Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
"Every Forsaken in Eitr is gone," he murmurs, his deep voice wrapping around me. "We destroyed them. But the rest will pay for their crimes. I vow to you, they will."
I exhale a shaking breath and nod. I want them to pay. I want them to burn the way my mother was burning them, especially the one who stabbed her. He was so pleased with himself.
His sick smile flashes in my mind, and I drop the spoon, shivering.
Why didn't he burn?
"Can I…hold you?"
The raw ache in Malachi's tone catches me off guard. I glance up at him, see the pain in his eyes, as if my grief is his.
I hesitate for a moment, torn between the desire for comfort when there's been none for so damn long and the fear of vulnerability. If I let myself lean on this man, I'll be greedy. I'll let myself need him. I'll take too much. I'll never want to let go again. I'm that starved for affection, that desperate to be cared for, to be loved. He'll see all my broken, jagged pieces. He'll see how much of a coward I am.
Will he regret saving me, then?
But as he holds my gaze, I find myself nodding anyway, too desperate to care if he sees it all, if he finds me weak. I'll be strong again later, but for this moment, for one day, I don't want to rely only on myself. I just want to be held.
"Yes," I whisper.
With a gentleness that belies his massive size, he carefully sets the tray aside and then lifts me into his arms. The moment our bodies touch, a wave of peace washes over me, chasing away the shadows that cling to my soul.
I burrow into his embrace, my cheek pressed against his chest. The steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my ear soothes me like nothing ever has. For the first time, I feel like I'm precisely where I'm supposed to be.
"I'm afraid," I admit, my voice a scrap of sound.
His arms tighten around me as if he intends to protect me from my own mind. "I'm right here, ljúfr. I've got you."
I tilt my head back, searching his face for answers. "Why do I feel like I know you?"
He hesitates, his jaw clenching. "That's a conversation for later, Marion."
"Please tell me," I plead quietly. "I need something in my life to make sense."
His eyes flash with an emotion I can't quite decipher. "And you think I do?"
I pause, uncertainty swirling within me. "Right now, I think you may be the only thing that makes sense in this world," I mutter, heat rising to my cheeks. "The rest of it is terrifying and overwhelming, but you feel…like home." Embarrassed by my own confession, I scrub a hand down my face, trying to hide the vulnerability I've just laid bare to him. "Ignore me. I don't know what I'm talking about."
"Ja, you do," he growls, gently prying my hand away from my face. His striking blue eyes lock with mine, intense and unwavering. "I am your home, Marion. I'm your mate."
The word hangs between us, heavy with promise. It should feel overwhelming. Instead, it feels…right.
"Mate," I whisper, testing the feel of it on my tongue.
"Ja." His gaze scorches me, igniting a flame deep within my core. "Your soul is bound to mine, and mine to yours. One day soon, you'll learn to love me. You'll let me love you."
His words should scare me, but they don't.
Love is the one thing that still seems familiar in this world. It's the one thing I understand.
It's also the only thing I've ever wanted for myself. And in a world of Forsaken and magic…well, loving a Fae like Malachi doesn't seem all that crazy.
It seems exactly right.
Chapter Three
Malachi
"Malachi, wake up."
I jolt awake as Marion's urgent, frightened whisper reaches me. I reach for her immediately, but she's no longer in the bed with me.
"Valkyrie?" I rumble, swiping a hand over my eyes to clear the sleep from them. I lift my head, spotting her standing beside the cracked bedroom door, peering out into the hall with her arms wrapped around herself.
"There's something wrong," she whispers, glancing back at me with wide, frightened eyes. My brows furrow as I haul myself to my feet, my protective instincts soaring in the face of her fear. I don't like it. She should feel safe here at all times. My job as her mate is to ensure she feels safe.
And yet, she doesn't feel safe here. Ever since she woke two days ago, she's been on edge. Anxious. Every little noise makes her jump. Every new voice has her reaching for me. Leaving her side kills me because I know she spends every moment huddled in the bed, afraid and searching the shadows.
And I cannot tell her that all is well because it isn't. While she slept off the drugs the Forsaken used to keep her complaint, our world splintered apart.