Page 127 of Heartsong
So no, it wasn’t a quick and easy decision. Anna didn’t know if she’d ever be someone spontaneous, someone who could jump into big things head first without much thought. And that was okay. It was okay to be scared—she just wouldn’t let it define her anymore.
“Let’s do it.”
Frey’s hand stopped where it’d been making circles on her back.
“Anna…we can wait. I want you to be sure.”
“I’m sure, I promise. You’re my person, Frey. I want to be with you.”
With a rumbling groan, Frey’s head fell to hers, taking her in a hungry, desperate kiss. Slipping her arms around his neck, Anna pulled him close, throwing a leg over his hip.
Gavren did say to have physical contact.
She wanted to fuse them together; if seeing him fight and get hurt had done anything, it was to confirm for her that he was more important than anything else. He was it. So she couldn’t get close enough, needing to hold onto him with everything she was and could be.
“It may not even work,” Frey said between kisses.
“It better work! I don’t go reciting fae incantations for just anyone.”
Smoothing her hair back from her face, Frey looked upon her in a way that was so soft, so full of love, it nearly melted her. She still wanted to shy away from such looks, but she made herself look back. Accepting what he offered, what he meant to her, would take practice, but it was worth it. He was sure of her, and she had to trust that he knew his own mind and heart—just as he had to trust that she knew hers, too.
The ball of his throat bobbed as he swallowed nervously. “Do you remember the words?”
“Weirdly, yes? I didn’t think I would, but they’ve stuck in my mind. Like…magick.”
One side of his mouth kicked up in a rueful grin. “Indeed.” He kissed her again, and she could taste his nerves. They stood on the edge of a precipice—but Anna knew he’d catch her. Always.
“You’re ready?” he whispered.
In answer, Anna began reciting the incantation, the words pouring from her lips like water. She didn’t know what she said, but she understood. She chose Frey. She accepted him, loved him, and promised to do her best for him. She would care for him, make a home with him, build a life with him. She gave herself to him and accepted him in return.
Frey shuddered as the words settled around them as if they carried physical weight. Little sparks seemed to pass between them, and his voice rumbled through the thick air, repeating the incantation. The words sank inside her, filling her with an ancient promise—of family, clan, and home. That she would never be alone again.
Tears welled along her lashes and the hairs on her arms stood on end as he spoke the last words. Static crackled through the room, sending Captain bounding off the bed. Anna’s skin tingled as something passed over her. Like the soft weight of a down comforter, it settled around her, a warm, comforting press. It kissed her lips before sinking into her skin.
Then, silence.
Anna and Frey lay there, holding each other as they shivered with the aftermath.
They didn’t speak, for what could be said after such ancient words?
Slowly, dawn light began to gather in the sky. The room brightened in a colorless haze, and Anna gripped Frey’s hands, her heart in her throat.
Please, let it have worked.
The two of them lay still, not wanting to be the first to look away at the brightening sky, but eventually Frey sighed. Giving her one last kiss, he pushed off the bed to stand before the sliding glass door that led out into the verdant courtyard.
Anna sat up, stomach knotting with nerves.
She told herself it’d worked. And even if it hadn’t, they’d try again. The curse would be broken, she wouldn’t accept otherwise.
The muscles of his wide back began to bunch with tension, and his hands balled into fists at his sides. Slipping from the bed, Anna padded across the room and threw her arms around his middle. She fit snugly between his wings, and she pressed her cheek to his back, hearing the drum of his heart. It thumped quickly, nervously, and she squeezed him tight.
It felt as though she held her breath for hours, but really it could only have been a few minutes. She couldn’t seem to get air in her chest, so tightly clenched was it with anxiety.
The sun crested over the garden wall.
Frey tugged at her hands, trying to get her to release her arms.
