There’s a beat where I can tell we’re both considering starting things all over again, but the sound of an Ember Pixie bouncing off the shield brings our situation back into focus. Chuckling at the pissed off pixie, we reluctantly gather our discarded clothes and get dressed.
We settle back into our makeshift bed and stare up at the stars dotting the midnight purple sky while I trace lazy circles on her arm. It isn’t long before Taryn tucks her face into the spot she’s claimed between my shoulder and chin, and seconds later falls fast asleep.
This is how I want to end every day for the rest of my life, with this incredible female wrapped in my arms and in my bed. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I whisper, “Sweet dreams, moy tsarina.”
Most people would say it’s not possible to feel this strongly for someone I only just met. But my heart can’t comprehend time. It doesn’t know the difference between three days or three years. It only knows its very first beat after seeing Taryn Emory, and every beat since, has been for her.
Despite our invisible shield that should keep us safe from unwanted guests or tricks, I still won’t sleep until the guys make it back to camp. I’ll feel better knowing we have more muscle and more ears around Taryn. I know she can handle herself as well as any warrior, but I can’t help my innate protective streak that needs to keep her safe at all costs. I’m just not telling her that, because I like my balls where they are.
Hopefully they won’t be too much longer, and we can all get some sleep before our big day meeting with the fae queen who fucked my people over long before I was born. Should be good times.
Deciding I can still rely on my heightened sense of hearing to listen for anything suspicious, I allow myself to close my eyes and relax…
Taryn stands in the middle of a battlefield, wind whipping at her curls with streaks of ash on her face and neck. Her lavender eyes have brightened to a neon purple that spark with power. Jaw set in determination, her lips peeled back from clenched teeth, she throws her arms out wide and magic begins to crackle in the air around her.
She’s magnificent, a force of pure reckoning to all who threaten those she loves. Lifting her face to the sky, she screams in rage, preparing to deliver the ultimate retribution.
So she doesn’t see the golden Spear of Assal flying straight for her, the arrowhead slicing through everything in its path. Terror strikes me like a bolt of lightning. I run toward her, shouting her name so loud and so long my vocal cords bleed, but it’s no use. She can’t hear me above the fray.
The weapon strikes home, burying itself deep in her chest. Her hands instinctively grab at the protruding rod, a crimson river flowing from the wound. She looks over at me, a pained expression on her beautiful face, knowing I won’t make it to her in time. The violet light in her eyes flickers and dims just before they slide closed and she falls lifeless to the ground.
My eyes fly open with a jolt, my heart racing beneath Taryn’s warm palm on my chest. Willing my pulse to slow, I take deep breaths and tell myself it was only a nightmare. Except, it felt more like…a vision.
Fuck that, no way. I refuse to believe that was anything more than a bad dream brought on by fear of the unknown. Regardless, I’d rather not close my eyes again tonight. Sleeping is overrated, anyway. Reaching into the pack next to me, I take out Moira’s journal and begin to read under the glow of the Ember Pixies above.
Dearest Finnian,
I am leaving this treatise behind for you. Within its pages is my true accounting of the events leading up to our banishment and the ensuing bad blood between the Celestial Courts.
The truths as you were told have been woven with fabrics of omission and false perception. Read my words well, grandson, and you will see what was and was not, and how we came to arrive at the same place in a different era…
THIRTY-THREETARYN
Waking up in a field of flame lilies with the white sun peeking over the horizon and Finn’s arm draped over me is surreal. Dreaming about his eyes aside, I never saw this amazing male coming, nor did I ever expect to love anyone as fiercely as I do him. And as much as I trust my feelings for him, I can also admit that it’s fucking scary to be this vulnerable with someone.
Allowing my wings to unfurl with him was a huge step for me. Since leaving Faerie, the only person I’ve intentionally revealed them to is Dmitri, and even that was just the one time. It was too dangerous otherwise. But I know I’m safe with Finn, and I was ready for him to see all of me. It’s been ages since I felt this free to be who I truly am, and I owe it all to the giant prince curled around me.
My body feels sore in the best of ways, a lovely reminder of how we spent our time alone last night. Anxious to see him this morning, I roll over only to find he’s already awake. A quick glance shows the Woulfe brothers still sleeping and Dmitri’s bag already packed with him gone. I’m not surprised by that; vampires require very little sleep and he’s likely off hunting for his breakfast.
“Good morning,” I say in a low voice, brushing a fallen section of hair from his face.
“Good morning to you.” Finn’s mouth curves up in a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
Frowning, I cup the outline of his jaw and study him. “You didn't sleep, did you?”
He lets out a soft chuff. “I look that bad, huh? No, my brain wouldn’t shut off.”
A pang of anxiety stabs me in the chest. I was afraid of this. I dropped my mask, confessed my sins, and now that he’s had time to process everything, it’s all too much.
Schooling my features to hide the tumultuous emotions raging inside, I nod with feigned acceptance. “You’re having second thoughts about me. It’s okay, I get it. Come on, we need to break camp.”
I try to pull away, but he holds me in place and pops up to brace himself on his forearm, looming over me. “I’m second guessing a lot of things—our plan, how much I know about my lineage, whether I’m qualified to lead this mission regardless of my grandmother’s visions—but I have never second-guessed you. You’re the only thing I’m completely certain of in all this.
“It’s okay if you’re not there yet, but I meant what I said in that cavern.” Framing my face with his hand, his thumb caresses my cheek as he stares intently into my eyes. “I love you, Taryn Delanie Emory.”
Tears blur my vision, but I blink them back before my vulnerability has the chance to spill over. If my heart was a well, it would be overflowing with love. I do feel the same way about him, so why can’t I say the words? Tell him you love him, too. Say it!
“About time you are awake, sestra,” Dmitri says, entering camp again. “I was beginning to think the young prince put you in post-coitus coma.”
Heat floods my face. “Dmitri.”
“I heard that!” Conall sits up, laughing so hard he’s holding his sides. “Dude, I’m totally calling you Prince of the Post-Coitus Coma from now on.”
Connor props himself up, joining in. “Prince P-Double-C,” he says, fist bumping his brother. “Wait till Tiernan hears. He’s liable to make it official by court decree.”
“Glad the coma wasn’t too serious, Taryn,” Conall says. “Want some coffee to help shake it off?”
Finn swipes a hand over the lower half of his face, trying to hide his amusement, but the twinkling in his honey eyes gives him away.
“Go ahead and laugh,” I say playfully to him. “I’m not the one with the ridiculous new nickname.” Then I answer Conall while smirking at Finn. “No coffee necessary. The effects are already long gone.”
The twins bust out laughing as Finn flops back on the ground, putting a hand to his chest as though I’ve just stabbed him. Dmitri sits on a nearby boulder grinning at my verbal volley.
It feels good to joke around and be part of a close-knit group again. The Romanov clan has been my family for all intents and purposes, but the dynamic is more like that of a business with Dmitri and I as ruthless co-CEOs. No one would dare tease me there.
But the dynamic between the Verrans, their mates, and the Woulfe twins is like a real family, even with the twins in roles as their employees and subjects. I never realized how lonely I was before until now, trading banter and joking around with a Dark Prince and his wolf shifter friends like I belong.
“What’s that?” I ask, noticing a small, leather-bound book on Finn’s pack. My eyes widen when I recognize the seal on the cover. “Is this Moira’s?”
