Page 117 of The Dark Before Light

“Marry me, Talia.” The rain carries away my soft words, so I yell them instead. “Marry me!”

She whips upright, her mouth ajar. A thick lock of wet hair is plastered to her cheek. She blinks huge eyes. “What did you just say?”

I palm her beautiful face, pressing my forehead to hers. “Marry me.” Rain mists from my lips to hers, still parted in shock. “I know who you are and where you belong—with me. You’ll always belong with me. You’re Birdie. My Birdie. Stay with me.”

The nickname hits her like electricity. She rears back to scan my face, my eyes. “It was real,” she says in disbelief. “I didn’t—I convinced myself I imagined it. Why haven’t you said anything? How long have you known?”

Before I can answer, her palm slaps over my mouth. I blink at her in bafflement. She laughs, the bell-like sound coating her words. “Sorry! I just—you can’t tell me yet, okay?”

I have no idea what’s happening, but her sparkling eyes at least reassure me that my heart isn’t about to be tossed off the cliff.

“Okay,” I mumble into her skin.

Her hand slides off my mouth, replaced a second later by her rain-slick lips. The kiss is warm and soft. An answer and a promise.

“I love you,” she murmurs. “Let’s go inside.”

Chapter 35

Talia

Barefoot but still in our wet clothes, I guide Kieran by the hand through the warm, empty house and into the dojo. When he sees the flickering candles along the walls and the two cushions in the middle of the bare wood floor, he laughs.

He lifts my hand, warm lips pressing to my cold fingers. “Did I ruin the surprise, Birdie?”

My heart, still pounding from his question outside, leaps again. I don’t answer, instead tugging him toward the pillows. We sit facing each other, our knees touching, hands clasped between us.

Kieran’s eyes shine with amusement as they track over my face. “You’re nervous,” he whispers.

“Shut up.”

His crooked grin widens even as his eyes sharpen. “Tell me.”

The eloquent speech I’ve been working on for days evaporates. I blurt, “When I walked into that graveyard, I’d never felt more alone in my entire life. I’d also never been drunk before. When I first saw you, I thought there were two of you.”

His rumbling laugh vibrates in my chest. “Two of me?”

“Two of the most beautiful, hungry-looking boys in the world,” I confirm. “Obviously, my blurred vision corrected itself.”

He nods, still grinning. “Obviously.”

I groan, knocking my knees against his. “This is supposed to be a serious moment.”

He bites his lips, eyes wide and shimmering with mirth. The urge to laugh is so intense I have to close my eyes and belly breathe to keep from losing it.

“Is that what tantric breathing sounds like?” he asks curiously.

“Kieran, I swear?—”

“Sorry, sorry.” He doesn’t sound sorry at all. “I’ll be serious.”

I peer up at him, gratified to see he isn’t laughing anymore but watching me with tenderness and warmth. Clearing my throat, I squeeze his hands. “Seventeen years ago, you took pity on an angry, lonely girl and listened to all her teenaged woes without judgment. In the darkest time of my life, you gave me hope when you said I would be okay, that someday the world would kneel to me.”

“In my defense, I didn’t realize you’d pursue the goal so literal—Oof.” He chuckles as he rubs his stomach where I punched him.

“Are you done?”

He winces. “Maybe?”

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