The hood moved. He was considering the offer. She took another step, this time directly in front of one stream of the lightning he was using to strangle Steele. Because the Reaper had said she was protected, right? And the dagger was technically still hers, until he accepted the offer. Her body effectively blocked that part of the lightning but Steele continued to be trapped by the other.
“I offer this to you in exchange for his life. I offer you this power.”
It wasn’t a spell, even though she’d learned that those would come to her in time. But her words held power too, by virtue of her bloodline and its link to this dagger, what she said over it would be bound in magick.
“You, witch, are a fool,” the Reaper declared and shifted his aim so that the lightning bolt stretched out to grab the dagger and its sheath from her simultaneously.
There was a loud thump and then the Reaper was gone as quickly as he’d come, and when Ravyn turned to look for Steele, he was gone too.
Steele watched her sleep.
For so many weeks he’d watched her doing things like walking down the street, sipping a cup of coffee, exercising at the gym and stealing...he couldn’t forget the stealing. The thought had the corners of his mouth lifting into a grin. She was everything he’d never imagined would be within his reach.
His beast had known that all along. It had been drawn to her immediately, knowing exactly what it needed to make them whole. Drakon Selection was a real thing. A part of his human’s mind had known that all along which was probably why he’d felt such animosity toward Theo and Shola’s pairing. Steele knew now that the past mistakes of Theo’s mother had nothing to do with the emperor and his new empress. Theo’s beast had made its selection regardless of the circumstances around them. Steele’s beast had done the same. A warm swelling in his chest confirmed the beast’s moment of glory and Steele smiled again.
Nothing but tender thoughts sifted through his human mind now, as the beast languished in victory and in love. Steele continued to stare at her. Long, dark hair spread out along her pillow, while the comforter rested so close to her nose he wondered how she was able to breathe. But she was breathing. He’d felt it every second of every day for the two days he’d stayed away from her. Today was a new morning, it was a new beginning, or at least he hoped it was. Otherwise what was all the hell they’d just been through for?
He knelt down beside her bed, reaching over to press the snooze button on her clock so the music wouldn’t wake her as it did every morning. This time, he wanted to be the one to wake her. He wanted to be the first face she saw in the morning and the last face she saw at night. He’d taken Theo’s advice and thought long and hard about who he was and what his life would be moving forward. The resounding answer had been Ravyn.
“You,” she whispered as she stared at him through one partially opened eye. “You can’t just fade in and out of someone’s bedroom anytime you please.”
Her voice was music to his ears and the balm to his long-tortured soul. Steele touched a finger to the tip of her nose and then pushed the comforter down.
“Only your bedroom, Ravyn. And only ever to see you.”
Her smile was slow but still gut-wrenching as it spread, capturing him as if he weren’t already entangled in her web.
She reached up to cup his face in her hands. “I thought you were gone,” she said quietly.
He leaned into her touch, turning his face slightly to kiss her palm. “Not after some hottie witch made the Reaper an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
“That worked? I wasn’t sure it would. I still don’t know a lot about my power or the dreamscape. That is where we were, right? Plus, I’m still trying to figure out how I got there inside your dream. I mean, I think it was like you said, that dagger united us on the roof that night and so you could hear when Temptra was whispering to me and I could drop in on your dreams.” She stopped and shook her head. “I’m still confused.”
Steele chuckled. “I am too. But you know what, we can figure it out later. Right now, I just want to hold you. I just want to know that this is true and it’s real.”
She lifted the comforter and sheet as an invitation for him to join her and Steele stripped out of his clothes faster than he’d probably been able to fade here. He was climbing into bed with her in no time, gathering her in his arms and pulling her close.
“I love you so much,” he whispered into her neck. “I never wanted to love, never wanted to connect again for fear of losing someone close. But I couldn’t leave you. Not from day one, I knew I couldn’t let you go.”
Her hands moved over his back as she hugged him close to her, fingers scraping over the scars he still had, the physical scars, because her being with him had assuaged the emotional ones.
“That’s because we’re better together. Isn’t that what you told me?”
Steele pulled back and looked into her eyes, filled with emotion and honesty and power. “Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“So, it’s a good thing I’m in love with you too, or else this might get awkward.”
He laughed and hugged her tight. “Not awkward, but I’m sure now that we’re together, things are about to get very interesting.”
Chapter Eighteen
Two Months Later
“This is an interesting setup you’ve got here,” Reese said as he walked through the double wood doors of the Safeside entrance on the
