Still, they haven’t left her side since we returned. It’s like they’re afraid she might just disappear again—might end up somewhere dark and terrible where they can’t follow. Can’t protect her.
I know the feeling.
She hasn’t left our side, either. She stayed with us on the rooftop all day—insisted on it. Jude set up a tent and bedding for her, but still. I can’t imagine it was too comfortable.
I don’t think she slept a wink, anyway.
“I was hoping I could speak with Rook,” West says now. “Alone.”
The guys are worried about her—we all are—but they leave the room as she asks. The ravens are the only ones permitted to stay.
I join her by the fire, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “Everything okay?”
“Yes. I mean no. I mean…” She lets out a heavy sigh. “We haven’t had a chance to really talk since we got back, and everything was so chaotic in Wintermoon and there was never a good time and I just… I wanted to apologize, Rook.”
She meets my gaze, her eyes full of sorrow and regret.
I cradle her face, brushing her cheeks with my thumbs. “Westlyn. What in all the realms could you possibly have to apologize for?”
“Um… everything?” She laughs, but it quickly turns into a shuddering sob. “Goddess, Rook. There’s so much I need to explain. To try to make sense of the craziness and… I just… I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for what I did to the library, and—”
“No,” I whisper. I can’t bear the thought that she’s tormenting herself. “It wasn’t your fault. Not even close.”
“You saw the video. Those weremyflames, Rook. My magic. I set the books on fire with my bare hands. Fault doesn’t get any more clear than that.”
“You never intended—”
“No. But I still did it. Does intention matter?”
“In this case? Hell yes, it matters. You were tricked and manipulated by a monster far more powerful than you, than any of us.”
Tears fall from her eyes, splashing onto my thumbs. “The library waseverythingto you. Absolutely everything. And now it’s—”
“Not everything. Not even close.”
“But—”
“Westlyn.” Anger simmers inside that she could eventhinksuch a thing. “Do you haveanyidea what it felt like that night? What I went through?”
She shakes her head, lowering her gaze.
“I smelled the smoke before I could even open my eyes. We all did. In our stone forms, our senses don’t sleep, even when our bodies do. By the time the sun set and we could take on our living forms, I knew. I just knew it was the library. Seeing it engulfed, seeing the ashes of all those books floating in the air, knowing all my decades of research and hard work were gone, all that computer equipment, those precious tomes… You know what I thought? What single, terrifying thing utterlyconsumedme?” I tilt her face up, forcing her to meet my gaze again. “Where is she? That’s what I thought. I was terrified we’d lost you. I was terrified we’d find your bones in that rubble. I was terrified I’d never hold you again, never kiss you, never hear your laugh, and I wanted todie. I hate that they took you, West. Hate what they put you through. But the moment I saw the signal from your watch on my screen, far the fuck away from that fire, I felt nothing but relief.”
“But I destroyed—”
“But you werealive!” I insist. And fuck… Just saying the words out loud, remembering that night… It all comes back to me in a rush, igniting a fury inside me that burns brighter than any fire could. “Fuckingalive, woman! All those books, the electronics, the research and the loft… All of that can be replaced. Rebuilt.Youcan’t be. So no, I’m not going to stand here and blame you for this. I’m not going to let you blame yourself. I’m not going to ask you why you did it or what came over you or how the fuck that monster got inside your head. I’m just… Hell, woman. I’m just going to kiss you, because you know what, West?You’rethe only piece of this equation that’s everything to me. Absolutely everything.”
A little gasp is all she manages before I crush her mouth with mine, lips and tongues and teeth clashing. I haul her up off the floor and spin around, pinning her against the nearest wall.
I’ve only just replaced my glasses, and now those too crash to the ground with a clatter that portends their doom, but I don’t care. Add it to the list of things I’ll replace later, because right now, all that matters is this.
The feel of her, whole and alive, wild for my touch.
Desperate for it, just like I’m desperate for hers.
Not daring to break our kiss, I shred her shorts and panties with my claws, then free my cock from beneath the loincloth, pulling back just long enough to say, “Okay?”
“Yes,” she breathes, and I crash right back into her again, claiming her mouth with my tongue, claiming her divine pussy with my cock.
