his arms and breath against my neck, I feel safer than ever and relieved that he didn’t die.
I was able to save him because of my magic.
But Ineededto save him because Ineededhim in my life, just as much as I need the air in my lungs. The profound realization has me basking in his embrace, even as the others gather around us to greet him and witness the miracle performed. Everything around us fades, and even though we’re in our physical forms, I cling to the soul I kissed, the soul I have come to love.
Chapter 22 - Heinrich
I wake up to the sound of birds chirping outside, the weight of the world slightly lessened on my shoulders because the valley feels calmer somehow. It’s evident in the crispness of the air flowing into my lungs as I inhale. Or maybe it just feels that way because of how renewed I feel after being healed and restored by my fated mate.
A smile creeps on my lips at the mere thought of Annika, and it’s what prompts me to stretch and climb out of bed with a spring in my step as I make my way to the bathroom to freshen up. I remember it clearly—how she visited me in the in-between, where my soul had been wandering, ready to meet my creator because of the fate I suffered during yesterday’s fight against the humans and demons.
She saved me, brought me back to life, fearlessly visiting that dimension and meeting my soul without even trying. It happened simply because she was determined to bring me back to life, to heal me, and there is no stronger show of love than that.
Sophie called it a miracle, while I know exactly how Annika was able to execute such an extraordinary trick.
Even if she hasn’t said those words yet, I saw it in her eyes when our souls met. In that plane, in that in-between place, there was nothing to hide, nothing that could be hidden when everything was felt without needing to put words to it.
Ifeltwhat she feels for me, and I don’t need her to say it. I mean, it would be nice to hear those words, but I would like to make a grand gesture for my proclamation of my love and devotion to her.
I have a few ideas for the execution of my plan, but I can’t go through with it until after this morning’s meeting with the council. Damian and Conan assured me that the wolves emerged victorious last night, despite my near-death experience, and the possessed humans were slaughtered, along with the demons pulling the strings.
The weapons had been destroyed, too, while Marcus Hale is being held in an underground cell in Iron Breath territory, where Conan and his pack are keeping a watchful eye on him. The plan is to extract information about the demons’ whereabouts from him and perhaps uncover the exact location of the portal as well.
He’d been knocked out in last night’s fight, and we can’t proceed with the plan until we’ve consulted with the council. I need to know that things are taken care of—for now—before I proceed with my own plan to visit the human world again.
When I’m done dressing for the day, feeling more alive than ever—especially because my mate declared that she’s ready to be my luna—I advance to the kitchen, where the aroma of hot sugar and meat catches me off guard.
This time, it’s Annika at the stove, wielding a spatula and wearing an apron, the table already spread out with the bacon and eggs she has already prepared.
“I don’t expect you to make breakfast for me,” I sigh as I step into the kitchen. “You’ve been doing enough, Anni.”
“I’m not meeting an expectation,” she relents as she turns around, a stack of pancakes on the plate she holds in one hand. “I’m doing this because I want to.”
