Ronan kissed my neck. “Better?”
“A little,” I whispered, allowing myself a few minutes to sink into the pleasure of this moment, his arms around me, his breath stirring my hair.
The pre-dawn sky was a pale shade of pink, the last of the stars winking out. All around us, white puffs of steam rose from the forest floor, the frost already beginning to melt.
It wouldn’t be long until the sun was up. The pool would thaw, my gate would appear, and we would be on our way.
“Do you think Asher’s okay?” I asked.
Ronan was silent a few beats. Then he pressed a kiss to my shoulder and said, “I think if he wasn’t, we would know it. We’d feel it.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t completely convinced.
“I’ve seen Ash fight his way out of more fucked-up situations than a hunter prison,” he said. “And now he’s got something even more important to fight for.Someone.”
This got a smile, and Ronan leaned in close, lowering his mouth to mine and feathering a gentle kiss across my lips.
We got up gingerly, picking leaves out of each other’s hair and slowly warming up to the morning.
“We good?” He pulled me into a hug and flashed a grin, but it wasn’t as good as his old ones, and it wasn’t enough to chase off the lingering cobwebs of my nightmare. I couldn’t stop thinking about the shadow man, the swords, the ending.
I smiled at him anyway, tucking my head into the spot where his shoulder met his neck and telling myself it was just a bad dream. That this entire nightmare of Shadowrealm banishment, hunter prisons, and witch murders would soon be over.
That we could actually make a life together where our toughest challenge wasn’t fighting off hunters or rescuing prisoners or breaking demon contracts, but simply finding a bed big enough to fit us all.
It was a crazy dream, and I probably should’ve known better than to let it sneak past my heart’s defenses.
But I could already feel it taking root. Blooming. A fragile, green bud shooting up from the darkness, seeking the light.
Thirty-One
Liam
The sun had risen, the ice had begun to melt, and the bright blue runes on Gray’s gateway flickered faintly beneath the surface of the pool, just as Gray had predicted.
“It’s almost time,” I told her. Ronan and Darius were just inside the woods, seeking the best place to open the hell portal. Once the ice fully melted and the gateway was accessible, we’d set our plan into motion. “Are you ready?”
“I’m not sure.” Gray’s eyes were full of concerns, haunted by shadows. “I can’t shake the feeling that something’s just… off.”
“It’s natural to have doubts, Gray. Nothing like this has ever been attempted before.”
“Do you think we’re crazy to even try?”
I considered her question. Thought about all the reasons why I might’ve said yes. Why Ishould’vesaid yes.
“There was a time I might have thought so,” I admitted.
“And now?”
“You’ve made it this far. You’ve beaten the odds at every turn. I think you’d be crazynotto try.”
Gray’s smile felt like my own personal sunrise, a beautiful dawn I wasn’t sure I deserved to look upon. “Thank you, Liam. For everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know where I’d be without your guidance. Your friendship.”
She took my hand, squeezing gently. That odd sensation in my chest took hold again, making my heart race.Myheart. I could no longer call it Liam’s. After all this time in his body, I wasn’t sure I could separate the two.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
I slipped away from her touch. Like her smile, I wasn’t sure I deserved it. “Everything I thought I knew about you, about your destiny… I was wrong, Gray. I’m afraid I’ve misled you at every turn.”
