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There was something so seductive about second chances.
I wiped my face on his jacket, leaving a smear of tears and blood. “Why did you marry me, Tavion?”
He raised his eyes to mine, still as green as a summer forest.
“Because I couldn’t let you go. And marrying you the way I did…” His gentle smile was something I would carry with me forever, even after he was dead.
“That was the only way I could keep you without exposing too much of myself in the process. But the truth is, I lost my heart to you a long time ago. I was just to fucking stubborn to admit it.”
“After we get out of here.” I swallowed, steadying my shaking legs as they bent beneath his weight. “When you’re healed and we’re safe, I want to start over. Without Julian between us. Without all our combined bullshite stopping us.”
“I’d like that.” His sigh became a breathless moan.
We stayed like that for a long time, and then my legs finally gave out. We slid to the floor together, his arms around me, my head against his chest.
“Leave me here, Anaria.” Tavion managed to touch my face before his arm fell limply away. “Leave while you can. Don’t make me…” He swallowed. “Don’t make me die knowing I caused your death, too.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, I’m not leaving you.”
But we were too high up. Too far from Torin.
“At least the view’s nice,” I murmured, looking out over the city. I blinked, and the city was replaced by a golden owl looking almost aggravated.
If owls could look aggravated.
A flash and he became the Fae male, naked as the day he was born, but I could care less, as long as he was here to help.
“You take one arm; I’ll take the other.”
Yup, that was definitely aggravation in his voice, and I ducked under Tavion’s limp arm, the owl shifter doing the same on his other side, and with a deep, united groan that came from all three of us, we heaved him to his feet.
* * *
“Holy gods,”Torin whispered when we stumbled across the last few feet to where she waited, lurching to her feet. “How is he alive?”
The owl shifter—I still didn’t know his name—looked down at his blood-smeared body and grimaced.
“I don’t know. But if you get us out of here and to Raziel, I will give you anything you want,” I promised. “Anything, Torin. Just…hurry.”
“Ready?” The shifter murmured before settling Tavion’s weight back onto me, his shredded arms draped over my shoulders, face buried in my hair.
“Hang on, just a little longer,” I pleaded. “A few more minutes until Raziel can heal you. Then you can snipe at me, and I’ll argue with you, and everything will go back to how it was until the end of godsdamned eternity.Just don’t you dare die.”
Except, after this, everything would be different.
And my raging heart already knew it.
56
ANARIA
Raziel was already flying toward us when we appeared, shouting for Zor and Tristan toget their godsdamned arses in gear.
I couldn’t say I’d ever heard that level of panic in his voice before.
Zor lunged out of the darkness as we collapsed in a heap by the fire, close enough the heat penetrated my still-frozen body. Zor peeled Tavion off me, Torin brushing dirt off her dress, her nose wrinkling.
Then Raz was in front of me, gripping my face between his palms, his eyes wild.
