Page 37 of Taloned Heart

He stepped into the cave and heaved a sigh of relief to see Lore sitting there, all curled up like she used to. She didn’t look all that upset anymore, and at least he wouldn’t be blasted back onto his ass again. That was enough reason to sigh in pleasure.

“Better?” he asked, leaning against the open mouth of the cave. “We were both worried about you for a while there.”

Lore didn’t look at him. Instead, she stared into the darkness surrounding him as though she saw more than just Abraxas’s figure. “I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

“I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I know better than to let myself get angry because I’m overwhelmed. The thought that I took it out on you makes me sick. I could have hurt you, Abraxas. I could have really hurt you.”

“I know.” He shuffled his foot on the ground, still watching her. “And I forgive you.”

“I promise I won’t ever do that again. I’d rather cut off a finger every time I do it than see your face like that again. You should hate me, Abraxas, or at the very least, be angry with me. Shout! Yell! Tell me I was irresponsible! Say something other than what you’re saying right now.”

And she still wouldn’t look at him. So Abraxas stepped in front of her and crouched, forcing her to look at him. “I’m not angry with you, Lore. You are overwhelmed, and this is a great responsibility on anyone’s shoulders. Beauty mentioned that you don’t seem like yourself, and I realized something when she said it.”

Her wide eyes stared up at him, tears already filling them as though she was terrified of what he might have to say. “What did you realize?”

He hooked a finger underneath her chin, needing to touch her. “You are not the same person. You are not the half-elf scrounging around Tenebrous for a scrap of food, nor the elf who was blackmailed into killing the King. You are not the elf who led her people across all Umbra searching for my eggs, or the woman who led them into battle. You are a new version of yourself. Always and forever changing into someone new.”

A single, glistening tear rolled down her cheek. “And what does that mean to you, my dragon?”

Abraxas dragged her forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. Gentle, as always, so she knew he wasn’t going anywhere. “It only means that I love you in every season of your life. Every change. Every whisper of difference. I love your mismatched eyes and the power that makes you a little shaky sometimes. I love you even when you do not love yourself. You are part of me, Lore, and how could I hate something so deeply embedded in my soul?”

She swallowed hard, her voice thick as she replied, “I love you too. I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Ah, impossible.” Abraxas drew her into his arms and pressed her against his heart. “You could never disappoint me, my beloved, my mate. Never.”

CHAPTER14

Lore forced herself to be more present after her outburst. She focused on Beauty and keeping her little human safe. And the farther they were from Tenebrous, the more that knot in her heart eased.

Margaret might have sent people after them. She might have felt the magic and then burned Tenebrous to the ground.

But she also might be very busy trying to round up all the humans she could, and that would leave her distracted. Perhaps they had gotten away with the simple act of hiding their faces, and that might be enough.

Small threads of magic were hard to pick up on, anyway. And it had been a long time since Lore had been home. Margaret had almost two years of running this kingdom on her own. Perhaps that was enough time to set her at ease.

Lore wasn’t so certain that was the case. The Margaret she knew was a woman who didn’t know how to put herself at ease. There was no such thing as relaxation to the woman who had created a rebellion and fought her entire life for this moment.

Still, they traveled through the swamps without a single shadow or raven following them. Lore knew what to look for and who to keep an eye out around, and not a single threat had touched them.

Strange.

Still, she shouldn’t look too deeply into the situation or she might find there was more trouble ahead. Abraxas had told her to keep her head in this moment. To be aware of everything that was happening to them as though it were merely a ripple in the waters ahead. So she did so. And that had eased a lot of her anxiety.

They left the swamps and skirted around the forest where Draven’s family lived. Lore didn’t want to talk with any more elves, and though it added a few more days to their travels, no deepmonger stopped them. That was good enough for her.

The Matriarch of that clan was sure to side with Margaret, and Lore had no interest in such a conversation. Draven’s mother was very persuasive and Lore found herself enjoying their travels a little too much. She didn’t have to hide her face unless travelers seemed like they might recognize her. None of the magical creatures they came across were scared or frightened. They were hungry, yes, but Margaret was ever the warlord and not the farmer.

Still, the land flourished. She noted how tall the trees had grown and how the grass was greener than she remembered. Magic laced throughout and stretched through the veins of every leaf and every blade of grass. The world seemed to breathe easier now that the humans weren’t destroying it.

She shouldn’t be so pleased with what they had found. She should feel terrible that the world had forgotten the mortals and yet... she couldn’t force herself to feel that way at all.

Talking with the Matriarch would only remind her that good things always came from destruction, even if there were others who bled for it. And Lore couldn’t afford someone telling her to look a little closer and to see how much good had happened without the humans here.

The cost was too great. There had to be another way, and she refused to believe this was the only option.

Sighing, she brushed a strand of hair out of her face and paused in their journey. Both her companions stopped on either side of her and stared down at what she had led them to.

---