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“I’m not dreaming?” She wasn’t sure she could trust that, after dreaming so long. After meeting him, talking to him, kissing him, making love to him in her dreams.
He nodded and pressed his forehead to hers. “Truly.”
She clung to his shirt, cognizant of the feelings, the textures, the sounds. Then she kissed him, unable to contain the feelings she couldn’t find the words for. She found sustenance in his lips, power in that connection. A kiss in the real world. “Lucian,” she breathed when she broke away. “You’re here. You did it.”
“We did it, Brin. Together. Both of us.” He framed her face with his hands, his golden eyes darting between hers. “Brinna–”
“What is it?” She ran her palms over his shoulders, unable to fulfill her need to touch him.
He swallowed, his eyes diving to her mouth then back up again. “There’s so much to say. So much I want to tell you. It’s just–” He looked around.
Brinna followed his gaze. Lachlan had hold of Tarley, who was crying in his arms, but Auri was asleep. Nix stood in the doorway, brow furrowed, staring at Auri. Brinna couldn’t understand why he was frowning.
“What’s wrong?” Brinna asked. “Nixus?”
His dark eyes flitted from Auri to Brinna. He offered her a tight smile. “Oh. We’ve met?” His frown deepened as he anxiously shifted in the doorway. “I don’t usually forget things like that.” He glanced at Lucian. “I don’t forget things.”
Brinna looked at Lucian, who pressed his mouth to her cheek and said against her skin, “He doesn’t have his memories of Auri. I had to.” His voice broke.
Brinna jerked back, staring at the face she’d come to love so deeply, a face that brought her joy, comfort, angst, frustration, but at the heart of all of the emotions, love. “What?”
“He was going to… die.” Lucian wasn’t looking at her but rather down, between them.
“Die?” She gasped.
“I had to make a choice.”
“Look at me,” she told him. When he raised his beautiful eyes to hers, she knew what a difficult choice it had been. Nixus’s life over his memories of Auri—his joy. “You did what was right,” she told him, holding his face between her hands.
Luc glanced at Auri. “What should we do?”
Because Nix wasn’t moving to wake Auri, Brinna crawled from Lucian’s lap to Auri’s side, reaching out to touch her sister’s shoulder. “Auri?” She glanced over her shoulder at Lucian. “How do we wake her up?”
“True love’s kiss.”
Brinna studied Lucian; his eyes filled with what she knew to be true. That he loved her. She was awake because he loved her. She glanced at her wrist, the ribbon gone, and longed to tell Lucian what was on her heart.
But it had to wait. Auri was still asleep.
She glanced at Nix, still standing in the doorway. “You love her, Nixus.”
He took a step back and furrowed his brow deeper. “What are you talking about?” His gaze flew to Lucian, who stood. “I don’t know her.”
“Nix–”
“I mean, she’s beautiful.” He held out a hand toward Auri. “But it feels wrong to kiss her without her consent, you know? Like I’d be taking advantage.”
“You know her,” Brinna said. “She loves you. Nixus. Please.”
Nix turned to Lucian. “Is this your version of a god’s blind date? You set me up or something?” He grinned, but it was filled with discomfort. Pressing his palm against his heart, he winced.
Lucian sighed and slid a palm across his face. “I didn’t take your memories, Nix. They’re locked up. Search your heart.”
But Nix shook his head. “You’re being weird again. I don’t forget things.”
“You forgot me,” Brinna said.
“I don’t know you,” Nix said, his ire clearly climbing as shadows coalesced around him.
