Page 132 of The Nightmare Bride
His head tilted. “Is that so? Because I could’ve sworn I was supposed to be right here.”
“I...” Hot mist slicked my eyes. “But you walked out. You said you could tell when you weren’t wanted.”
“Well, I can.”
“Then why’re you here?”
He lifted a shoulder and dropped it. “Because. This was not one of those times.”
My throat worked. Emotion crashed through me, splintering me into pieces. Then I was running, hurling myself into his arms, toppling him onto the bed. A grunt flew from his mouth as his back hit the mattress.
His arms circled me, and I clung to him, his heartbeat a full-throated chorus against my ear. I raised my head, then mashed my lips against his with enough fervor to slow time.
He matched the intensity of my kiss, burying a hand in my hair. When I pulled back, he gazed up at me, wonderstruck. “I’ll admit, I was hoping for a warm welcome, but this exceeds even my expectations.”
“Seven hells, I missed you.” My words were garbled, salted with tears. “I thought I was never going to see you again.”
“Well.” He pushed a handful of hair behind my ear. “You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, then.”
“I can’t believe you came back.”
“I didn’tcome back, lioness. I never left.”
I laughed, or sobbed, or some combination of the two, and burrowed my head against his chest again.
I allowed myself a second. A flawless, diamond moment in which nothing else existed. I didn’t care where he’d been, or who with, or about anything except that he washere, solid and reassuring and even more breathtaking than I’d remembered.
He hadn’t abandoned me. He hadn’tleft. Even though I’d tried to make him.
That simple truth of that saturated me with such feeling that I came unstuck from gravity. Then reality crashed back, and I scrambled up, scrubbing at my cheeks.
“Vick has Amryssa.”
His expression didn’t change. “I know. That’s why I’m here. I mean, I’m here for you, but also because I’ve been in the forest these past weeks, watching the liberators. Vick has them convinced he’s going to stop the nightmares. I’d hoped hewouldn’t go so far as to steal Amryssa, but once I realized he would, I knew you’d need help.”
Renewed emotion surged through me. “So you came to save her?”
“Of course.” He propped himself up on his forearms. “And I wasn’t about to let you rush off into the forest and get yourself hurt. Or killed.”
I nodded, unable to speak.
“And frankly, I’m hoping there’s something in it for me.” His look grew heavy with meaning. “You know. The ring toss that finally lands around the bottle.”
Another dizzying wave of feeling crashed up from my depths. Goddess, I could hardly withstand all this intensity, but I was glad he was here. Flabbergasted, really, and so filled with gratitude that I felt like one of Olivian’s overstuffed armchairs, thread creaking along every seam.
I wouldn’t have to do this alone.
But... My throat soured. Kai had no idea what I planned to do. He hadn’t read the Lady’s letter to Amryssa, had never learned about the blood-price. He assumed I meant to get my friend back, not reach Zephyrine first and offer myself in her place.
I forced a smile. I couldn’t tell him. I also couldn’t do anythingbutsacrifice myself, because we had no chance of getting Amryssa back, otherwise. Maybe if we’d had time to rally Lunk and Olivian and the stewards, but considering the weather?—
A bell clanged, across the house. Then another. The sound cut through the silence.
“Well, that’s inconvenient,” Kai said. “If not entirely unexpected.”
Amryssa. Oh, goddess. I had to get to the holy tree,now, by any means necessary. End the nightmares, because she wouldn’t make it through another one on her own.
I pushed off the bed and pulled Kai to standing. “I came up here for my manacles, but maybe if I have you, I won’t need them?”
