“All and more, mi lasko,” he whispered, his voice so soft and tender that any nerves I had faded into oblivion. “I am here with the woman I love, the woman I would die for, in a place I have created for us. My heart could not be more content.”
Ilyan’s hand left my back, his touch like a feather as it moved up my spine and over to the skin of my arms. I gasped as his skin came into contact with mine, a wide smile spreading over his face at the reaction. I knew I shouldn’t have been embarrassed by the way he looked at me, but I couldn’t help the way my stomach tightened. I looked away in a foolish attempt to fight the blush.
“So that is your house, then?” I asked, inclining my head toward the giant manor nestled into the rocks behind him.
Ilyan didn’t even turn toward it, he just smiled, his fingers continuing to trail up and down my arms
“Mmmhmmm,” he sighed as I looked back toward him, his eyes capturing mine. “I told you about it, remember?”
“So it is real, then?”
“Yes, it stands just outside a city by the name of Giens. I built it for you, for us, about a hundred years after I first received the sight.”
“No wonder it’s a little run down,” I said as I reached forward and poked him playfully, only to keep my hand against him, resting lightly on his side.
“It is yours now, my love,” he whispered as his fingers moved off my arm, the soft touch moving up my neck and over my face. I closed my eyes at the calming pressure, my focus on the feel of his fingers against my skin as well as the way his free hand moved to wrap around mine, his magic settling in joy.
“Thank you, Ilyan,” I said, my mind so relaxed I wasn’t even sure if I had spoken the words aloud.
“Anything, my love.”
Ilyan caressed my arm, my jaw, the bridge of my nose as we lay in the sand, the waves crashing by our feet—the water splashing over our toes as the tide came closer—but I didn’t move. I didn’t want to. He looked into me so passionately that I was sure I was going to get lost in his eyes—lost in the way he held me, lost in the feel of his touch. I didn’t care; I wanted to be lost.
Ilyan smiled as he began to sing to me, our song gentle and calming as it rose and fell with the rhythm of the waves. He shared the words he had written for me all those years ago. Words I was beginning to finally understand.
Hush now, child. Be still, be calm. The world will change at the new dawn. And when it does, you will see, just how you and I were meant to be.
He sang over and over, my lips moving along until I began to sing as well, my voice shaky as my breath washed over his chest.
We sang together until the ocean left and the rumble of low thunderheads crashed through our room in the abbey, jerking me awake as Ilyan’s arm tightened around me, pulling me into his bare chest.
His tension swelled into me, the fear rumbling through me with the same power that the thunder surrounding us did.
It was time.
I intertwined my fingers with his as I leaned back into him, his hold on me increasing until I could feel his heart beat against my back, his magic that would now forever live inside of me bubbling around to protect me, to calm me.
It was weird to feel so connected to him; the power of the Z?lství so strong that it shocked me. Before, with only our souls fused together, I had felt some of his emotions, I had heard some of his thoughts. It was nothing compared to what I was experiencing right then.
In that moment, I felt things I had never felt before, heard things that I knew were just for me, and even some things that I knew were not. I felt my magic within Ilyan, the same way I was sure he felt his within me. The presence was so pleasant I never wanted to lose it.
I spun in Ilyan’s arms until I faced him, my face burrowing into his chest as he held me. His lips pressed softly onto the top of my head.
I’m scared, I sent into his mind, my voice quaking as my body did.
His arms tightened around me as the warmth of his magic spread, the hot water warmth soothing my nerves.
Do not be afraid, my love. Know that I will be here.
My eyes widened at the clarity of the thought that moved into me, Ilyan’s voice echoing inside of my head clear enough that I wasn’t sure if I had just missed his lips move.
I had heard him.
His forehead knit together as he looked at me, obviously concerned about my response. He either didn’t know, or being able to hear him after a Z?lství was so normal I should have expected it. Except it wasn’t normal. They had told me as much when I spoke into Ilyan’s mind for the first time, and now he was speaking into mine.
“Do not be afraid, my love,” I repeated his words out loud, my voice soft as his eyes widened in shock.
“You heard me?”
I did.
You can hear me? he asked, the smile on his face spreading as his eyes lit up.
I nodded once and his smile grew, his arms wrapping around me as he pressed me into him, the warmth of our body heat trapped in the heavy blanket we lay under.