Page 119 of Clash of Storms
Malin's chest felt three sizes too small for her heart as she saw what they'd done to him.
"Rescuing a prince," she whispered, as a tear slid down her cheek in the dark. He wouldn't see it, for his remaining eye was on the other side of his face. She wanted to scream in rage, and rake her nails down his father's face, but he would need her to be his strength right now. "Because that is what I do, don't you know? I rescuedrekiprinces and princesses from the Evil Queen. They never make the stories, but honestly, without the servants no self-respecting princess would ever defeat the villain."
"You shouldn't be here." He somehow captured her wrist, as she moved to unlock his manacles. "They'll kill you."
"They don't even know I'm here." She used her soothing voice to lock her emotions within, the one that used to frustrate him so much. The one that held all her anger and fear and horror trapped in her throat where no one could hear it. "Long ago I discovered I had a power nodrekicould even imagine. You see, I'm invisible in this court."
"I swear, Malin, if you are hurt...."
"I have a secret weapon," she assured him. "This is Freyja, Rurik's mate. She's the one who brought Magnus down out of the skies. She's powerful, Sirius."
"And prepared to rescue your fool neck, no matter what must be done," Freyja told him fiercely.
The key turned with a sharp click. One of the manacles fell free, and he cried out in pain as his arm fell to his side. The second was just as easy, but she hadn't counted on his injuries.
Malin caught him as he staggered, the weight nearly crushing her. Somehow she righted him, though she suspected he was bracing himself against the pain and taking most of his weight himself.
His thumb slid whisper-soft across the inside of his wrist. Sirius searched her eyes, "You came for me?"
The words sounded incredulous.
Disbelieving.
Malin slid her arms around his neck carefully, squeezing her eyes shut against the ravage of tears. This dark prince with his brooding good looks and savage reputation had always stood alone. But no longer. "Of course I came for you." She couldn't quite contain the fierce ache in her throat; the throb of overwhelming emotion. "Iloveyou."
The clasp of his arms almost squeezed the breath from her. An enormous shuddering breath tore through him, as he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "You don't know how long I've yearned to hear those words."
"All those years," she whispered. "All those books. Why did you not say something? I asked you if you were mating with me!"
"I never dared believe you could return my feelings." His voice was rough velvet. "You wanted someone kind. Someone who was not adrekimale. Someone who was not me. I am not the hero you were hoping for, Malin."
"You fool," she whispered. "You're the hero ofmystory. I've spent all my life waiting foryou. You were right beneath my nose all along, and if you had told me you were the one leaving me those books, my eyes would have been opened earlier. I wanted something safe, Sirius, because I was afraid. Butyouwere the one who showed me how to stand up and fight. You're right. There's a fire within me. It's always been there, but I was afraid to reach for it in case I fell." She kissed his cheek. "Just as you've always known I was there, but you were afraid to let me know, so you could never be hurt if I could not love you back. You told my father to tell me to never stop trying. Well, here I am, telling you the same."
She reached up behind her neck and withdrew his necklace. "This belongs around your neck. You said you would give it to the woman you love and you did. But now she is giving it back."
He needed it more.
And if the runes on the back of it did what she thought they did, then it might be the only thing that could protect him.
The breath went out of him as she slipped it over his head. "Malin. You don't know what I've done—"
"Trust me. Because I will never turn away from you. I will never deny you. You are mine, Sirius Blackfrost, and there is nothing you can do—nothing you can say—that could blind my heart to you."
Touching his cheek, she saw the ruin of what they'd done to his eye. Sirius turned his face away, and she could see the twist of shame upon him.
She cupped his face in both hands. "Don't you ever look away from me."
"Malin." His voice was raw. "There is one thing I could say—"
"They have taken nothing from you," she snarled. "You are the Blackfrost. You are the most arrogant male put on this earth, and you have a reason to be."
His head hung, and he rested his forehead against hers. "I killed the king."
Malin's heart stopped dead in the center of her chest. She swore it did. She drew back sharply, as Freyja gasped behind her. "What?"
He couldn't look her in the eyes.
"I always dreamed of it, as if my hands held the knife. As if I was the one who ripped his heart from his chest, but I thought it guilt for keeping silent. Reynar's shade has haunted me ever since he died."
