Page 44 of The First Trial
She released an adorable little squeak when I reached out to her and pulled her to me, my arms wrapping around her in a tight embrace. ‘Thank you,’ I whispered into her hair. ‘If it comes to that, I’ll let you know.’
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she relaxed into me. We stayed that way for the rest of the night while we took turns sleeping so the other could keep watch. Neither one of us let go. Neither one of us wanted to.
Chapter 16
Juniper
The sconces that lined the walls of the tunnels became scarcer, appearing further apart the longer we travelled. I wasn’t afraid of the darkness, but I was definitely afraid of what lurked inside it, so when we found ourselves almost completely blind, I uttered a quick spell that lit up my fingertip like a torch.
‘Lumen.’
Phenex was startled by the sudden illumination, throwing his hands over his eyes to stop the bright barrage of light against his unadjusted eyes.
‘Oops. Sorry. I should have warned you,’ I apologised. Since it was my own spell, my eyes automatically adjusted, and I forgot for a second that it wouldn’t be the case for anyone else around.
‘Adapto,’I muttered under my breath, enjoying his look of surprise when he was suddenly able to see.
He shuddered, looking at me from beneath heavy-lidded eyes. ‘Your magic feels like a sensual caress,’ he informed me, and I blushed.
‘No one’s ever saidthatbefore…’
He chuckled, the sound low and full of heat. ‘Next time, I’ll be the one caressing you. I know we were interrupted, but I fully intend to finish what we started.’
I inhaled shakily and accidentally choked on my saliva in the process. His eyes widened in alarm as I coughed and spluttered, and he moved to help, but I held up a hand to ward him away. Because that wasn’t embarrassing. At all. So attractive.
‘Right,’ I cleared my throat another time when my voice came out scratchy. ‘Okay. Maybe we should wait until we’re out of here before… that,’ I finished lamely, wondering where the powerfully confident woman from before had gone. I wasn’t a shy person, but I also wasn’t the most experienced when it came to dating. And this wasn’t even dating. We had already surpassed that with the soul flame business.The mere thought of letting him go, or of him being with another woman, made my blood boil and my rage sing.
‘What is happening?’ he asked, voice full of concern as he watched me attempt to rein in my overload of emotions. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘What is this?’ I blurted out, motioning between us with my finger, needing to hear him say it.
His expression softened immediately with understanding, and he wrapped his arms around me, tugging me close and nuzzling his nose in my hair. He inhaled deeply, a low, purr-like groan emanating from his chest. ‘This iseverything.’
I melted into him, a piece of my heart dislodging from my chest and embedding itself inside his. I couldn’t have stopped it even if I’d wanted to, and I most definitely didnotwant to. Nothing had ever felt so right before, even if it was insane to think so of a man I had only just met.
It should have terrified me, and maybe a part of me would finally feel that fear when I fully processed what was going on between us, but the larger part of me knew that we were exactly where we were meant to be. Was it fast? Lightning speed, but I was oddly okay with that.
‘You feel like mine,’ I whispered into his chest, unable to fully believe that I could be so lucky to have a soulmate, let alone one as incredible as Phenex. This wasn’t how I imagined my love life would go, especially considering my feelings for Hawthorne remained like a persistent thorn in my heart. I felt guilty about itfor a beat, then decided to let it go. Phenex was here. Hawthorne wasn’t. It was past time I let my crush on him go, even if I still felt its sting. It wasn’t fair to either of us.
I could feel his heart skip a beat beneath my cheek as his breath hitched in his lungs, and his arms tightened their hold around me. ‘Iamyours. And you are mine.’
I couldn’t decide if I wanted to cry, laugh, or do a little happy dance, so I somehow managed all three while still in his hold. He was stunned for a moment, unsure what was happening, but then he relaxed and joined in, wiggling against me. The silliness broke through any lingering tension and made my giggles turn into full-blown laughter, my tears drying up as I enjoyed the moment.
When I pulled away, he held my eyes with his own, a seriousness taking over once more. ‘Are you okay with this? I know it’s a lot…’
The sudden shift within him to this display of vulnerability was absolutely adorable, and I appreciated his concern for my feelings more than he could understand. It chipped away at my walls a little more until they were practically crumbling. The only thing holding them up now was the damn curse, but if that second clue was anything to go by, then Oz and I were on the right track to breaking it, and it would finally stop interfering with our lives.
I saw the way he had panicked earlier when the curse had glued my mouth shut and torn me apart from the inside out. I’d wanted to answer him, was screaming the truth inside my head, but no matter how hard I fought against it, nothing came out. My frustration grew as I couldn’t even let that out in case it was another indication that something wasn’t right, and I felt like I wanted to burst out of my skin.
But maybe…
It wasn’t the first time I’d had the thought, but no one had taken the initiative to work it out yet. However, if Phenex figured it out on his own, perhaps that would bypass the curse, and he could help us.
If anyone could or would, I had a feeling it would be him.
With renewed hope that I prayed wouldn’t bite me in the ass, I grinned up at him. ‘I’m not going to deny that this is beyond normal, but I also don’t really care. I kinda like that we’re bypassing all the usual steps and getting right to the good stuff. Whatever happens, I’m not going anywhere.’
He relaxed at my words, his hand rising to cup my cheek, and I leaned into his touch. ‘You have made me the happiest man in the world. Inallthe worlds, because apparently there’s a lot.’
