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He stared at her with eyes that could and couldn’t see. “Tell me, Soleil.”
She pressed her hands harder against her trembling lips.
“Do you want me to leave the Galere so you can be sure I won’t see her again? Do you?”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Will you really do that for me?”
“No.”
“Then why did you even ask?” Soleil gasped, laughed, and cried. Oh, Ilie. And she cried harder when she saw his lips curve in a weary smile. Oh, Ilie—-
“Because if you were selfish enough to ask me that, then you would have given me a reason to stop loving you.” His eyes seemed to capture hers past the shields. “But you won’t ask me that, will you?”
No.
She was unaware that she had connected with him in her mind until she heard him answer gently, Then I have no reason to stop loving you.
Her heart lurched.
She watched him stand up.
Stop this madness, milord. Please.
Mihail clasped Ilie’s shoulder. “No more, Marcovici. You know we can only let you get away with so much.”
Ilie stared at the vampire. “Try stopping me.”
Behind him, the demon duke sighed. “There is no reasoning with him.”
“I say we let him do his worst,” Adrijan murmured under his breath. “It is not every day we see the wolf lord going bat shit over the woman he loves—-” As he spoke, Ilie had once again charged towards the school’s invisible shield, and this time, one of the more obnoxious school guards decided to show off. Another spell was added, and it struck a blow against Ilie, enough to make him bleed.
In the distance, wolves began to howl, the sound ominously aggressive.
The duke and his Galere all lost their smiles when they saw the blood trickling at the side of Ilie’s temple.
Soleil dug her fingers into her palms. Ilie. You’re bleeding.
Come out and heal me.
Please stop this.
Then come back to me.
It can’t be that easy.
It is. So come out. You are the heartkeeper I need. The one I will always love, and even if you die, I won’t go back to loving her. As far as I’m fucking concerned, she looks like a boy to me now—-
Do not make me sound gay, milord, the duke interrupted gently.
Then stop eavesdropping.
Or you could use a more private thread of communi—-
Soleil cut both friends off, saying, I’ll come out if you manage to break it. She closed her eyes. There, she had said something selfish. She had given him a reason to stop loving her.
Ilie pushed himself up. Alright.
Her eyes flew open. What? I’m being selfish! Didn’t you just say—-
Ma lisse. The smile in his voice sliced into her heart. Do you believe you can fool me just like that? You are a romantic, and what you are truly asking for is proof – a grand gesture so that you may let go of all your fears.
He stared at her, using his scent to guide his gaze straight to his heartkeeper’s. I’ll break this shield for you then. He shook his head. If I had only known this was the type of courtship you wanted—-
And then suddenly he was ramming the defenses in his wolf form—-
Ilie!
I would have ceased sending you flowers and just fucking got rid of the town hall for you.
His claws tore a breach through the defenses, but warding spells struck him at the same time, and his wound started to bleed anew.
Serves me right, loving one of the Trois Belle Lames—-
Another attack against the shield—-
More breaches.
More blood.
Soleil couldn’t bear it anymore.
She started to run.
The barrier dropped the moment she crossed past it—-
Ilie crashed in the ground when he suddenly found nothing to break past.
He opened his eyes tiredly just as Soleil dropped to her knees in front of him.
She started to cry. It took all of her strength to drag Ilie’s wolf form to her lap, but she managed to do so.
In her mind, he told her hoarsely, If we fight again, Chalys will be trembling in terror because what would you ask of me then?
She choked back a laugh. Oh, Ilie.
Using what little power he had left, Ilie switched back to his human form and reached up to touch his heartkeeper’s face. “Would you have me take down Brimstone’s own castle, perhaps?”
She sobbed and laughed, and when she still could not speak, she simply pressed his knuckles to her lips.
The kiss made the marquis close of his eyes. Her love, her forgiveness, her pain – all of it was in her kiss, and underlying it was her answer.
She had come back to him.
“I love you, my heartkeeper. Believe me. Please.”
A smile wobbled over her lips. “I do, milord.” Her voice caught. “I do.” And I love you, my demon. My wolf. My marquis.
Epilogue
One week later
“Lord Ilie Marcovici,” the butler announced. “Le Marquis di Lunare.”
Soleil rolled her eyes as all heads turned towards her husband. Admittedly, he deserved all the fawning and fussing, the way he cut quite the dashing figure in his burgundy coat and tight-fitting breeches.
