But then he dipped his head and ran his nose over the shell of my ear. “Don’t worry, iubita mea, I’ll be gentle.” I pinched his side. I didn’t believe him, and that sent all kinds of shivers and tingles racing over my body. His low chuckle vibrated against my earlobe. “I will,” he insisted. “You just woke up from a coma, I feel sorry for you.”
I tipped my head back and laughed. Talbott wasn’t known for his sense of humor, but I had always known he could be funny. It was just one of the many reasons I loved him.
“Are my parents still here? I should say goodbye.”
“They snuck out a little while ago,” Eden said. “I think they went back to the hotel. They didn’t want to interrupt.”
“We’re off as well,” Kiran announced. “You’re not the only one getting lucky tonight my old friend.”
Kiran’s famous smirk sat firmly on his face while Eden blushed as brightly as I did. “Oh, you think so-”
She went to hit him playfully but never connected with his arm.
The world spun out of control. All at once everything was so bright I couldn’t see, blinding and searing in its whiteness. The sound left the world along with the color. One second I could hear and see and then next I was blinded and the only sound that pierced through the veil was a high-pitched ringing.
My body hit the ground and the air rushed from my lungs. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see and pain screamed in my limbs as hotly as it ever had.
Once I hit the ground, I couldn’t move for long minutes. Eventually, strong arms clasped my biceps and hauled me to my feet. When I could only wobble, Talbott swooped me up into his arms and took off running.
The ringing faded and then suddenly the cacophony of sounds around us crashed against my head. I could hear again, but it came with a price.
Wedding guests ran in every direction, the heat of several fires burned along the vines. The vineyard had gone up into shooting flames, the aisles of grapes acted as wicks to connect all the different avenues for the fire to travel.
I tried to make sense of the chaos around us but there was too much destruction to tell up from down. Thankfully, Talbott didn’t seem at all confused about where he was going.
Fear gripped every one of my nerve endings. As the reality sunk in that we had been attacked, I wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and die.
In fact, I decided I would die before I could be captured. This had to be Terletov. I knew it had to be. And I would much rather give up now than ever face that bastard again.
I would never let him experiment on me again.
Never.
“Talbott!” I cried.
“I have you, Lilly. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
My fear didn’t ease, but it did feel comfort. I not only had myself to worry about, but Talbott as well, and I refused to let him go through any of what I did.
I saw armed men flash through billows of black smoke and towers of orange flame. I clutched Talbott’s torn tux with two fists and buried my face in his neck.
“Lilly, I swear to you, we will leave unharmed. I will not let them come within fifty-feet of you.”
I could hear the certainty in his voice. Feel the conviction. This man that I’d married would do whatever it took to keep me safe.
He would kill Terletov before he ever let that monster take me again. And I would return the favor if anyone ever tried to touch Talbott- male or female.
He was mine.
And I planned on spending an eternal lifetime with him.
“Where are Eden and Kiran?” I screamed over the sound of open gunfire.
“I don’t know!” he shouted back. “Hopefully, Kiran remembers how to fight.”
I pulled back and stared up at him. “You’re his bodyguard, Talbott! He’s our King. You took an oath! You have to go back and save him.”
He looked down at me while he made a seamless run around all kinds of debris and other dangers. “Lilly, I also took a vow. With you. He is my King, but you are my wife. And I am your husband. I cannot save him because I must save you. This is the way it will be from now on.”
Talbott chose me. Over Kiran. Over his best friend. Over his duty.
Talbott chose me to be his wife. And he chose to save me first.
The best thing I had ever done in my entire life was to fall in love with this man.
Chapter Six
Then
I had never been more nervous in my life. Not ever.
“Lilly, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. Eden will understand,” Avalon’s deep voice sounded perfectly comforting, but it had no effect on me. I was beyond help at this point.
My fingers shook violently at my sides so I clenched them together and tried to pretend I felt brave enough for this.
Avalon stepped in front of me and put two strong hands on my shoulders. They engulfed me and I felt dainty and more fragile than ever as he loomed over me.
“Lills, look at me.” Reluctantly, I lifted my eyes and met his bright green ones. They sparkled with his Magic and determination. “I know you’re worried about Eden and you’re a good friend, but you don’t have to do this. We can send someone else. Or no one at all. She has friends in the castle. Don’t let her guilt-trip you into this.”
“I want to go,” I swore to him. And I did. No matter how nervous I felt or how sick I thought I would be, I wanted to go. I wanted to take a stand against Lucan and I wanted to be there for my friend who was going through so very much right now.
She had been there for me through everything. She’d risked her life for me more than once. It was my turn to do that for her.
“Then don’t worry about Lucan, alright? He won’t hurt you. And if he tries, you have more allies in the Citadel than you know.”
“I know that too.”
His eyebrows furrowed together and he gave me a then-what-the-heck look. I opened my mouth to… lie probably, but a car pulled up in front of the Resistance safe-house and the words died on my tongue.
I knew they would send him. Kiran had sent word to Avalon days ago. And during that time I’d tried to prepare myself for this… for him.
