‘More,’ he agreed.
When finally we came together, understanding was mine.
There was no fighting it any more. We were two halves of one whole. Each fundamentally incomplete without the other.
It wasn’t like the first time – all new and explorative. This was real. Understood. Fought for. Against. Lost. Now found. And so much more.
We had suffered life without each other and now it was simple: we would never let each other go again. Ever. We held on tight and dropped all the fa?ades. All the smoke and mirrors of strength and perfection, and it was raw and needy and desperate.
At some point my screams of pain turned into something else altogether as our powers finally merged completely for what we both knew was the beginning of our forever.
His power coursed through me and I welcomed it as he lay back, his body shaking slightly as my power overwhelmed him. I kissed him lightly, soothing him until it settled.
Then his thumb grazed my cheek and he murmured. ‘No more crying.’
I smiled, kissing him quickly before whispering, ‘The cold has gone. You burned it out of me. They’re tears of joy.’
And then a tear slipped down his face too.
Later, we lay silently in the dark, my head resting on his chest, surrounded by a peace unlike anything I’ve ever known.
It wouldn’t be long before morning, and there was much to do with the new day, but it had been the best hours of lost sleep in my life.
Just before we drifted off I told him, ‘I know where they are, Linc. I know where they’re going to take Spence.’
His hand continued to slowly stroke my arm and I felt him nod, unsurprised. I realised that very little I did ever surprised him.
He kissed the top of my head and pulled me closer. ‘First light?’ he asked.
I closed my eyes. Bliss. ‘First light.’
CHaPteR tweNty-eIgHt
‘Yourself – your soul – in pity give me all, withhold no atom’s atom or I die.’
John Keats
Coffee.
Lincoln.
Naked memories.
Paradise.
‘It’s like a dream,’ I said, stretching out and gratefully accepting the to-go cup. He smiled as he held up a paper bag. I raised an eyebrow.
‘It’s from a little cafe that opens at the crack of dawn.’ He pulled two square pillows of pastry doused in icing sugar out of the bag, smoothing the bag flat to use as a plate. ‘They’re famous for their beignets.’
He held one out to me and I took a cautious bite. It was still warm and the dough was more like a doughnut than a pastry and surprisingly savoury, but the thick covering of icing sugar more than made up for it. My eyes rolled back and I took a sip of coffee. ‘Definitely a dream.’
And I realised, feeling my body and soul in a way I had never imagined would be possible to do again, that it really was. I felt whole, undamaged, warm, content. The pain of the last two years was still sharp and vivid but with my soul bond with Lincoln back in full effect, it had become secondary. The sensation of rightness bubbled up inside me, making a slight humming sound escape from my lips.
Lincoln chuckled, that low, adoring chuckle.
My chuckle.
I smiled sadly.
His brow furrowed with concern. ‘What?’
‘I’ve just missed that laugh. I’m sorry I left, Linc,’ I confessed.
‘Shh,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry I was such an ass when you turned up at the Academy. But things happen for a reason sometimes. Even the hard stuff. I admit I never want to relive the past two years of my life but somehow we’ve ended up exactly where we always belonged, so that makes it all worth it.’
I nodded, understanding.
I could hear people starting to move around in the house. It was time to get moving and I still needed to talk to Phoenix. I crinkled my nose, looking at Lincoln. ‘Do you think we should keep this to ourselves for now? At least until we get Spence back?’
Lincoln laughed so hard he had to grab his stomach.
‘What?’ I asked, fighting his contagious bouts of laughter.
He took a deep breath. ‘Do you have any idea how much noise we, er you, made last night? Aside from that little issue of the most powerful Grigori known to this world just happening to drop her shields completely. In a city filled with exiles.’
I blushed and bit my lip. ‘That was where you disappeared to,’ I murmured, remembering the way he had left the room.
Lincoln was still smiling widely. ‘I talked to security and had them put some extra hands on external protections.’ He shrugged. ‘I figured if there was a chance that … I wanted you protected.’
‘Oh,’ I said, relieved that he had been of sound enough mind to think about such things.
‘And …’ he added, his smile now dimming a little, ‘my guess is, the only reason no one beat my door down to see who was killing you was …’
My smile dropped away altogether. ‘Phoenix.’
He was the only explanation. Lincoln was right; with the amount I’d screamed as he’d mended my soul, the whole house would have heard.