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T growled in warning.
I ignored him, taking a deep, steadying breath.
T growled more aggressively, but there was still an edge of impatience to it. He didn’t really believe I’d follow through, and he was huffing like I was massively inconveniencing him by making baseless threats.
There was nothing baseless about them, though. I’d come too far to cower away in fear now, watching the conflict unfold from my safe perch in the clouds, away from it all.
I’d spent my entire life watching on the sidelines. I’d managed to convince my parents to let me escape to Milton, just to really cement my place on the outside looking in. I’d lost count of the number of times I’d bitten my tongue, and stood aside when Iknewwhat I was seeing was wrong. Ever the dutiful agathos, the dutiful employee, the dutiful daughter.
Not anymore.
The calm sense of otherness that lived within me—not my darkness, though I’d always thought of it that way—spread through my body, warming my limbs. It had never been darkness, it had been strength. It had beenpotential, if only I was brave enough to reach for it.
I looked T in the eye, giving him a soft smile as that feeling of rightness settled in my gut. “If you drag me back here, I’ll only leave again. I’ll never stop trying to get away. Not when there are people I care about on that field who need my help.”
And with that, I threw myself backward, free-falling into the air.
The mere seconds I fell felt like the longest of my life, then T was there, snatching me out of the air with such a ferocious growl that sparks flew out of his nose.
He was livid, but to my relief, he headed for the battlefield, adjusting his grip until I was held in a somewhat dignified position in his hands, my long, tangled hair flying through the wind behind me.
T looped around the enemy forces, blowing out a stream of fire that made my skin uncomfortably hot, encircling them in flames for a brief moment before the soil itself seemed to rise and swallow it. It had effectively destabilized the mostly agathos army though, and T left them scrambling as he flew down to where the Spartoi had retreated, setting me down carefully before turning to face the plateau, standing guard.
Wild lowered his shield, staring at me with a mixture of awe and disbelief as I crossed the distance between us, the rest of our surroundings fading away for a brief moment.
He was here. Safe. And I was going to hold onto him and never let him go.
Chapter 23
“Grace,”WildraspedasI picked up my pace.
I’d been halfway to running toward him, to throwing myself in his arms, but hearing my name on his lips for the first time in real life, outside of the dreamscape, brought me to my knees.
“Fuck, Grace,” Wild said, panicking slightly as he closed the distance between us, dropping his weapons and sinking to the ground on his knees along with me. “I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
I was crying so hard that I couldn’t speak—big, ugly, gasping sobs for air. Why was he so far away? Why was he apologizing? I just wanted him to wrap me in his giant arms and tell me it was okay, tohearreassurance in his beautiful, deep voice.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” he chanted under his breath, reaching for me but still not touching me.
“Stop saying sorry!” I sobbed, grabbing at his bronze breast plate and trying to yank him forward, but he was as solid as a mountain. I ended up pulling myself forward until I was clambering onto his lap.
“Do you forgive me?” Wild asked, banding his arms around my back and burying his head in my shoulder, finally holding me like he was supposed to, with the annoying addition of the solid armor between us.
“For what? Wild, I love you. I missed yousomuch. You just disappeared.” I gulped down some air, my voice verging on a full-blown wail.
“I hurt Riot. I thought you’d hate me.”
I grabbed his head, forcing it back so I could look into his eyes. The Spartoi surged forward around us, creating a protective wall of muscle at our backs.
“Riot is fine.” I swallowed thickly. “I don’t know where he is. I don’t know where anyone is, but they’re… well, Sophia said they’re safe. I’m not mad at you, Wild. I’m just so happy to see you. Tohearyou. How? How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” Wild scanned my eyes, the intensity of his gaze sending a shiver down my spine. “Given that it’s Thanatos, it’s probably a trick, but I’ll take what I can get.”
“Your voice is so nice,” I whispered, running my hands over his cheeks, the thick beard covering his jaw, down to his chest, over the cool, smooth armor. Taking stock of him, making sure he was okay. “I know we’re in the middle of a battlefield where a million things could kill us, but can I kiss you yet?”
Wild made a pained sound, as though he was wounded that I even had to ask, before wrapping an enormous hand around the back of my neck and dragging me into him. We met in a desperate clash of lips, teeth, and tongue, a ragged, needy edge to our messy movements. I’d run the gamut of emotions since he’d disappeared—worrying for him, missing him, loving him, occasionally being angry at him for losing his temper, chased quickly by guilt because I knew to be a Keres was to be cursed with bloodlust.
Our movements slowed into a kiss less rushed, more finessed, ruined slightly by the salt of my tears on our lips.
