Page 22 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
“He told you,” I said, stating the obvious.
“I didn’t believe it at first, but…I mean, shit—with both of you coming back to life, I can’t doubt it. I only wish I’d been part of that—meeting her. But I’m glad that if it had to be one of us, it was him. Anani seems…he seems better, like he got a lot of closure from it. He took the worst of the abuse from our father, and I think a part of him always felt abandoned by our mother.”
“I get that,” I murmured. And I did, because even though I’d been taken from my parents, I think a part of me, since finding out that Tina and Malcolm weren’t my parents, had felt a bit of anger. A hint of betrayal that someone had left me alone in the dark situation I’d grown up in.
“Marco, give them a moment.” Henry’s voice rang out from the hallway, and Ledger muttered a curse but rolled off of me. My eyes ran over him, noting that he didn’t have any injuries. I relaxed marginally as I looked at Marco.
He stood frozen in the doorway, his normally mint eyes completely black as he kept a hand on the doorframe, stabilizing himself. The pure torment on his face was enough to level me. I moved to get off the bed, wanting to be close to him, but in a second flat he was there, wrapping me up in his arms. His lips seared to mine in a hard kiss, enough so that I felt breathless for a moment, completely overwhelmed by everything that was my mate. When he pulled back from the kiss, his hand slid up the back of my neck to hold me against his chest, his heart going a million miles an hour.
“I’ll never let that happen to you again, baby girl,” he promised, seething with a fury I’d yet to see from him. “You will never have to be reborn again; I don’t care what I have to do. That scared theshitout of me, Maya. The way you screamed… I’ll never mess this shit up again, I—”
“This is not your fault,” I interrupted, pulling back and examining his face in shock.How could he blame himself for this?His fresh vanilla and pine scent tickled my nose as I forced myself to not bury my face against his neck where my mark was—I needed him to look him in the eye, to let him know without a doubt that I didn’t blame him.
Marco leaned back, and I realized that despite his obvious distress, he looked more put together than Henry or Ledger. I think it was in an attempt to maintain control, but I could see the cracks in the facade. A quake had torn open his chest, all because of his fear of losing me.
Then again, was I any different? If I ever thought I’d lost Marco, I wouldn’t be able to breathe.
“It is,” he snarled. “I let you die—”
“You didn’t let me do anything.” I put my chin up, grasping his face between my hands to hold his tormented gaze. “I died because I refused to let Az give his life. I died because I jumped in front of Anani to try to save him from Ry. I died because I sacrificed my life, not because of you, Marco.”
His jaw clenched. “Don’t remind me. Fuck, baby girl, that was so damn reckless.”
“And I would do it a million times over,” I whispered. “Especially if it meant learning how to kill Ry. I love you. I love you, and we are going to be completely fine. I promise.”
Marco examined my expression before deflating, pressing his lips to my forehead and mumbling, “I was so damn worried you wouldn’t wake up.”
“I’ll always come back.” It was a promise and vow.
“You better.” Sai appeared in the doorway, his face filled with so much vulnerability that Marco stepped back, allowing me to go to him.
Sai wrapped me up in his arms, in a hug so tight it felt like he was squeezing the tension from my body. I let out a small sob of relief as my hands dug into his damp curls, then pulled back to look up at him. His burning ember eyes were darkened with so many unsaid things, but I knew we would have time when we were alone.
“You put yourself in danger like that again, kitten, and I’m going to punish you,” he growled, making me nearly smile. I could tell he was all talk, but I still couldn’t help but rub my nose against his gently in what I hoped was a comforting move. My fingers smoothed over his chest as his dragon let out a low rumble in the back of his throat. He was welcoming my touch, so despite being upset, I knew he wasn’t actually mad at me.
“I promise I won’t put myself in danger on purpose,” I said in an attempt at compromise. He grunted but didn’t argue, his grip simply tightening on me.
“Anani is sleeping?” I clarified. He nodded, clearly not able to talk yet. “What about Az?”
Was it wrong to hope that Azrael and my mates would get along? That was silly, right? But I also could feel an important connection between Az and me, so I wanted him to be around. I didn’t want them to fight, though… What if they ended up hating one another?
I had no idea how to deal with this.
“We need to talk about Az.” Marco’s voice was filled with a dangerous amount of possession.I loved it.The darkness sparked and ran over my skin, making desire blossom in my center.
“He’s up.”
Croy’s deep southern accent had me jolting back from Sai as I looked towards my wolf mate. The confident, normally relaxed man took a sharp inhale at seeing me, awe filling his face as he blinked, looking over me as if he couldn’t believe I was truly here. Sai released me and I walked towards him, meeting him in the doorway and reaching up to cup his jaw. His breathing increased, and a growl broke from my throat.
His blonde hair was hanging in his face, his green eyes filled with a vibrant intensity and wonder. He gently ran a hand through my hair, studying the texture with a hyper-focus I didn’t fully understand. Then it hit me.
Croy had never seen me reborn.He hadn’t been there the last time I’d been brought back from the dead.
I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him fiercely, the tension running through his body not stopping him from holding me close. I felt mesmerized by the way his wolf let out a purr-like rumble from his chest, the sound making me feel relaxed and nearly dizzy with relief.
“You’re alive,” he whispered, squeezing me tighter as if assuring himself. “You’re alive.”
“Are you okay?” I pulled back to look up at him, his gaze already transfixed on my expression.
