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His body answered to her need, hardening and warming in a way that stole her breath. He kissed her head where her injury had once been. His lips moved over her temple, trailing down until he was suckling her breasts with such sweet pressure she thought she’d collapse in on herself.
Her fingers memorized the hot planes of his body—the shadowed valleys and hard ridges. She kissed and licked and nibbled wherever she could reach, tucking away the wild taste of his skin within her fondest memories.
He rolled her beneath him and entered her in a series of slow, gentle tugs of moist flesh on flesh. They fit together like perfection, gliding as one, letting the pleasure build until it was glowing hot and vibrant between them.
Toren’s body tensed around her, cradling her close as he came. The sound of his release, the feel of it pulsing within her sent her flying into shards of light and color.
Slowly, she settled back to Earth like so much confetti, glistening and spent. The sun was peeking in through the window, warning her that their time was now at an end.
Thinking about what was next would only slow her down, so she shoved her grief and sadness aside and thought only of the task at hand.
She waited until Toren’s breathing had evened out before drawing him from the bed. A false smile stretched her mouth, feeling like a cheap lie. “Come with me. I have something I want to show you. ”
The smile he offered her in return was genuine, making the blue rings in his eyes expand and sparkle. “Anything for you, my love. ”
She swallowed back her tears, turning away so that he wouldn’t see a trace of them on her face. His future was firmly in her hands, and if he suspected that what she was going to do would hurt her, she feared he would stay. And if she let him stay, it would be the same as murdering the man he’d been—stealing from him those he loved.
Clothes grated against her skin as she dressed. She watched him move, following her lead like a child eager for a present.
She kept telling herself that this wasn’t a betrayal. This was the right thing to do.
Once her clothes were on, she felt more in control, stronger. She was doing this for the man she loved, and because of that, she would not be deterred.
She led him onto the back porch where his device sat in near completion. He stared at it, frowning as if it struck some kind of chord. Maybe he remembered more than she’d thought.
“Do you know what this is?” she asked.
He shook his head. “It is pretty. Did you make it?”
“Sort of. I helped. It’s only missing one piece. Stay here while I get it?”
He watched her as she darted down the steps and began poking around the fallen leaves for something she could use. There, near the base of a tree, she found a single blade of new grass trying to survive the cold. Her mind lit up with recognition as she spied it, knowing it was the right thing to send him home. She dug around the grass with her fingers, pulling it up with a little ball of dirt and roots still attached.
She cradled the shivering blade of grass in her palm, protecting it from the wind.
“What is that for?” he asked.
“It’s the last piece. ” She placed the grass in the bowl at the top of the sculpture. Sunlight bounced off aluminum foil, copper and silver and a variety of other items she’d collected for him.
“Stand right here,” she told him.
“Why?”
“It’s a surprise. ”
She poured water from a pitcher into the bowl. It tipped the grass on its side and ran out through the holes Toren had cut into the bottom of the wooden bowl. Rivulets of sunlit water cascaded down along the aluminum ribs, making them spin as it passed. Their motion sped until the blazing glare of sunlight bouncing off of them looked like a continuous streak of silver.
A subtle rumble shook the boards beneath her feet.
“What is happening?” asked Toren, sounding confused.
“Everything is fine,” she shouted over the growing rumble.
The symbol he’d formed from her earrings began to glow the same color as the heart of a flame. Blue light poured out over Toren’s body, instantly returning his pale skin tone to what it had been the night she’d met him. Until now, she hadn’t realized just how much his appearance had changed—how human he had begun to look.
His jaw clenched, and a low groan of pain rose up over the noise of the device. He turned his head enough to look at her, and the moment he did, she saw recognition light his eyes. He knew who he was again. He remembered.
She couldn’t hear him speak, but she saw him mouth the words, “Thank you, Adreeahbenwah. ”
The line of light widened out, consuming his body. Adria instinctively lifted her hand to cover her eyes from the glare. It heated her skin and tingled across her nerves, as though she’d been standing too close to the strike of a lightning bolt.
And then the light was gone. It winked out and the world went quiet and still.
Even though she’d prepared herself, seeing the empty spot where Toren had just been standing was a crushing blow. He was gone. Utterly gone. No phone, no mail, no way to ever see him or speak to him again.
Just like William.
She stood there for a long time, letting the tears fall. Wind sucked the warmth from her until she was shivering uncontrollably.
Like a brainless zombie, she shambled into the cabin and collapsed in front of the fire. The heat warmed her skin, but did nothing to penetrate the icy core that had solidified inside of her.
Toren was gone, and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be warm again without him.
