Suddenly, a warm light fills the area, nothing like the woman’s starlit beams. I hear her gasp with relief as the spirits hurtle away from the flames and back into the darkness. A light-haired Fae man runs toward us, a cloak flapping out behind him. Recognition pricks at my mind, but no memories come. The man skids to a halt beside us, hand on the hilt of his blade. The woman crawls out from my shadow, hiccupping with relief. I look curiously at her, she’s unlike any Bloodbane I’ve ever seen; weaker.
“What were you thinking?” The man says, his pale eyes cutting through me. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”
A snarl rips from my throat. “You dare speak to me with such insolence?”
The man cocks a brow, looking amused. “And what about you? What about your insolence, your inconsiderate actions towards us all? Gods, Altair, get a grip.”
“I’ll strike you down where you stand,” I threaten.
Suddenly, I feel the tip of a cold blade slice into me. I look in shock towards the woman. At my side, her dagger is buried in my ribs. She grimaces, tugging it out with a sickening squelch. I stagger, feeling dizzy. My vision grows hazy as I collapse to the sand. I see blurred outlines of the man tackling the woman.
“Verity,” I murmur, the name coming to me like a sunbeam. Pain flares in my ribs and along my chest.
The woman screams obscenities at the man, clawing at him. But her eyes are on me. Pale blue. Ah, Verity, I smile to myself. My Verity. I feel my wings shrink away, feathers fluttering to the ground and turning to ash almost instantly. Slowly, my limbs retract into a Fae form. The process is painful and slow, but not as painful as the burning in my ribs and chest. I glance down at myself when the shift is finally over.
The runes Verity carved into my chest have bled over me, coating me in red. There’s a hole in my side, blood spilling evenly and thickly from it, pooling in the sand. I sigh, feeling light and weightless.
“What did you do to him?” The man, Moritz, I remember, snarls.
She kicks at him, knocking him off balance and scrambles towards me. “I saved him,” she pants, half-crawling, half-running to me.
I lift a weak hand and smile when she reaches my side. “Verity,” I breathe. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” She takes my hand, squeezing it tightly. “It wasn’t you, it was the curse.”
“Is it?” I ask, trailing off.
She nods, silver tears shining in her lovely eyes. “It is. You’re free.”
“And will I die?” I ask, cocking a brow at her.
The tears in her eyes finally fall and she sniffs. “No, you idiot. Don’t joke about it either.”
I brush away the tears on her cheeks. “Stop crying, sweet Verity.”
She leans into my palm, her hands clutching at her knees. “I wish I could hate you,” she whispers.
Before I can respond, she buries her face in the crook of my neck, arms hanging awkwardly around me. I can feel the hot drip of her blood from a cut she sustained during the attack drip onto my bleeding chest. Fire sparks in me as our life force mingles. I close my eyes, letting it sweep through me, purer than anything I’ve ever felt before. I wrap my arms around her, ignoring the sharp pain in my side and chest. Joy, unadulterated by the curse or thoughts of the future, swells in my chest. I’m free.
Tears well in my eyes and I clench them tightly closed, fighting against them. Verity lifts her head, and I can feel her eyes searching my face. I feel the light touch of her cool lips on my eyes, kissing away the tears. She pulls away and my heart aches.
Moritz was good enough to keep his distance during the exchange. I tear my eyes away from Verity long enough to see his smile. It disappears quickly from his face and draws his lips back into their usual, sour position. He jerks his head back towards camp.
“We should get back before they send anyone else,” he says, approaching. He holds out a hand and I take it, letting him hoist me to my feet. Moritz’s eyes rove over me, taking in the runes on my chest. He claps me on the back, looking serious. “I’m glad for you.”
I give him a weak grin. “Don’t get soft on me now, old friend.”
“Don’t get cocky,” he retorts, hiding a grin behind the cowl of his cloak. He glances at Verity on my other side. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“Me too,” she says, eyes darting to his groin.
“Only my ego,” he quips.
We fall into silence as we trudge back to camp, protected by Moritz’s bright torch. My eyes drift to Verity at my side and I have to clasp my hands together to keep from taking hers. There’s a bounce in my step I haven’t felt in years. I dive into myself, searching for the seed of the curse I felt even after Verity promised herself to me months ago, but I can’t find it. Verity meets my gaze and smiles genuinely.
I grin back. I can feel the spark of her in my veins, a constant taste of what it is to be loved by her. I cling to it, knowing I may never feel it beyond this again. But it's all I need. To know that she loved me as I love her. I will hold that secret fire to my chest where it will burn for eternity until my body wastes away into nothing. It's a hope and a promise, an assurance that I will always be Verity's. Always.
Chapter 18
Verity
I hardly slept for the rest of the night, my thoughts swirling around Altair and the force
