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Not exactly the best means to express one’s love for another.
He shook his head. As much as Davian would like to blame his inability to reach out to Jade these past several weeks on his lack of romantic experience, he couldn’t rely on that shortcoming as an excuse. The truth was, he hadn’t pursued a reunion with her because the obstacles seemed too great; not just the undermining of his authority in various capacities, but also because his very sanity was threatened when it came to her daredevil ways.
This still weighed heavy on his mind when he heard Thunder neigh softly, in both welcome of an unexpected visitor and in warning to Davian. Moments later, the sound of booted feet on the stone steps caused his pulse to spike. He knew who was about to join him before Jade even crested the landing.
She walked slowly toward him, her tension visible, palpable.
Her gaze slid to the view he’d been admiring. “Master of all you survey, hmm?”
He hopped down from the ledge. “Not all.” Not her, certainly. He took her in from head to toe, dressed in black pants and a lightweight gray sweater. She had mud on her hands and knees, along with a few smudges on her face. “Starting your gardening?” he mused, keeping his tone light, though his gut twisted with insatiable longing at the sight of her.
An overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her, wholly forgetting she constantly defied him and put herself in harm’s way, clawed at him. But he resisted
the temptation.
She said, “Actually, I’ve been searching for the necklace. Sheena has been helping too. At night when I have my watch.”
His brow dipped. “You’re rooting around on hands and knees?”
“I’m going to find the pendant and return it to you,” she insisted. “I don’t care what it takes.”
He stepped toward her, held out his hand and uncurled his fingers. In his palm lay the Star of Nathea.
She gasped and obvious relief washed over her. “You found it. Oh, thank God!” She pressed a hand to her chest, at the very spot the fire wraith had slashed it open, bringing back hellish memories for Davian.
Yet Jade said, “I am so happy.”
Closing the gap between them, Davian told her, “Take it.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Absolutely not.”
“I gave it to you as a gift, Jade. It’s yours.”
“No,” she said, her voice cracking. “You gave it to someone you thought you loved.”
“I gave it to someone I do love.” He stared down at her, gauging her reaction to his words.
Her lips quivered and a few tears tumbled down her rosy cheeks, piercing him straight to his damned soul.
“When you love someone,” she said, “you don’t shut them out of your life. I’ve learned that recently.”
He thought of Sheena’s comment about not visiting Jade a while back, and accepted that his absence had likely hurt Jade. So he clearly hadn’t been the only one to suffer through the time and distance.
A peculiar apprehension gripped him. “I haven’t yet figured out how to be with you and not try to control everything you do. Not from an arrogant or tyrannical standpoint, but because if something were to happen to you…” He felt a burning sensation in his heart over the potential torment.
In a quiet voice, Jade said, “I’ve told you, Davian…you have to accept that I’m human and mortal. I will die. In battle, from disease or old age. It’s a certainty no one can escape—not even you.”
“You’re wrong,” he ground out. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”
“You can’t protect me every second of the day. Nor would I want to be so stifled. I’ve come to terms with what I’m capable of and I can no longer live with the easy, narrow path in life. I want more—a future. I want to help humans and demons. I want to be someone who makes a difference. You’ve helped me to become this person. To see beyond my present—and my misery. You’ve helped me to evolve, Davian. And I can’t return to complacency.”
She drew in a breath, as though to steady herself. She had more to say. He waited patiently.
She explained, “I might not be the perfect solution for world peace or the right woman to be your queen, but I can continue to study life on both sides of the border and strengthen relations between our worlds.”
Contradictory thoughts assaulted Davian’s mind. As usual, they waged a war in his brain as to whether he should give in or keep pushing back. But a prevailing notion overruled everything sensible he had to say on the matter. He wasn’t one to let his emotions trump his rationale, yet one glaring fact could not be overlooked. Even as agitated and confused as he’d been the past month—and each time Jade had been injured—he couldn’t deny that he respected her tenacity. Nor could he let go of his love for her.
Sweeping aside his pride, he asked, “Do you understand the concept of compromise?”
