Page 137 of The King is Dead
I stared down at her, frowning even though my heart was singing. “I am terrified of losing you to your own courage,” I admitted gruffly.
“And I knowexactlyhow that feels,” she said simply.
“So… how do we do this? How do I show I believe in you without just letting you hare off into danger without a thought?”
“We do it together,” she whispered, cupping my face with her soft, little hand. “We walk into the dangertogether.Any adversary coming for one of us will be forced to face both of us. I’ll have your back, and you’ll have mine. And we’ll survive it together. We’ll show them, Melek. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
I released a long, deep breath and lowered myself back over her, turning my head so my lips brushed her cheek as I rested on the pillow.
I didn’t move. Didn’t let her go. And she didn’t roll away.
And even though I was still terrified, something in my body felt… released.
Eventually, enveloped by her body and curling mine around hers, I drifted into the darkness and slept.
51. Just a Dream
~ YILAN ~
As Melek’s breathing slowed and evened out, I smiled and lay back, enjoying his weight pressing me into the mattress. But something about that conversation niggled at me.
I’d answered him honestly—Iwasafraid of his courage. And I did have moments of sheer terror when it hit me what could come of what we were about to do. But it was also true that I was eager to walk this road with him. Only, I wanted to do it in lockstep. To fight the enemy, not my mate. To give him his due for his strength and cunning, and to have him recognize mine.
Together we made an incredible team. My strengths enhancing his, and his mine.
I had the vision of how this might work if we both trusted each other implicitly… but his words had echoed in a hollow place. A spot in my mind and heart that suggested there was a hole in my vision. Inourvision. What were we not seeing? What piece of this journey hadn’t been identified? There was a way through the darkness. I just needed a glimpse...
But it hovered out of sight, eluding me.
Like the word on the tip of my tongue that wouldn’t form, whatever lay at the back of my mind was frustratingly close. And yet, utterly out of sight.
As I sank closer and closer to sleep, I had no choice but to snuggle into Melek’s warmth and pray that God would reveal… whatever it was. Because I couldn’t see what I could not see.
And neither could my mate.
I just had to pray that one of us would catch sight of it over the other’s shoulder in time.
And with that thought I smiled.
Melek’s shoulderswerewonderful…
I was back outside the Palace in the forest, staring up at the balcony outside my rooms, and that gap Melek had brutally forced into the steel frame.
I didn’t move, and wouldn’t until I was rested. I couldn’t remember how I knew, but I knew tonight of all nights it was imperative not to move without walking the shadows. So, I would stand here to breathe and recover, then I would begin the hunt again.
Hunt for what though? I couldn’t remember that either, and that made me frown.
When the man stepped out of a thicket just feet away, I pulled the darkness around me to shroud my presence. Even if he’d seen me, I would be invisible now.
He was tall. Even taller than Melek. And athletic—his shoulders as broad, though his frame was leaner. A man made for speed. He walked with the casual grace that only came with that distinctly masculine strength and confidence. Yet, his chin was down and he walked with his hands in his pockets, his eyes on his feet. A posture I usually associated with a lack. A youthful self-consciousness.
I watched him approach, wondering who he was and why he was out here at this late hour.
Then he lifted his chin and my breath stopped.
He was fantastically handsome—a chiseled jaw, bright golden eyes gleaming with intelligence, lips that smiled easily. With his head up he was devastating.
And he was looking right at me.