But whatever steps I’d taken to reassure myself that I could stand up against the force that was Talbott Angelo were laughably insignificant now.
My stomach was a tight ball of nerves. My Magic zinged around my body frantically and I had trouble catching my breath.
“I feel like you’re going to pass out.” Avalon shook me a little bit. “Lilly, are you going to pass out?”
Maybe. “I don’t think so.”
“Puke?”
“Umm...”
“Spontaneously combust?”
“That’s possible.”
“Avalon,” Talbott greeted. He’d made his way over to us.
I had yet to take my eyes off Avalon. I was too chicken and my cheeks already wore my telltale blush.
“Hey, Man,” Avalon greeted casually. He dropped his hands from my shoulders and turned away from me.
That left me to stare at his shoulder. Which I was fine with. I could stare at Avalon’s shoulder for as long as I needed to without feeling weird about it.
As Avalon often said, desperate times and all.
“Lilly,” Talbott called with all his Romanian-accented sexiness.
Damn him.
And now I had to look.
I so didn’t want to look.
I squished my eyes shut and turned to face the boy I had been stalwartly avoiding for months. And it hadn’t been easy.
Ever since he took his official oath to join the Resistance, he had been a nearly constant presence at the safe house. Every time he showed up, I managed to avoid him.
I’d sent him a thank you note once, through Kiran. I wanted to let him know how much he helped me while I’d been trapped in the prisons. I knew he’d saved my life down there. I knew he’d protected me and made sure I got food.
So I’d thanked him.
But I hadn
’t been alone with him since the plane in the Moroccan desert. And now I was supposed to be alone with him for hours.
I let out a breath and fought for courage within myself. Spinning to face him, I opened my eyes but didn’t meet his. I stared at the center of his chest and worked on not combusting.
“How’s the-” Avalon started.
“We should be going,” Talbott cut him off so quickly I had to press my lips together to keep from gaping in surprise.
“Oh.” Avalon sounded a little put out.
“We could stay a little while,” I suggested with my softest, weakest voice.
Did I want to stay? Or did I want to go with Talbott? Did I want to be alone with him again?
Talbott cleared his throat. “If you’d like.”
My eyes betrayed me by lifting to meet his. And then I was lost. The answer to all my questions became glaringly obvious and a new surge of flutters buzzed through me as I came to terms with my feelings for the Titan standing in front of me.
I loved him.
I loved this man that was so wrong for me it was almost comical.
Our relationship would be illegal. Any kind of marriage to him would be forbidden. He was supposed to hate me. And I was supposed to live in fear of him.
And maybe there was some fear mixed in with the uncertainty and confusion. But I also felt hope and certainty. I felt clarity and so much excitement I didn’t know what to do with it all.
“We can go.”
His eyes grew wide with surprise. “I thought you wanted to stay?”
“I changed my mind.” My hands had started trembling again so I shoved them into my jacket pockets.
“You changed your mind?” Talbott’s Magic tested the edges of mine with care. I could feel his restraint as his Magic tried to hold back.
I thought he was pretty adorable like this and it made me fall a little harder for him. I couldn’t stop my smile. “I did.”
Talbott’s whole face lit up with his proud smile. “Then, let’s go.”
“Okay.” When he reached for my hand, I gave it to him willingly.
“So… you’re going?” Avalon called from behind us. We ignored him, but he still shouted after us, “What just happened? What am I missing?”
Talbott opened the passenger door of the little sporty thing he drove here and I climbed in. He loaded my bags in the trunk while I sat waiting for him. My heart pinged around my chest like the ball on a pinball table while I waited for him to join me.
What was I doing?
Could I really go through with this? Could I really give up every fear and anguished memory of our past and give in to what my heart truly wanted?
I heard Avalon and Talbott talking quietly before Talbott said goodbye and jumped in the driver’ seat. He shot me another anticipatory smile and then started the car.
We drove away from the safe house and I couldn’t help but feel like my entire world was about to change. It was this profound thing inside me. The knowledge, the confidence, the absolute conviction that not one of the days ahead of me would ever be lonely again. Admitting my feelings to Talbott would change me irrevocably and solidify something in my life that had been missing.
I had to let go of what had happened in our past and of all the misconceptions I’d held about him all this time.
If Talbott could do the same thing for me, then what stood in my way to stop him?
He had me thrown in prison once, but then I’d plotted to end Kiran, who was like a brother to Talbott. He had kept his distance because he was afraid of the strength of his feelings for me. But I’d kept my distance from him too, hoping I would never have to acknowledge how I felt about him. He’d been raised in a culture that helped him develop prejudice and unfounded hate. But then, so had I. He’d betrayed me when the Guard had attacked the farm.
But then he’d fought every day since then to make sure I stayed alive. He helped rescue and save my parents. He helped rescue me. And I knew he’d saved my life more than once.
I could get beyond our pasts. I had gotten beyond our pasts. So far beyond.
And now there was nothing but a future to look forward to.