Chapter Eight
When spring came, Adria took another vacation, much to the surprise of everyone who worked for her. No more selling her vacation back to the company. No more letting work consume her life. She had better things to do with her time than spend it in the office.
She’d spent the days after Toren left reshaping herself and her world. Grieving—for both of the men that she’d loved and lost. Days spent filling in the crater, and nights spent crying and screaming had left her exhausted, but somehow cleansed. She’d left that little cabin feeling stronger than she had in a long time.
The ragged holes that grief had dug into her had finally healed over, and now every day was a gift she was determined to enjoy.
She pulled up in front of the cabin where she’d finally found peace. The crater in the front yard that had become Grynar’s grave had been completely filled and reseeded. Mr. Corey had believed her lie that a bolt of lightning had done the damage she was unable to repair with the shovel and rake she’d found in the shed. The lawn was perfect and green—even greener than the grass surrounding the patch.
That’s the way she felt inside—as though the healing she’d done had left her improved in some small way. The scars that were left behind were not ugly and blighted, but reminders that some people were gifts meant to be cherished for as long as they were in her life.
She had returned to her life a stronger person, and in exchange for all of her suffering, Toren had given her the most precious gift of all.
She would make sure that their son knew about his father and everything he’d sacrificed for the sake of justice and the safety of his family.
Adria grabbed her bags from the trunk of her car, and waddled up the stairs to start her two weeks of relaxation.
Being here brought back memories, but instead of making her sad, they lifted her up and filled her with the love that had sprouted in this place.
She pushed the front door open and saw Toren standing in front of a roaring fire, his feet braced apart, looking larger than life. She closed her eyes, fully expecting her hallucination to be gone when she opened them again.
He wasn’t.
“I knew you would come back. ” His voice sounded real enough—deep and musical, just like she remembered.
Adria could barely find enough air to speak. “Toren? Is it really
you?”
“Yes, Adreeahbenwah. I did not know how to find you, so I waited here for many days. The owner of this home found me and ordered me to leave. But when I told him of my love for you, and gave him diamonds for his help in finding you, he said you would come soon, and that I should wait here. ”
Diamonds? No wonder Mr. Corey had offered her a free week’s stay out of the blue.
She dropped her bags and launched herself at Toren, realizing too late that if he was only in her imagination, she was going to end up slamming into that stone fireplace again.
Strong arms caught her and lifted her up. The solid heat of his body felt like coming home. His wild scent filled her head, bringing back a rush of bittersweet memories.
She kissed him like it was the last time she’d ever have the chance. Joy filled her up, threatening to make her burst as it buoyed her. He held her to Earth, his questing grip so strong and solid, she could almost fool herself that he’d never let her go.
Toren broke their kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. His hands found her firm, swollen belly under the loose sweater she wore. His eyes went wide with surprise and he pulled back.
He shoved her sweater up, and fell to his knees, as if looking for some hidden trick. When he saw that the baby bump was one hundred percent real, he stared up at her, his mouth gaping and speechless.
“I know. Believe me. I was as shocked as you. I guess the pill doesn’t work so well against magical sex. ”
“A child?” he asked, his voice low and reverent. “Our child?”
“Yes. ”
“But we did not plan for this. ” He sounded more confused than anything, which made her wonder how he felt about the idea of being a father.
She’d made all the decisions on her own, assuming that’s the way it had to be. She’d never once considered what he might want. “Nope, no plan, but sometimes the best things happen by surprise, don’t you think?”
His face split on a proud, happy grin. As he palmed her belly, his hand began to heat. “This is proof that Obliterra is not completely devoid of magic. It grows within you even now. ”
Relief made her eyes burn with tears. She’d never thought he’d even know that he was a father, much less that he’d find such obvious joy in the idea. Heaven knew she’d been through a wide range of emotions after she’d found out she was pregnant. It had shocked her, and taken her days to believe that she wasn’t just dreaming. A child hadn’t been part of her plans, but like Toren, she’d grown to love their son within hours of knowing he existed.
Seeing the look on Toren’s face, she knew he would, too.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” she told him.
“I could not stay away. I scoured Sorsca for a way to come back, but it took some time. ”
“How long can you stay?” she asked, knowing it couldn’t be long—not without risking his memories. But she would be grateful for whatever time she could get with him and count herself blessed. “I don’t want to waste a second. ”
His eyes shifted from pale blue to deep purple. He stood and held up his hand, and on it was a ring gleaming with three crystals that seemed to glow from the inside. “A gift from my mother once she heard of you. ”
“A gift?”
He hesitated as though searching for the right words. “She is skilled in such things. She intended it to be our wedding gift. ”