Chapter 43
CHAPTER 43
Rosalina
S o much has changed these last few months. At times, Ezryn feels like a new person after all the layers I’ve uncovered. But in many ways, he’s still the same knight-in-shining-armor who gave me a room filled with cherry blossoms.
Through my sleepy eyes, I see him kneeling on the floor, methodically sorting the contents of his pack and laying out his sword and gear. His armor is made of leather and cotton now, swapped for bright silver metal, but his careful movements are all the same.
I pull the rough blanket up over my shoulder, unable to leave the warmth of the covers yet.
“Did you sleep well, Petal?” Ezryn asks, standing.
“Yes,” I murmur. Even though his curse hadn’t broken, our mate bond was strong enough to stop his shift, so long as he was wrapped in my arms. The same as Keldarion. For the first time, Ezryn and I spent the night entwined.
It was so peaceful, rocked by the gentle ocean waves, our naked bodies entangled, and my lips pressed to his chest, inhaling the intoxicating scent of his skin.
He’s wearing only loose dark pants now, and the lantern light paints patterns on his muscular chest. So handsome.
Yawning, I stretch. There are no windows in our little room, but I can hear the call of seabirds. We must be near land. Soon, Ezryn will leave.
Throwing my feet over the side of the bed, I get up, the blanket falling to my feet in a dark pool. I cross to my mate and wrap my arms around his shoulders, pressing my naked body against his back. He’s so warm.
A low growl rumbles in his throat, and he reaches up to hold on to my forearms.
“You’re still wearing your armor,” I murmur against his skin.
“It’s different now,” Ezryn says, gesturing to the clothes before him.
“No, the armor within you. Ez, talk to me.”
He gives a long sigh, then spins, sitting on a small stool and pulling me onto his lap. My legs fall to either side of his waist. Ezryn tilts his head, gaze roaming over my body, as his knuckles lightly brush my back. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop being spellbound by your beauty.”
I weave my fingers through the waves of his dark hair, the tips of my breasts brushing his bare chest. “That’s not what I meant.”
He draws me into an embrace, his facial hair rough on my shoulder. “My mother used to be a brilliant tracker. She could find a man lost in the mountains using week-old footprints or lead herself out of the depths of a wood by navigating the moss on the trees. She never lost her way. Not in the wilds, not in her convictions.” His throat bobs. “Rose, I don’t know my way.”
I know he’s not just talking about navigating the Ribs and locating the Huntresses. His dark eyes shine with a vulnerability I rarely see in him. The expression makes my heart catch. Yesterday, we sweated out so much of the anger I carried. What was left slips out of me now. For all the mistakes Ezryn’s made, I’ve known they were never truly out of malice, but from hurt. From shame. Feelings I too carried for so long.
“You’ll figure it out, Ez. I know you will.” I take his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. “You found your way back to me, after all.”
He places a hand above my heart then peers up at me through his lashes. His voice is barely a whisper. “Have I?”
“Of course.” The bond within my chest sings, but I know what’s between us is so much more than just the twining of fate. Our love has grown quietly, steadily, since I first saw him on the bridge at Castletree. From quick glances across the dining table to sharing our deepest pain, Ezryn and I have always been on this path. The one that leads us straight to the other.
“I thought I may have lost you forever,” he says. “How can you find forgiveness for me?”
“No matter what comes at us, you always find your way back to me,” I breathe. Seeing him like this, I know he’s still the man I fell in love with. Despite all the pain he endured—and inflicted—over the last few months, I still have hope in him.
Ezryn blinks up at the ceiling, eyes shining. “Then I shall do it again. I will come back to you, Rosalina. I swear.”
“I know.” I smooth down his hair, feeling my own throat tighten. “You’ll protect those girls, and you’ll find the Huntresses and bring aid to Hadria.”
“What if I cannot do it?” His voice darkens. “What if only the Prince of Blood can?”
I grab Ezryn’s chin and hold it tight. “You are a good man, Ezryn. A strong man. You, not the Prince of Blood, will find a way to do this. If you don’t trust yourself, then trust me when I say I believe in you. Can you do that, Ez? Can you trust me?”
He collapses his head into the crook of my neck. His voice almost sounds boyish. “I suppose.”
“Do you remember what I said to you when I first saw you without your helm?”
He pulls back to stare at me, words near reverent. “I know you.”
“I know you,” I repeat. “I know you, Ez.”
I hope he understands exactly what I mean within those three words. That I know his wounded soul, the one desperate to be the perfect leader, son, brother. The perfect mate. The soul that feels like it’s never good enough. Yet, I also know the man who would do anything for his realm, including giving up his magic because he thought it was right. I know the man who would do anything for his mate, even fighting to the top of the tallest tower in the Vale. The man who would turn into a monster for love.
“I know you, Rosalina,” he responds.
“You don’t need the Prince of Blood or your beast. You don’t even need your helm. Trust this.” I place my hand over his heart. “I do.”
“Rosalina.” His rough hand caresses the side of my face. “There are no words in any of the languages I know that could convey the depths of my love for you.”
“Your heart knows the words. I feel them through the bond.” I trail kisses up the side of his jaw before landing on his scarred ear. I wonder if, one day, he’ll let me heal his scars, as he once healed mine. I don’t think he’s ready for me to ask him that yet, so I settle for a feather-light kiss on the jagged tip instead.
He wraps his arms around my waist and tugs me even tighter to him. “It’s going to be a long road, Rosalina.”
“I know. But I’ll be here at the end of it. I promise.”
I stay chest to chest with him for as long as possible, treasuring each heartbeat, not knowing when I’ll once again be held in the sanctuary of his arms.