Page 170 of Revels on an Angel’s Grave

I love you because…

“Promise me one thing,” Roremar said.

“What?”

“Give me tonight. When we’re out here, invisible in the jungle, drop that fucking wall you keep disappearing behind.” His forehead pressed to hers, the touch screaming through her.

I love you because…

Roremar pleaded, “Stop pushing me away. Stop running.”

The words left her exposed, calling out her vulnerabilities and crutches, but Roremar was honest with her. And after all the hurt he’d experienced, he deserved whatever drops of happiness they could squeeze from life.

They were alone out here. On a mission from the Fates, and something about that made it feel so right to give in.

To be free with him.

“Tonight,” she swore.

Roremar’s relief visibly loosened his frame. He kissed her forehead, then laced their fingers together. Those three words beat through every step through the jungle, trailed on the rumbling waterfalls as they emerged on a cliff beneath a star-speckled sky.

All twelve of the Fates’ major constellations winked down at them conspiratorially, and Emmeline couldn’t help but wonder why they led them here. A spark of excitement ignited in her gut. She pulled Roremar closer to the falls.

“Wow,” she breathed.

Wisteria Falls was a natural crescent of waterfalls that cascaded over rocky cliffs. Some of the falls jutted out from lower points, but here, at the peak, the pool had to be fifty feet below. The land carved away almost looked like someone had taken a great scoop out of the earth, rivers curving into and around it.

Mist flew off the falls and into the air, spouts of water sparkling like it was pouring straight from the stars. Emmeline thought if she touched it, it would feel like pure magic.

To the south, the jungle sloped down, the water flowing calmly through the trees under the moonlight. Winged birds that had to be as large as her took to the skies, feathers dusting the treetops as they soared.

And for a moment, it was hard to imagine anything bad happening in this territory, this realm.

“It’s magnificent,” Emmeline breathed.

She wasn’t sure Roremar would hear her over the rushing water, but he said, “More than.” When she looked up, his eyes were on her.

Heat rushed to her cheeks.

I love you because…

“I never thought I’d see the falls,” Emmeline said, pressing onto her toes to be heard over the water. Roremar’s arm slipped around her waist, the touch as natural as breathing now that she didn’t have to push him away. “But I’ve read a lot about them. Theories and legends of how they formed.”

“What’s your favorite?”

“Oh…” Emmeline inhaled, gazing into the steep drop below. “I don’t have one.”

Roremar chuckled. “Yes, you do.”

His words and understanding of her burrowed into her chest. I love you.

She considered, leaning closer. “I like the ones that claim when the waters wash over you, you can only speak truths. Or…there’s one my mother told me. It was her favorite, so it became one of mine.”

Emmeline tipped her face to the stars, seeking out one brighter than the rest, pretending that was her mother winking down at her.

“Tell her about it,” Roremar said, following her gaze.

She peered at him, but instead of looking back to the stars, she waited until his silver eyes met hers. “My mother said the falls were formed when a god scooped out part of the land. She said the water…”