I was devastated, thinking Adriel hated me. Even when he started coming to visit me a few days later, I thought he hated me. It took a while for me to realize that it wasn’t hate driving him, but fear.
The last time he let himself love, it nearly broke him. And now here I was, making him face it all over again. Making him admit that he never stopped loving Damrion, either.
He fought it hard.
He’s still so angry at Damrion for leaving him to die. And Damrion still carries so much guilt for it. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know Adriel was alive and being held captive. But Adriel’s pain isn’t rational and neither is his grief. Is it ever?
If millennia hasn’t healed what’s broken between them, I don’t know what the Norns expect me to do. Tying our souls together seems cruel, but fate never cares what we want. If it did, I wouldn’t have visions.
I thought things were going to change between us the day the Forsaken attacked Eitr. In the chaos and fire, after I burned them out of the village, Damrion and Adriel found me.
“Abigail!” Adriel roars, rushing toward me through the courtyard, smoke a fiery nimbus around him. He looks like an avenging angel, Magn lighting him up like the sun.
Damrion is hot on his heels, blazing with golden Light, his eyes on fire. They race toward me, their steps perfectly in sync.
Somehow, Damrion reaches me first.
“Damrion!” I sob, flinging myself at his chest. He catches me, pulling me into him. But he doesn’t hold me alone. Adriel seams himself to my back. I’m caught between them, sandwiched between their strong bodies as I shake in their arms. “I...I burned them out! I killed them all.”
“Shh, ljúfr,” Adriel breathes, his lips against my throat. “Everything is okay now. We’re here. You’re safe.”
For the first time since the Forsaken attacked, I feel safe, as if nothing can hurt me so long as I’m in their arms. But it isn’t enough.
“Please,” I whisper, begging for something I don’t even understand. “Please.”
They know, though. They move as one. Adriel plunges his hand into my hair, craning my head back. Damrion’s hand curls around my throat.
Adriel's lips crash into mine, fierce and desperate. He kisses me like a man drowning, like I'm the air he needs to breathe. His tongue delves into my mouth, tangling with mine as he consumes me. I moan into the kiss, my body melting against theirs.
Damrion angles my head, allowing Adriel to deepen the kiss. I surrender completely, letting them take control, letting them possess me. In this moment, I am theirs, body and soul. Nothing else matters except the slide of Adriel’s lips on mine, the rasp of Damrion’s breath against my throat, and their hard bodies pressed to mine.
When Adriel finally pulls back, we're both panting. His single dark eye blazes with desire. I shiver, caught in his intense gaze, my heart thundering in my chest.
Then Damrion's fingers tighten on my throat, commanding my attention. I turn my head to meet his molten gold eyes, drowning in their heated depths. He lowers his head to mine, slowly, reverently. His lips brush against mine, soft as a whisper.
I whimper, straining closer, silently begging for more. He complies, sealing his mouth over mine in a slow, sensual kiss that turns my bones to liquid. Where Adriel devoured, Damrion savors.
He kisses me deeply, thoroughly, claiming me with each stroke and slide of his tongue against mine.
Behind me, Adriel's hands skim down my sides, his touch searing me. He traces my curves reverently, his calloused fingers igniting flames deep inside me. And for once, with his hands on me and Damrion’s lips locked with mine, I know exactly what it means to be complete.
I nearly revealed the bond between our souls right then and there. But as soon as they pulled away, they went right back to fighting.
And now they can barely look at each other. The anger between them has only grown, and I'm at the center of it.
I’m tearing them apart.
A tiny part of me wishes I’d never come into their lives. Maybe then they could find peace with each other. I’d sacrifice my own heart to heal theirs. But I can't. And they’ve had 2500 years to make peace without me. If that didn’t do, I don’t know what will.
I love them both. It’s as simple and as profound as that. When Adriel smiles, my heart soars. When Damrion laughs, it’s like the sun breaking through the clouds. And when they touch me, I feel like I’m flying. They are my heart. My soul. Without them, nothing makes sense.
But now, they'll have to figure it out without me.
There's no other choice.
To save their lives, I’ll do what I must.
Chapter Two
Abigail
As they turn to leave, panic surges through me. I can’t let them leave without letting them know…I can’t send them away until I tell them…they’re worth it.
"Wait!" I cry.
Damrion and Adriel pause, turning back to me. The room suddenly feels too small, too warm. I struggle to breathe as grief threatens to overwhelm me.
"Ást-meer?" Damrion's voice is soft, concerned.
I can't stop myself. I launch myself at them, flinging my arms around them both, holding them as tightly as I can.
For one heartbeat, two, they stiffen in surprise. Then, slowly, they return my embrace, their strong arms encircling me, Adriel's face buried in my hair, Damrion's cheek resting against my temple.
I breathe them in, memorizing the scent of leather and pine, the steady thrum of their heartbeats against my own. This stolen moment is all we have, and I know it.
"Kiss me,” I beg them. “For one moment, put everything aside and just kiss me like you did that night in Eitr.”
“Abigail...” Adriel starts.