I just had to tell him that.
But what if… what if he had stopped feeling that way for me? Or didn’t feel as strongly as I did for him? What if I told him my feelings and he got bored with me?
Could I go through with this?
New nerves fizzled through me, turning my chest into a pounding drum and my Magic into an active volcano of energy.
“Where are we going?” I asked in a whisper after hours of silent travel. We seemed to be headed toward the top of a mountain.
“We need to talk,” he said simply.
That eased some of my most-recent fears. “Okay.”
“Okay?” he asked with his thick accent. “Really, okay?”
I smiled. “Yes, okay.”
“What’s changed, Lilly? Why are you so willing to speak with me?”
“We’re going to talk, Talbott. I have some things I’d like to say too.”
He had trouble swallowing but settled down after that. As we continued to climb the mountain, the warm afternoon sunlight poked through the tall trees and shined spotlights down on the winding road. I felt this great sense of peace come over me. My usual anxiety and plethora of fears drifted away and the space they’d dug out inside me filled with calm and trust.
It was all Talbott, I realized.
I couldn’t believe that. I didn’t know love would be like this.
I hadn’t really thought about it, but I guess I had assumed that love would just be an addition to all the other feelings and fears I felt. I didn’t realize love would come into my life and negate all that had plagued me.
It took my fear of being alone and erased it. I wouldn’t be alone because I had Talbott. It took my fear of being captured, imprisoned and tortured and refuted it. I wouldn’t be kidnapped again because Talbott would protect me. And if worse came to worst, then he would save me. No matter what happened, Talbott would always save me.
He would stand up for me. He would champion for me. He would fight for me, just like he’d done all this time.
Well, if he still cared about me…
After a little while longer, Talbott pulled the car over to the side of the road. He paused for a second with two hands on the steering wheel before shooting me a sideways look. Then he exhaled a long breath and climbed out of the car.
He rushed around the front so I waited patiently for him to open the door. He seemed grateful that I’d let him do that, which seemed a little silly to me. But I wasn’t going to fight chivalry.
He took my hand again, slipping it into his without permission. But then again, I didn’t pull away so that was probably all the permission he needed.
A trail wound away from the road and into the thick autumn trees. I hadn’t even noticed it until he started walking us along it.
The crisp breeze rustled the dying leaves and the air smelled like smoke and fall. I closed my eyes and tipped my face to the sun when it shone through the thick canopy of branches overhead.
“You’re so beautiful,” Talbott murmured.
His, voice as much as his words, startled me. I’d gotten used to our silence and the peace of the afternoon. And… and I really hadn’t expected him to lead with that.
“Thank you.” I didn’t know if I’d made any sound though. My heart hammered in my throat.
“Can we talk now?” he asked almost shyly.
I nodded, still not able to speak actual words. He stopped on the trail and turned to face me. He reached for my other hand and held them between us as if he were afraid I would float away.
Or run away.
“Lilly I-”
“Did you get my note?” I squeaked.
He took a slow breath and then nodded. His eyes were so filled with emotion I didn’t understand they glistened black in the soft light. I felt like if he spoke now I wouldn’t be able to hear him ov
er the pounding of my own heart.
“Yes,” he said. “I got your note. You told me thank you for all that I’d done for you.”
He sounded a little put off by that, so I tried to reassure him. “And I meant it. Talbott, thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me.”
He took a step into me, bringing us a mere two inches apart. “I don’t want your gratitude, Lilly.”
“You don’t?”
“Gratitude is impersonal. It’s given out of duty and obligation. I don’t want your obligation.”
“Not always!”
He growled at me. Such a typical Talbott response! I opened my mouth to say more, but he cut me off with more words I hadn’t expected. “I want your feeling, Lilly. I want you to feel something stronger than duty, stronger than a platonic sense of propriety. I want more than that. I want everything more than that. I want… I want…”
In a breathy whisper, I asked, “What, Talbott? What do you want from me?”
“I have been falling in love with you since the moment I set eyes on you. It’s as though, the second you set foot in my life, my purpose, my reason for living shifted. I was born for one, very specific reason and yet within seconds you changed my whole existence. I want to do the same for you. I want to be the reason you live, the reason you fight. I want you to fall for me as hard and eternally as I fell for you. I know that I have treated you poorly in the past, but Lilly I will do whatever it takes for you to forgive me. And I want you to know that no one will ever hurt you again. Never. I will never let anything harm you or touch you. I want to protect you from everything Lilly. I want to save you like you saved me.”
“Saved you?” His words were a whirlwind inside my chest, spinning my heart into an unbelievable place. How could someone so perfect care for me? Want to be with me?
He was a hero. I was just an ordinary girl.
“Yes,” he breathed roughly. “From a lifetime of prejudice, from a loyalty that would have killed me, and from myself. You saved me over and over and over and I only want to return the favor.”
“I love you,” I blurted.
He stumbled back a step and I followed him, maintaining our closeness. “What?”
“I love you,” I repeated. “I have for a long time.”
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