Page 98 of Aryn

The moment he reaches me, I grab the front of his coat with both bloody hands and pull him in. Our mouths crash together in a desperate, messy, all-consuming kiss. There is no hesitation or carefulness.

This is not gentle.

This is starvation.

I pour everything into it—every fear I felt while running, every prayer I whispered in the snow, every moment I thought I might never see him again. My hands fist in his coat, holding him like he might disappear. His arms wrap around me so tightly it hurts my wounds, but I don’t care. I deepen the kiss, tasting salt and smoke and the faint bite of ale on his tongue. He makes a broken sound against my mouth, half-sob, half-groan, and kisses me harder, like he’s trying to crawl inside me and never leave.

For one brilliant, burning moment, the entire world disappears. There is only Cato—his warmth and desperation, the way he trembles against me like I’m the only real thing left in existence. The mark on my tail burns hotter, and that familiar cinch in my gut tells me this is what it was all for. That it was worth every step and every drop of blood spilled.

I kiss him like a man who just crawled out of hell and found heaven waiting on the other side.

The strength I’d been clinging to vanishes all at once and my legs give out beneath me. Cato catches me before I hit the ground, holding me upright as the world spins. He gasps my name, panicked.

I try to speak, but darkness is already rushing in. My head drops against his shoulder. “I’m here,” I manage to whisper against his neck, voice barely audible. “I came back… like I promised. I found you.”

His arms wrap around my back, and the last thing I hear is him shouting for help before everything goes black.

Aryn

Layers of fog part to let consciousness flood in. It takes effort to open my eyes as I emerge from this dead, dreamless sleep, but I fight through the desire to fade back into nothingness.

The first thing I notice is the softness beneath me. I’m in a real bed, not a sleeping bag thrown over snow or frozen ground, and I’m covered by thick furs and woven blankets. The second thing is the heavy, familiar warmth pressed against my side. Cato curls into me, one arm draped across my chest as he sleeps with his face buried in the crook of my neck.

I lie still for a long moment, letting myself simply feel him there. My body is a map of dull, throbbing aches. The injuries to my ribs and shoulder are the worst, but when I run a careful hand over my bare torso, I find everything tightly bandaged. Someone has cleaned and tended to me while I was out.

I have no idea how much time has passed.

A day? Two? More?

I shift slightly, testing my limits. The pain makes me suck in a sharp breath, but it’s manageable. I’m alive. No permanent damage, as far as I can tell.

That’s more than I expected.

Cato stirs the moment I move, and his head lifts, eyes blinking open. They’re hazy at first, but they sharpen the instant they find mine. Relief crashes over his face so powerfully it makes my chest tighten.

“Aryn,” he breathes, voice rough with sleep.

Before I can answer, he pulls me against him. It isn’t gentle. Nothing about Cato has ever been gentle. His arms band tight around my torso, holding on to me like he could keep me awake by sheer, stubborn will alone. His thumbs brush over my shoulders and neck, and he lets out a long, shaky sigh against my skin. I hug him back just as fiercely, ignoring the protest from my side until the pain sharpens enough to make me wince. He pulls back immediately, forehead resting against mine.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he whispers.

I stare into his eyes, wishing I had the ability to capture every unique shade of brown and the golden flecks that hide within them. Worry lines his face, wrinkling the skin between his brows and along his mouth, and dark bags hang above his cheeks.

He’s exhausted in a way I’ve never seen on him before. I think back to how it felt to leave him, and the way it gnawed at this connection between us on a cellular level.

Did he feel it, too?

Did his heart break along with mine?

My lips curve in a soft smile, trying to offer the same relief I feel from having him here. “Never be sorry for that. It was… you were the only thing that gave me the strength to make it here.”

“I thought I lost you,” he murmurs, eyes fluttering closed. “Gods, I thought you were gone. The others had to drag me away. I tried to come for you.”

“I knew you would,” I say softly. “It was the only choice.”

His eyes snap open as he glares at me sternly. “Not the only one. Stop being so self-sacrificing.”

My quiet laugh sends a spike of pain up my side, and I cringe, taking a deep breath to get through the worst of it. “To be fair, you know my history.”