His eyes widened, then he ripped off his gloves, letting them and the letter fall as he took her hands. “Fine. You asked what I want. I want the impossible: I want to never leave your side. You’re right. I can’t promise you that anything outside of this,” he squeezed her fingers, “will change. I can’t run away with you right now. I can’t leave my squad behind – which was unfair of you to ask, by the way.”
She flushed, for he spoke truly. “I know. It was foolish.”
“You’re scared,” he said. “And angry. I am, too. We’re both fools who’ve gotten in over our heads, I think.”
Despite everything, a small smile tugged at her mouth. “Aye.”
His palms were rough and calloused from years of swordplay and they trembled as he continued. “Yes, I made a mistake by lying to you, after Talon threatened your life. I should have trusted you with the truth. But if you think I don’t love you with my whole heart, then you don’t know me at all. If you say the word, I’ll never speak to you again. But if you do love me, then maybe we can try to find a way forward. Somehow.” He took a deep breath. “What do you want, Kali?”
Kali swallowed tightly, making the cut at her neck throb. The pain reminded her of the promise he’d kept, despite everything else that had passed between them. Stonewall was every inch the perfect sentinel, except for the way his gaze fixed upon her. He watched her silently, every line of his body strung taut, but she could read his expression better than the simple words he’d written to her weeks ago. No explanation, no defense. Just the truth.
Love was a dagger over her heart. It would sink home, if not now, then one day. As surely as hematite had claimed her father’s life, it would claim Stonewall’s too.
But could she live without him in the meantime?
“I want you, Elan,” she whispered through another bitter wind that tugged her cloak. “All of you, all the trouble you’ve caused me, and all the trouble you’re going to cause me. I love you.”
His breath caught. “Say it again.”
Nothing had changed, but everything was different. She reached for him as snow drifted down around them in earnest. “I love you, Elan. We’ll find a way.”
Stonewall held her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers. “Together?”
Kali smiled. “Together.”
More books in the Catalyst Moon saga:
Catalyst Moon: Incursion
Catalyst Moon: Breach (Catalyst Moon Saga Book 2) Page 39