No matter what that end would bring.
We might very well be slaughtered in Blackmoon Bay, but after being forced into hiding for thousands of years, we were damn well ready to fight—and fight hard.
Fuckanyonewho thought we’d go out quietly.
A few nights after our training had begun in earnest, Ronan and I took a break from sparring with Elena and Emilio to take the hounds for a walk along the shoreline, sneaking in some long overdue alone time.
We walked in silence for a while, keeping as close together as our curse would allow. It was our new normal—the “almost” we’d adapted to, almost without realizing it. He couldalmostbrush a lock of hair behind my hear. I couldalmostlean up on my toes and kiss a path along his beard. He couldalmostwrap me in his arms, push me against the wall, and…
“Ronan, we can’t wait any longer.”
He nodded without meeting my eyes, knowing exactly where my mind had gone. Where ithadbeen, ever since the blood spell.
The moment I realized I’d yanked Trinity’s hair out of the astral plane and into our reality—that I’d captured physical proof that we knew of her whereabouts—the wheels began to turn.
We had leverage now. A new bargaining chip to offer Sebastian.
“We’re heading into the Bay in six days,” I said. “This needs to be settled up before then.”
Ronan nodded, but didn’t respond.
I stopped, turning to meet his eyes. “I need to see him. It’s our best shot.”
Ronan held my gaze for only a moment before cutting away, his eyes roaming the dark, choppy sea, a stiff wind blowing the hair in front of his eyes. When he finally turned to look at me again, he said simply, “We.”
“We what?”
“Weneed to see him. We’re doing it together, Gray, or not at all.”
I bit back a smile, toeing the ice with my boot. “So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh Vacarro?”
“That’s how itis, Desario.” He shot me another quick glance, catching my smile, his own crooked grin making me dizzy. A hundred, a thousand, a million years from now, I had no doubt he’d still have the same effect on me.
“So tell me something,” he said, continuing our walk. “Once the Prince of Hell lets you out of your deal, what’s your endgame?”
“Ronan, he’s not going to let me out of the deal. Not even for Trinity.” I swallowed my disappointment, stopping our forward motion and meeting his eyes once again. “Do you… Do you really think that’s what this is about?”
Ronan sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “No. Just had to be sure. It’s a big risk, Gray.”
I looked deep into his eyes, so familiar, yet still so mysterious. There was so much more I wanted to know about Ronan—about his past, his human life, all the times and places our lives had intersected.
Before all of this started, some part of me assumed that no matter what had happened between us, we would always be friends. That we’d grow old together in Blackmoon Bay, even though Ronan wouldn't age. It was a nice fairytale picture, one that used to get me through the dark days.
But that felt like a million years ago. Now, I was immortal, too.
Now, I knew what dark days really were.
“You were born for this, Gray,” Ronan said, once again sensing the direction of my thoughts. “I’ve always known it.”
But I didn’t want to talk about the war we’d yet to face, about the witches back at the lodge, about all the crazy shit still brewing on the horizon.
“I was born foryou,” I said. “Born to fall in love with you. Born to build a life with you. Born to… totouchyou.” I reached for his face, the wind blowing the tips of his hair against my fingers—an all-to-brief tease that made my heart ache even as it strengthened my resolve.
If Sebastian accepted my counter-offer, I would never take Ronan’s touch for granted again. Never push him away. Never shut him out.
It didn’t matter whether we had days, weeks, or a thousand years together. I would never let him go.
I closed my eyes, the frozen sea mist coating my lashes, the truth settling deep in my heart. Even if Sebastian refused, and our curse remained for the rest of our immortal days, that wouldn’t change the way I felt. Ronan was mine, and I was his.
