Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 48193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
I would linger in this night forever if fate would let us.
Instead I sleep, deep and dreamless, somehow aware of her next to me. My wolf reaching out for her every so often to be sure my mate is safe and sound.
She is. She will always be safe beside me. Time has made me a great warrior and perhaps that’s what I needed to be so I could live up to be fated to the powerful witch.
I’ve a few shallow dreams that are mostly fragments. Sounds and scents. Memories of Idalis in the candlelight above me and under me, the tiny flames reflecting in her gorgeous eyes.
The world has not been stopped by the moon after all. The night moves slowly through its remaining hours. I don’t care about the world outside the cottage, but my wolf has an understanding that is rooted deeper into the ground, and he keeps watch, as he always has.
I wake slowly wishing a new day would hold off. The gods could not stop the new day from coming, but it is waking up slowly as well. The sunlight that caresses Idalis’s windows is gentle. It is early yet.
Idalis sleeps deeply in my arms, her breathing slow and steady. There is no worry in her. No tensions. She’s let all her weight fall onto me in the night.
For a while, I simply lie there, savoring the moment. My mate. My beautiful and powerful mate. How have I gotten so lucky?
Many men have trusted me with their lives during my time in the army. I’ve taken that trust as the sacred bond that it was. I didn’t think I would experience a bond more sacred. I would have sworn there would never be one.
Yet, here we are and here it is.
I watch the light grow bit by bit. No one comes to drag me from the bed. There are no sounds of the army preparing for the day around me. Nothing compels me to ease Idalis out of my arms and leave her behind.
Not yet.
I savor that, too. There were no shouts to rouse me from my sleep. There were no war horns or drums. Idalis asleep in my arms is the greatest peace I have ever known.
No more prophecy. No more curse. They are both broken, both dissolving into the past like they never existed. From this day forward, I am free of that sorrow. Although now another persists. I must leave her. After the royal wedding, we return to the battlefield. War does not wait for love.
I don’t allow myself to think that another sorrow will come to replace it. For now, there’s no such thing.
Eventually, a soft sound gets my attention. At first it is like the chirping of an insect outside the cottage, but the more I listen for it, the more familiar it becomes.
One of my crystals.
Idalis doesn’t stir from the sound. Carefully, I move her gently to the pillows and cover her with the blankets. She turns over with a sigh and continues sleeping, nestled into the warmth of the bed.
I find a pair of pants and a shirt, then go to my pack and draw out the crystals. The morning sun is brighter when I leave the cottage and find Idalis’s small outdoor table.
I’m sure it is Jorge who is trying to summon me. Adrenaline rushes in my blood at the thought. My mouth goes dry with nervousness.
When the call connects, I’m proven right.
“Ryker,” my commander says. “Can you hear me? It seems the storm has passed.”
There’s a note of optimism in his voice that makes my heart ache. Jorge is the person who is most like my brothers. I’d protect him as if he were a member of my pack, and he would protect me just the same. We’ve seen horrors together. Survived together and conquered together.
“I can hear you,” I answer him. The morning breeze ruffles my hair. It is already warm. The storm has passed. The day will be a lovely one. It reassures me that Idalis won’t hear this conversation even if she wakes. A twinge of nervousness prickles through me at that idea, and another at the idea that Jorge might give me news that shatters the peace I’ve only just found.
“I’ve received word that the portals across Athica are working again.” Jorge doesn’t smile as he says this. His expression remains serious, though not frustrated, and I ache again at how familiar he is to me. “Have you tested them yourself?”
“Not yet,” I answer. “I’ve only just woken.” His brow arches at that information. “I’ve news as well.” My pulse quickens as I shift where I sit. Unsure of how he will take the news.
“What news?” Jorge questions, his brow slightly raised.
I answer him as quickly as the words will leave me. “I’ve found my mate.”