Page 30 of She Who Holds My Wrath

“I’m here,” I murmur, stroking her back and placing a soft kiss to her temple as I lift her fully into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist instinctively like a little koala. “I’m here.”

I move and sit on the bed with her curled on my lap, her arms tight around me like she’s afraid that if she lets go, I’ll vanish before her eyes. I take a moment to breathe her in—her soft comforting scent of coconut and lavender.

“What happened?” she whispers.

I kiss her forehead before answering. “We were in Gehenna when word came that Cinderspine was attacked. By the time we arrived, it was already rubble. The wards are intact, which means it had to be from the inside.” I let out a heavy sigh. “We have traitors.”

Her expression hardens. “The other realms?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll send word. The leaders are due here within days, but I no longer trust this place. Rats are loose in our home.”

Her hands roam my shoulders. I know exactly what she’s doing. She’s making it look like she’s comforting me, when actually, she’s searching carefully for injuries. I shudder under her touch. She’s always been like this. Her instinct to always protect me even when she’s the one who lived for centuries amongst ruthless enemies.

“And Daisy?” she asks softly.

I shake my head, grief thick in my throat. Her gasp makes me look up quick. “She’s alive,” I say quickly. “But she found two she loved. Marta, the baker. And... Theodus.” I swallow hard, trying to dislodge the lump that’s formed in my throat. “Barely sprouted his horns. Gods. He was just a boy.”

I turn my head to stare out the balcony doors, doing my best to keep the mask firmly in place despite the burn in my throat from unshed tears. Velentha’s hand lifts to my cheek, forcing me to face her. Her silver eyes blaze, fierce and unrelenting.

“Don’t do this, Aran.”

“Do what?”

“Hide it from me. You think I don’t see it? That you’re breaking?”

My jaw tightens. “If I let myself crack, even just a little, I’ll shatter completely. Korithax. Daisy. Marta. That little boy. This was never meant to be her burden. I’ve failed them all. Failed Saevyn.”

I search her eyes for disappointment. For condemnation. But there’s none. Where I expected to see a look of disgust, I only find pure, burning love. “None of this is your fault,” she whispers fiercely. “This is theirs. The Divine’s. If blame falls anywhere, it falls on me for not warning you sooner. I couldn’t escape them⁠—”

“No,” I cut in, cupping her face. “They are liars. Manipulators. Don’t you dare try and put this on yourself. This is not yours to bear.”

“Then it isn’t yours, either.” She kisses me, sweet and firm, her lips trembling against mine.

Something inside me cracks, just slightly. Just enough for her to slip in, just enough for the dam to break. I groan against her mouth, clutching her like a drowning man, and she’s my life jacket. For a while, there’s nothing but her. Her warmth, her touch, her whispers of “mine” against my skin as she distracts me with delicious touches and soft moans.

Tangled in sheets and sweat, her head rests on my chest as my hand trails absently up her spine. I kiss her hair, allowing her soft scent to comfort me. “Thank you.”

She peeks up at me, silver eyes soft in the light of the room. “For what?”

“For being you.”

She smiles that devastating smile that has had my heart in a vice-like grip from the first time I saw it—a small dimple sitting at the corner of her mouth. “As the stars remember the dark.”

“So do I remember you,” I say, smiling back.

For one heartbeat, the world feels almost whole again as I remain lost in her endless silver eyes. But, as if the world knows that happiness is just a luxury, a sharp knock shatters the bubble entirely. I curse under my breath, tugging on a black robe and smoothing back my hair to something vaguely less like ‘just had sex.’ Opening the door only slightly, ensuring I hide Velentha from view, I find two guards and two soldiers waiting. One quirks a brow at me, clearly amused.

“What is it? Has she awoken?” I ask, almost a little too sharply.

A tall, broad guard with deep blue hair and deep grey eyes shakes his head, his expression tight. “No, sir. It’s… Sovarith.”

My blood goes cold. “What about it?”

He hesitates, as if dreading to speak the next words. But finally: “The Council Spires have been attacked.”

For a moment, I can only hear my own pulse roaring. Then I nod once, sharp and controlled as the mask slips tightly back into place. “I’ll be in the war room as quickly as I can. Gather soldiers to the spires immediately. Send word to the other realms. Find Maelkar and every ruler of this domain and have them there.”

“Yes, sir.” The two guards and two soldiers bow in unison and vanish down the hall. I close the door, pressing my palm hard to the wood as I try to steady my rapid pulse.