I glance at Korzyn. “I have something for you,” I say.
His silver eyes narrow with interest as he gets up and follows me back to our kradi. I blow out a breath, oddly nervous as we step inside.
I reach into the small wooden box I keep near our furs. “I wrote this for you when I thought I’d never see you again,” I say. “Vivian was meant to read it to you after I left. I was going to throw it out, but…I figured you deserve to know what I wanted to say.”
He takes the paper and sits on our furs, pulling me next to him. I peer over his shoulder and read the words to him.
Korzyn,
Sometimes, really bad things happen. The kind of bad things you never get over. The kind you can never really think about again because if you do, you’ll lose the ability to get up in the morning.
Leaving you is one of those things.
I hated you when I first met you. And I know you hated me too. It’s funny, sometimes, the way the universe works. How it can provide you with the perfect person only for you to waste so much time hating them that by the time you’re consumed with love for them, there’s no time left.
When I first met you, my heart thumped a little harder in my chest. Colors became brighter. Tastes, smells, sounds, everything became…more.
I thought it was loathing when really it was love.
I dragged both of us through the ultimate power struggle because I couldn’t admit how I felt.
You’re not innocent, of course. You did it too.
That’s what made us so perfect for each other.
I came close to asking you to come with me the other day. Came close to asking you to give up everything for me.
But I’d never take you away from Arix. He’s your family. You deserve to be happy.
I just want you to know I’m not leaving because you’re in any way unworthy. Your parents were wrong to let you be taken as a kid, and I hate them for what they did when you returned. If anyone’s unworthy, it’s me. You’re all that’s good in the world—yes, I hear myself, and no, I’m not drunk.
You could’ve let yourself turn into a cold, unfeeling monster after what your parents did to you. But instead, you let it harden your outside while staying kind and honorable on the inside.
It’s just one of the reasons I love you.
And it’s why I’m able to let you go. Because when you truly love someone, you want what’s best for them. Even if it’s not what’s best for you. You’re going to go on and find a woman who’ll fill the void I’m leaving. She won’t be as cool as me, but really, who is?
Arix will tell you the name of the noblewoman you were flirting with. Here’s a secret: I was staring daggers at both of you that night. I flirted with every guard in sight because I thought it would make me feel better.
It didn’t.
But even I can admit the noblewoman seemed nice.
Every now and then, when you bounce Vivian and Arix’s babies on your lap, or when you watch the stars each year on Seva, think of me.
’Cause I’ll always be thinking of you.
I hope you have an incredible life full of love and laughter.
You deserve it.
Your hellion.
My throat is so tight I can barely finish reading the letter. Korzyn meets my gaze, and his eyes are burning with a combination of sadness, fury, love, and frustration.
“If Vivian had read me this, I would never have allowed you to leave me. I would have gone to the marketplace and waged war until one of the traders took me to you. Wherever you were in the universe, hellion, I would’ve found my way to you.”
My eyes are hot, and I let out a choked sob as I reach up a hand and stroke it over his jaw. “Tell me again.”
He laughs, but the sound is rough. It’s a game we play—my grumpy commander and I. I adore hearing him tell me the words he’s never said to anyone else. And he pretends he doesn’t like saying them, but when he does…
“I love you because you’re loyal. Because you make me question everything. Because I crave you. I love you because you’re mine. My mate. My everything.”
I blink back tears. Neither of us know what it’s like to grow up in a healthy, loving family. We’re both…wounded. But together, we’ll make it work.
He folds away his letter and carefully places it in his own box. Then he reaches for me.
I wrap my arms around his neck, and he leans down, taking my mouth. He’s hard against me, and I moan at the feel of his body surrounding mine.
He pushes me back against our furs, following me down. I let out a sigh as he strokes my hair back from my face, handling me as if I’m made of glass.
He pushes up my dress, then pulls it over my head, leaving me in nothing but my underwear.
I gasp as he immediately takes my mouth, his hands stroking over my skin, making me shiver and groan against him. How is it possible that he already knows my body so well? Knows exactly how to make me shudder with pleasure so encompassing it feels as if I’m about to go up in flames?
I twine my fingers in his hair, holding him against me as his lips leave mine. I want to protest the loss of his hot, hungry mouth, but he’s already moving down, lashing one of my nipples with his tongue. He gently runs his teeth along it, then
