Chapter 10 Anabel #2
Luca lets out a shaky breath, his amber eyes flickering between us. His throat works like he’s trying to find the right words. “Somehow,” he says, his voice hoarse with emotion, “we’re bonded now.”
Cole’s fingers tighten around mine. “What does that mean?”
Luca’s gaze drops to where our hands rest over his heart.
The golden light pulses brighter for a second, like it’s answering.
“It’s a bond,” he says slowly. “A real one, divinely ordained. It only forms when love is…completely unselfish. Freely given. Pure.” He lets out a breathless laugh, shaking his head.
“I’ve seen it happen to others. But I never expected… I never even thought I could form one.”
My heart pounds so hard I can feel it in my throat. “Does this mean…” I hesitate, then force myself to ask the question burning in my chest. “Does this mean you can stay? For more than just tonight?”
Luca’s eyes shine, and for the first time since I met him, he looks vulnerable.
His lips curve into a smile so soft it makes my chest ache.
“It means we can stay together,” he says, his voice thick.
“Forever. Because of the love you and Cole have for each other. And because of the love and trust you so freely shared with me.”
Cole lets out a shaky breath, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “You…love us?” he asks, his voice soft. “But how? Not that I’m complaining, I’m just trying to understand.”
Luca’s smile widens, his eyes glistening.
He sits back on his knees, wings spread wide behind him.
It’s a wondrous sight, one that takes my breath away for a moment.
Luca cups Cole’s cheek with one hand and mine with the other.
“I started falling for you the moment you made your wish,” he says softly.
“In all my time, I’ve never received such an earnest, heartfelt wish.
Your love called to me.” He looks at me, then at Cole, his amber eyes softer than I’ve ever seen them.
“I didn’t just answer your wish because it was my duty,” he says, his voice raw. “I was drawn to you. Both of you.”
Cole’s fingers squeeze mine, his breathing ragged.
Luca’s thumb traces my cheekbone, the touch achingly gentle.
“From the moment I saw you in that piazza, Anabel, I felt it. The way you looked at Cole, like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. The way you trembled when he touched you, even by accident. You didn’t just want him.
You loved him. And you were so afraid of ruining it. ”
My throat tightens. I remember that moment—the gelato on my lip, his thumb brushing it away, the way my pulse had roared in my ears.
“And you, Cole,” Luca murmurs. “You watched her like she was the sun. You blushed when she smiled at you. You ached for her, but you were too afraid to believe she could want you back.”
Cole swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Luca’s gaze flicks between us, his voice dropping to something deeper, richer.
“I’ve spent centuries watching love bloom, but I’ve never felt it like this.
Not until you two. Your wish wasn’t just words.
It was longing. And I think it called to me because…
” He hesitates, his throat working. “Because you were always meant to be mine, too.”
The golden threads between us pulse, like they’re agreeing.
“I didn’t understand it at first,” Luca admits, his fingers sliding into my hair, tilting my face up.
“But the moment I touched you, the moment I tasted you, I knew. This wasn’t just a wish.
This was fate. The three of us, we’re bound by something bigger than any of us.
And this bond is real, and it’s forever.
Immortality is yours, if you choose it. Everything I have is yours. ”
The warmth of his words seeps into my bones, into the places I didn’t even know were cold.
“We’ll have some…red tape to deal with,” he says. “There may be a ritual we’ll have to perform in front of Jupiter to prove the reality of the bond, but…”
“What’s a little red tape in the face of forever?” asks Cole, grinning widely at both of us. Luca laughs and kisses each of us.
“I love you both,” Luca says, simple and sure. “And I’m never letting you go.”
Thank you so much for reading Anabel, Cole, and Luca’s story!