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I laugh at the speed, at the feeling of flying, and suddenly yearn to feel it completely. I clamp my thighs around him and slowly release my grip. When I don’t immediately fall off, I open my arms wide. The wind whips past us, my hair blowing behind me as we run. I keep my eyes open to take it all in. As the weightlessness hits me, I start to laugh, hearing pure joy in the sound as we fly across the plains together. The laughter bubbles up and out, taking over and reminding me exactly why I want to live. I whoop and shout in excitement, and Dade throws his head back with a deep whinny as if shouting his own enjoyment.
We fly together, and my heart swells just a little more for the monsters I call mine.
When Dade begins to slow, we’re surrounded by trees again, coming full circle back into the forest. He transforms without warning, his strong arms catching me before I can tumble from his back. The grin he flashes down at me makes my insides flip as I wrap my arms around his shoulders.
“That was amazing,” I tell him, still laughing at the feeling of it.
His eyes sparkle in amusement. “I’m glad it pleased you.”
Our eyes lock while I’m high on the feeling of freedom after the run. The way he’s looking at me reminds me just how much I’ve come to care for these monsters. Fear ruled my life before, but I’m learning to live again. I reach up and cup his jaw. He knows loss like I do, and I like to think we’re both bringing each other back to life.
“Thank you,” I murmur, stroking his jaw. “Thank you for learning to live with me.”
His eyes flash with a strong emotion that’s there and gone before I can properly name it. When he leans down, I don’t pull away. He hesitates before our lips can touch, allowing me the option to pull back.
I don’t.
Instead, I lean up and close the distance, pressing my lips against his. He’s softer than I expected, moving slow and unsteady as if he has to remember the action. Once memory takes hold, his lips move against mine, caressing but not deepening. It’s a sweet kiss, a gentle one, and it tangles my insides up and makes me yearn for more of his touch. The lightning wakes beneath my skin, buzzing with excitement, desperate for release, but before anything else can happen—bang!
The sound is followed by laughter and whoops of excitement.
I freeze, my hands on Dade. He moves first, breaking the kiss and setting me gently on the ground, immediately ducking to hide his tall form. He keeps me behind him to protect me, scanning the forest in front of us. We duck farther down when they appear, hiding behind bushes to avoid detection. Rook isn’t with us to hide us with his shadows, but Dade knows what he’s doing. I press my hand against his back, terror flickering in my heart. Going from so much excitement to fear is almost exhausting, but I keep myself steady for Dade’s benefit. I won’t be the damsel in distress and distract him. I can help.
This hunting party is larger than any we’ve seen. There has to be at least two dozen men, many of them with their backs to us. My eyes trace over the ones in the middle carrying cages of dead monsters. Dade tenses, clearly wanting to act.
“Did you see the expression on that last one?” A man laughs. “I expected the monsters to be scarier. They are far easier to hunt than I was told.”
“Stick with us and you’ll get to kill all the monsters you want,” another answers with a grin. “We’ve killed thirty-nine. No one else has gotten close to us.”
My heart squeezes painfully. Thirty-nine? They’ve killed so many and for what?
Dade vibrates with anger at the admission, and before I can stop him, he’s standing from our hiding place, his hard eyes on the group of men. I can tell he’s imagining killing them.
Too many eyes turn to him, and too many weapons point at him. Although I have no doubt he can handle himself, some instinct has me standing up after him, horror in my heart.
“Dade, no!” I cry.
Silence falls across the group as they see not only this dread unicorn in human form, but a small human woman with him, and then one man steps through the others. Familiar eyes focus on mine, eyes I once looked into with love. Merryl stares at mein surprise and horror, his hand reaching out to stall the nearest man’s weapon.
The world closes in on me as my past stands before us, and he looks at me as if he never expected to see me again. How could he?
He takes a stumbling step forward that has Dade tensing further, uncertain of what’s going on.
I swallow as he opens and closes his mouth before he speaks our familiarity into the universe.
“Kai?” he rasps. “Kai, is that you?”
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
KAI
Dade’s head jerks to me, his eyes wide and confused.
“Kai, it is. It is you,” Merrylwhispers, making Dade whip back to face him and let out a monstrous growl as he steps toward me, away from the hunters, his need to protect too strong to ignore.
Merryl glances at Dade but then focuses back on me, too stunned to concentrate on anything else. I’m silent, unsure what to say or do. It’s like looking into a mirror of my past. He looks the exact same, yet I have changed so much. I used to think this man was my future. I loved him. I cherished him. I gave him my everything.
