A Soul Like Glass (Kingdom of Betrayal #4)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

M y heart splinters into little pieces that pull back together in a rush. “Erik!”

I throw myself into his arms, knocking him into the snow, desperate to feel his body against mine, to convince myself this isn’t a dream, that his heart is beating, and his chest is rising, and his arms are really closing around me.

By leaping forward, I’ve left my hammer behind. The light dims around me, but the moonlight has never felt brighter.

Erik catches hold of me, wrapping his arms around me so that we end up in a sitting position, my legs curled around his waist.

“Asha.” He says my name, and that’s all before he presses his cheek to mine and closes his eyes.

I hold on tightly, inhaling deeply, dragging in his wolfish scent, and at the same time trying to control my ragged breathing and to stem the river of tears flooding my eyes.

It’s no use fighting them.

“You died,” I cry, weeping against his neck and trying to drag him closer, even though his chest is already plastered to mine and my legs are already locked around his hips. “You died, Erik.”

He holds me as I cry, his voice broken as he growls my name over and over again. “Asha… Asha…”

“You chose to die.” My accusation is hard and grief-stricken, full of all the pain I thought I could push away.

His response is quiet, his words washing through me. “I never meant to cause you pain.”

“It hurt. It tore—” My voice chokes because my tears won’t stop. “Losing you tore me apart. I couldn’t…” I try hard to speak. “I couldn’t breathe. My heart… it broke.”

His eyes are closed, but tears leak from them. His hands press against my sides, pressing, moving, sliding up my back to my neck, then my face, cupping my cheeks.

“Never again,” he growls, his lips finding mine, a brief touch that isn’t enough for me. “I will never leave you again. As long as you want me, I’m here.”

I don’t wait for him to kiss me again, pressing my lips to his with a hunger born of loss and new hope. My hands tug at the base of his tunic, my fingers seeking his skin, needing to convince myself of his warmth, his life .

I’m conscious of the dragon and the Celestial Star, both very close behind us, the Star now dancing quietly at Graviter’s side, the energy around her humming happily.

The dragon’s eyes fill with tears as he lowers his head in what I can only interpret as a bow. “Asha Silverspun, I have witnessed the making of your hammer and now I have seen what you can do. I will never forget how you used your hammer to bring back life. The dragons will never forget.”

He clears his throat and turns away before I can reply.

“The Star and I will leave you to this time together,” he says, already moving. “We will return at daybreak.”

Daylight can’t be far away now. Maybe only an hour.

Time feels even more precious than it did before.

With every second, every heartbeat that I spend with Erik, my awareness of how quickly it could all end only grows stronger.

Graviter sends a storm of wind around us as he rises into the air with a fierce leap, tucking his legs under him to safely avoid colliding with us.

He soars overhead, banks to the right, and heads farther west.

Within seconds, he disappears into the night.

The Star darts toward the forest, as if there were suddenly something very important over in that direction. She also disappears into the night, but I’m certain she’ll be back, too.

Right now, my whole world is this moment.

Erik rises to his feet, keeping me close and supporting my legs to remain wrapped around his hips. “Asha?—”

“Take me to the fire,” I say. “Don’t let me go.”

Heat bursts to life in his eyes, a desire purer than I ever thought I’d experience.

Instead of carrying me to the cabin, he turns swiftly toward the forge, every step taking us closer to the warmth of the fire that smolders in the bowl beside the anvil.

A single lump of crimson coal rests inside the bowl, its glow gentle now that its fire has died down. The volatile substance will issue a constant heat.

I’m not sure if it will overcome the freezing air, but as soon as Erik steps into the forge, I’m surrounded by warmth.

It’s a small building with an open front but with walls on all other three sides, along with a ceiling.

Somehow, the warmth stays in.

His fur coat hangs on a nearby hook, and he snatches it off the wall, dropping it onto the top of the anvil before setting me down on the fur in a sitting position.

I’m already tugging at his pants and then my own, lost in the desire filling my body. His hands slip beneath my shirt and up across my back and breasts, stroking me through the material before he descends lower. I lift my hips off the anvil so he can drag my long pants off before returning to me.

His mouth burns kisses across my pelvis before he buries his head between my legs, his tongue stroking me, making me moan with need.

I take hold of his shoulders, pulling him back up to me. “I want more.”

He fills me and then I’m lost to the rhythm.

I refuse to close my eyes as I take every overwhelming, soul-consuming thrust, my mind and body bursting with pleasure until my breathing is ragged and my moans are coming hard and fast.

His lips crash against mine, his growl thrumming through me and pushing me over the edge.

I cry out as the orgasm breaks across me, taking him with me into a release so complete that my arms and legs feel formless, my world breaking apart and coming back together in his arms.

Erik draws me to the floor, our bodies still connected, somehow pulling the coat down first and lowering himself onto it while I rest down on top of him.

That’s how we stay for a long moment, where I once again settle my head to his chest and try to fight my fear that his heart will stop beating.

It thumps in my ear, a strong rhythm.

Please, let it never stop.

He speaks first, his voice quiet. “How did you bring me back?”

I lift myself upward, smoothing the dark hair away from his forehead and cheeks. “What do you remember?”

His expression is solemn. Far too solemn. “I remember you calling me ‘Vandawolf.’”

He’d asked me never to call him that name again.

I’d screamed it in my grief before he died in my arms.

He strokes my back, as if it doesn’t matter. “I chose to leave you. I was the Vandawolf at that moment. It was always easier for me to make painful decisions if I put aside my own heart and thought like a wolf.”

He falls silent for a long moment. Then, “I never expected to survive any of this. When my father died, I counted my days. When my brother died, I actively wished for death to come for me. When I sent you away from the city, I planned to die. I knew the humans wanted to self-govern, as they should. I was ready to die.”

His eyes seek mine. “You pulled me back from the darkness then. You kept me alive. And again, now in the snow. The darkness swallowed me, but you reached in and wrenched me back out again.”

I try to find the ability to breathe. Even speaking feels impossible while my heart is pounding so hard in my chest.

I’m not sure how I can explain to him how I woke him when I don’t really know myself.

“You gave me a hammer,” I whisper, as if it were that simple. “So I used it.”

I’ve left it out in the snow, but it’s not as if the ice can hurt it.

Erik’s responding smile is a little crooked. “You used your hammer.”

“I did.”

He looks pleased. “Do you like it?”

I burst into tears again. I can’t stop myself.

I press my forehead to his, openly weeping while his hands rub my back, then smooth down my arms, then rise to tangle in my hair. His lips find mine, the lightest brush that I can’t return because I’m crying too hard.

“I made it for you,” he says, nudging my cheek with his. “It’s the right hammer.”

I swallow hard, needing to speak. “Loyalty, strength, perseverance, and hope.”

“And love,” he says, brushing his lips against mine. “Don’t forget love.”

When I don’t immediately respond, he cups my jaw with his strong hand, his expression solemn again. “Don’t forget, Asha.”

“I’ll never forget,” I promise him.