Page 82 of Zayrik

And Nyla —

She was planning something.

Something that made my blood run cold.

I felt sure of it.

Not just in my warrior’s instincts, or our bond, but in something else. Something that hummed between us like an unspoken warning.

In the way she’d kissed me last night. Not just hungry. Not just desperate.

Final.

Like she thought it might be the last time.

Like she was trying to give me enough memories to last.

The bond between us was stronger now. I caught fragments of her even in sleep. Not thoughts, exactly, but feelings. Determination. Fear. A resolve that made my chest tight.

I tightened my arm around her. Trying to anchor her to this moment, to us, to everything we could be if she’d just let us face this together.

No. She wasn’t doing this on her own.

Not anymore. Never again.

Not when I could feel her in my blood, in my soul, in every breath.

She shifted slightly, a soft murmur leaving her lips as she nestled closer, like some unconscious part of her still knew I was there. Still reached for me even in dreams. Through our growing bond, I felt her contentment, her trust. And beneath it, that steel determination that both drew me to her and terrified me.

She was mine.

MyK’sha.My fated mate.

She was everything I hadn’t known I was missing.

If Vask tried to take her. If he so much as breathed in her direction. I’d burn every star he tried to hide behind.

Would tear apart the galaxy until nothing remained of him but ash and memory.

There wouldn’t be a hole in the galaxy wide enough for him to crawl into.

No place far enough to escape what I would do to protect her.

I let my eyes close again. Just for a moment.

Memorizing her body against me, her scent, the quiet trust of her sleep.

Storing it all away like armor for what was coming.

Because when the storm hit —

I’d be ready to do whatever I needed to keep her safe.

To keep her with me.

But right now?

She was still in my arms.

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