Page 340 of Black Reign

Still here.

My eyes burn.

“You're making this very difficult.”

His mouth curves faintly.

“You're welcome.”

The priest looks at me.

Apparently it is my turn.

Wonderful.

I look down at our joined hands.

Then at the field.

My field.

My childhood.

My father's sky stretched endlessly above us.

“I spent most of my life believing safety meant nobody knowing where to find me.”

Xavier's expression changes.

“I thought being invisible meant being free.”

The wind catches my curls.

“I became very good at disappearing.”

“You did.”

I narrow my eyes.

“Don't interrupt my vows.”

“Sorry.”

He isn't.

I continue.

“Then I met an irritating man in a place that didn't really exist.”

His thumb moves against my hand.

“I didn't know his name. I didn't know his face. I didn't know what country he was sitting in most nights.”

I smile through the pressure building behind my eyes.

“But somehow he became the person I trusted most.”

Xavier goes very still.