Page 165 of Ashborne Forged

“So fucking beautiful. I’ve got you. I’ll always have you. I’ve got you. I’ve got you, Grace. You’re mine.”

“I love you!” I gasped, and he shuddered, his words jumbling with a cry, half-sentences mingled with tortured groans, stifled and swallowed and shivering, until finally, the tide of this incredible moment washed away, sucking it all back, easing… and we slumped.

For a time, I knew nothing but the circle of his arms, the strength of his grip, his panting on my neck, and the steel presence of him filling me.

But as the fog of pleasure slowly faded, those murmured breaths became words, and my tears of joy returned.

“…show us the way. Please, God. We need you. Show us how to get through this. She’s the one you gave me. I can’t lose her. I can’t.”

55. Need You

~ GRACE ~

We both returned to sanity in pieces. Every limb trembling. Even lips.

For long moments, I stared at the wall in front of me, at his hand, gripping mine, his fingers curled around mine so tightly, and the thought of losing that touch—which had to happen—made me shiver again.

Voski still leaned at my back, but he held me against him, straightening, steadying his stance, preparing to leave me. I knew he had to. We must. This should never have happened. The risk… but I couldn’t regret it.

So, when he didn’t let me go right away, I didn’t protest. I stayed in his arms. Remained leaning against him. Fighting the urge to take him, run, and never look back. If he’d made it in here, he could get me out. They’d find out quickly but—

“Are you still taking the herbs?” he croaked, jolting me out of fantasy and back to reality.

A piece of my heart sank. “I’ve only got a few days left.”

“I’ll get you more.”

Neither of us spoke, but the spell had been broken. We separated slowly. I couldn’t help but smile when he cursed, leaving me. But then took a moment to clean me up, whispering all the time—while his hands trembled on my skin.

“I have a plan, Grace. You aren’t alone. You’re never alone—even if you can’t see me, I’m near. I promise.”

“I know,” I whispered, nodding. “I can feel you.”

He turned me then, staring down at me, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine, his mouth turned down at the corners. But his shaking hands, when he lifted them to cup my face, were gentle.

And then he kissed me.

Not the fierce, needy clash of minutes before. But the soft, tender sip of love.

Pleasure, need, and adoration pebbled my skin. I gripped his lapels and pulled him in, a sob escaping my throat. And his hands tightened on me in response. We stumbled back a step together. But he cupped my head, protected my hair from the rough stone wall as he tilted his head to take the kiss deeper.

There was a clunk, a faint sound, but it came from the room where Breckon had disappeared with the royals, and we both scrambled.

I gasped, as Voski whirled, one arm around my waist, pulling me back to the door, pressing me out, under the curtain, hurriedly checking my hair and my dress—his fingers trembling when he tucked one strand behind my ear, then stared at me.

We both went still.

‘We have to let go.’

He nodded. Neither of us moved.

‘Voski—’

‘You must take care, Firebird!’ Koa whispered in my mind.

I leaned up on my toes, eyes screwed tightly shut against tears, as I gripped the back of his neck, kissed him soundly, then let go.

He made a tiny, broken noise in his throat, but he released me, sinking back into the hidden passage, pulling the door with him, as I slipped out from behind the curtains in the way I’d learned over years of practice.