Page 50 of Secrets of Ruin

Brokk kissed the top of her head again. “It’s over… or at least that part of it is.”

“It’s over,” she murmured. “You broke through his hold over me.”

He leaned back a little to look down at her, and she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “I did?”

She smiled as she rested her hand against his cheek. “Not completely, but you chipped away at it, brought me back to life, and I love you more than I loved him. I realized that in the dungeon and hated myself for it.”

Joy and sadness warred within him as he rested his hand over hers on his face. She had one of the kindest hearts, and that useless piece of shit, who couldn’t get her without using magic, had caused her such unnecessary emotional torment.

Before he spoke again, he had to regain control of his temper. “He doesn’t have control over you anymore; he’s dead, which is the best thing that could have happened to him. We can start building our life together… if that’s what you want?”

“More than anything, but it will take me a while to get over this.”

“I’m not expecting you to get over this, Kaylia. This isn’t something you sweep under the rug and move on from, but I’ll be here for you through it all.”

She rested her head on his shoulder again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“There’s one more thing.”

Brokk braced himself for whatever she was about to say next. After everything she’d revealed already, he couldn’t imagine what more there could be.

“What is it?” he asked.

“If the potion was still working, and it must have been as I believed myself to be in love with him, then Fabian is still alive.”

Brokk’s fingers bit into her a little before he eased his grip. Resting his chin on her head, he hid his smile.

Good. He was going to do some hunting.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Over the next few days, Kaylia tended to Brokk’s healing wounds while also trying to nurse her own not-so-visible ones. She was still rattled by the idea that everything she’d been so certain of with Fabian was nothing but lies from an evil man who still roamed the realms.

The knowledge he was still alive made her inwardly quake. She was furious at Fabian and would kill him, but she was ashamed to admit she also feared him. He’d turned her into a different version of herself for centuries, and that knowledge terrified her.

What if he can somehow do it again? She was more powerful than when they met, but so was he.

Kaylia couldn’t imagine him somehow breaking through her love for Brokk to twist her into something else again, but she couldn’t have imagined it the first time, either. She’d do everything it took to keep that from happening.

She’d already wasted too much of her life on Fabian, and she wouldn’t waste a second more, but he haunted her thoughts. It was difficult to stop thinking about someone who had been a constant part of her life for three hundred years.

She wished he’d go away. Maybe once he was dead, things would be better, and she had no doubt he would die. If she didn’t kill him, Brokk would.

As Kaylia sat on the window seat inside the room Brokk had returned to that morning, she watched the dragons soaring across the sky, guarding Dragonia and hunting. They were beautiful, powerful, terrifying, and she loved watching them.

She shifted her attention to Brokk’s bedroom. It was very much like the man himself—simple, elegant, yet earthy and warm in its tones. The dark furniture, as did the deep blue comforter, stood out against the pale gray walls.

The sitting room, through the door he’d just entered, was the same color with dark brown couches, a bar, and a built-in bookcase loaded with books. The rain and man scent he emanated filled the two rooms, making them more welcoming.

“You know,” Kaylia said as Brokk settled into a chair a few feet away, “I’ve been thinking.”

He stopped in the middle of putting his boot on to look up at her. It took a few seconds, but she finally met his gaze. His aqua eyes weren’t as bright as they once were, his ciphers remained faded, and he was still too thin with his gaunt cheekbones, but he’d shaved the beard, and his handsome face was exposed.

She clenched her fingers as she resisted the impulse to lean toward him and stroke his cheek. He needed to feed on something more than blood and food, but they hadn’t talked about sex.

“About what?” he asked.