Page 254 of Season Warriors & Wolves

Snow stood, too, and Eren clasped her arm. “Snow, you—”

“I hope the trip to Eldmoor goes smoothly. Let me know if you need assistance with packing,” she said, pulling away and exiting after her sister.

“Tell me you understand,” he said, his eyes still downcast.

I rested a hand on his shoulder. “I do. But I hope you do, too, old friend. Your intentions are not entirely unselfish. You’re not doing it entirely for Lilith.”

He looked up at me. “Have I told you how much I hate when you do this?”

“Hate it all you want, you coward. You will visit, won’t you?”

“They might not want to see me.”

“My wife’s heart has burned and yearned just to know you still breathe for relentless years. Thora loves you more than herself. The only one who doesn’t wish to see you, is you, Eren. Once you’re done hiding and being afraid, they will be happy to be by your side again. Raise the girl. She’s only a guiltless child with an unfortunate fate, but I want you to be there when I raise mine. I want you to be there for those two women who still need you and will always need you. I want you to let them be there for you as well. Learning to unlearn is a process, take the time. Just do not take the exit entirely.”

Snow and I sat out on the balcony, eating dinner quietly for the first of times. Hopefully ever after, but I didn’t like this quiet, not when I’d almost lost her. If she didn’t keep speaking to me at all times, I would think this was a terribly long and detailed dream.

The fork she held stopped halfway to her mouth and her eyes rose to mine. “What?”

“Why are you so far from me?”

She stood and dragged her chair to my side. “Better?”

I pushed her chair back again and lifted her up and onto my lap, pressing her against my chest. “This is better.”

“What now?” she whispered, peering back at me.

“Whatever we wish for,” I said, kissing her. “What does my heart wish for?”

“I have what I wish for. And he is so pretty.”

“Is he now?”

Her fingers skimmed my jaw, stopping over the little scar for a moment. “You would not believe it if I described to you how pretty he is.”

“I’m glad you find me so pleasant.”

“And you should see his huge c—”

I kissed her, shutting her up, her mouth curling to a smile against mine.

“You two need to start frequenting Olympia more,” Mal shouted from beneath us.

Snow hurried over the balcony edge, looking down at the veranda above where Mal was sitting, eating…biscuits. “Come up.”

“I need to be close to somewhere I can hurl.”

“Come up, Malik Castemont.”

He grinned and then faded beside my wife, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “You two should be working on making me an uncle.”

She hit him. “Uncle is leaving for maybe a week, a month, a year or ten,” she mocked, and he laughed, squeezing her cheeks with a hand and shaking her head viciously.

“Do you think I don't know what you did?”

Did? What had she done?

Snow smiled so, so innocently, almost made both of us just let it go, but her eyes gleamed and her innocent smile turned to a cruel smirk. “She should have known what happens when you mess with children.”