Page 59 of Awakened Light

“Yeah,” she answered, but she still sounded disoriented. “Okay, now I feel sick.”

“Give it a little time for your body to re-acclimate. I’ve got you.”

After a minute, she looked up and smiled. “I’m better. And we need to do that more often.”

Chuckling, I released my tight grip. “I knew you’d like it. You sure do have a need for speed, Maverick.”

“Maverick? What is that?”

“A movie reference. Top Gun. It’s just someone else who loves to go fast like you. We’ll rent it tonight.”

“I loved racing the ponies on the island, but I never really knew what speed was until I met you. And you’re right. I love it.” Her blue eyes sparkled as she waggled her eyebrows.

“Now that we’re up here, I thought we could slow down a bit and watch the sun set from the best view on the island.” With the wave of my hand, I gestured to the incredible landscape stretching out in every direction.

Catrain finally took her eyes off me and smiled when she looked at the panoramic view of the ocean. “It’s beautiful.”

“Sit,” I said as I settled into the grass. She sat beside me and pressed her head into my chest as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. The sun started its descent into the ocean, and we sat quietly and watched it.

“Does it make you sad to see the sun set?” she asked.

With a sigh, I answered, “Yes. Which is funny, because for centuries, I’d count the seconds until it went down. Now I don’t want to miss a minute in it. Hell, I’m ready to go to Norway where they have months the sun doesn’t set. In fact, we have a home there because usually we go during the Polar Night, where the sun doesn’t rise for months.” I laughed. “Funny how different my life will be after you lift the sunlight curse.”

A curse that would only lift once she left my life.

“But I’d still choose to live in the dark and not have you go back.”

Silence settled between us, then she pressed deeper into my arms. “I don’t want to go back,” she whispered. “But I have to.”

I pressed a kiss against the top of her head. “I know.”

“How am I ever going to live without this?” She gestured to the gorgeous sunset illuminating the world around us. “Without you?”

My heart squeezed in my chest as I clenched my eyes shut.

I wanted to beg. Plead. Throw myself at her feet and beseech her to stay with me.

But I’d promised to respect her decision, and I knew no matter what I said, she’d still have to go. Instead of saying what I wanted to say, I just squeezed her tighter and said, “I know, but you’ll do what you must.”

With a long exhale, she nodded her head.

“At least you don’t have to think about me with another woman. I’m done. I’m going to be a bachelor yearning for you until the end of my days. It’s me who has to live with the knowledge you’re married to Uradech.” I scoffed, then immediately regretted my words.

“It’s not that I want to marry him,” she said as she turned up to stare at me. “I would never choose to marry him. And I’ll never love him.”

“Why do you have to marry him? Can’t you just rule alone and pine for me as a single witch forever? I’d sure feel better if I didn’t have to think about you married to another man. We’ll both be miserable and alone. Right?” I tried to lighten the somber mood I’d created.

“I have to.” She looked away. “It’s a deal we made with their bloodline after the pact with the vampires fell through. His tribe moved to the island and took on the role of our protectors. In exchange for their service, one of their family gets to marry the leader of our tribe and rule at our side.”

Her words felt like a punch to the gut.

Her protectors?

I knew what the protectors of their tribe were... the ones who came after us.

The ones I thought were extinct.

The ones I thought we made extinct.