Chapter 54
Chapter Fifty-Four
R ays of sunlight streamed through the window, brushing golden warmth across my face. My eyes snapped open, heart already racing. Today wasn’t just any day. Today mattered.
Gone was the girl who had to sneak pants beneath her dress. Gone was the version of me molded by expectation, forced to soften her edges just to survive.
I tugged on a pair of black leather pants and a long-sleeved linen shirt—soft, fitted—then cinched a corset tight around my ribs. In the mirror, I barely recognized the girl staring back.
No—this wasn’t a girl at all.
This was a warrior.
Unapologetic.
Ruthless.
Entirely myself.
Even the Gods would have to deal with it.
I stepped out of my room—then halted mid-stride when I collided with a wall of muscle, shadow, and steel. All of it wrapped in onyx.
Maalikai.
My breath caught. It had only been a day, but something about him always managed to feel brand new. He hit me like a blow to the ribs—dangerous in all the right ways. Every line of his body sharp, disciplined, lethal. Blades strapped across every visible surface, like violence had become part of his wardrobe.
A predator in human skin.
Mywarrior.
Without thinking, I reached up and kissed him—slow, deliberate. Just long enough to quiet the ache that had clawed at me all night.
He stilled, eyes flicking wide. “What was that for?”
I tilted my head, feigning ease. “Felt like it.”
But what I didn’t say—not aloud—was the truth. That when he wasn’t near, something in me fractured. That his gaze realigned parts of me I hadn’t known were broken.
That he made me feel seen.
Wanted.
Like I was his .
“Are you ready for today?” he asked, voice low.
“Always,” I murmured.
“I’ll get the supplies.”
“I’ll be?—”
“Saddling the horses?” His smirk deepened.
A laugh slipped free. Damn him for knowing me better than I knew myself. We moved around each other like seasoned dance partners—seamless, instinctive. Like the draw of a bow and the release of an arrow.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. Not rushed. Not hesitant. Just there . Then he turned and walked away, each step slow, deliberate. Every movement radiating quiet power.
Gods, he was unfair.
And he didn’t even know what was waiting for him yet.
I could’ve gone with him. Should’ve, maybe. But I was too eager to give him his gift. Every second felt like an hour—and I didn’t want to wait anymore.
By the time he returned, both horses were saddled. Sunlight caught the strands of his hair, casting a warm glow along his jaw and the stormy line of his brow. Even with that brooding edge, he’d never been like that with me.
With me, he softened.
Just enough.
He wore his pack slung over one shoulder, a sword strapped to his side. Between the two of us, there wasn’t a threat in the realm I feared.
He was death wrapped in flesh.
I was magik barely contained.
Together, we were no mere warning–we were ruin. We were the storm no prophecy dared name. The thing even monsters whispered about and a force the Gods themselves feared.
Or at least I like to think we were.
Maalikai took Jet’s reins, and we fell into step beside each other, leading the horses out of Ophelia. His eyes found mine, and that one look sent a jolt straight through my chest.
Today was the day. The one where I’d give him something that spoke louder than any words. Especially the ones I struggled to say like…
I’m yours.
Completely.
Unapologetically.
Yours.
“What’s wrong?” His voice was quiet, rough. The kind that tugged the truth straight from your throat.
“Nothing.” I kept my tone light, matching the horses’ pace.
“Then why do you keep looking at me like that?”
I bit down on a smile. “Because you’re so Gods-damn handsome it’s distracting.”
He halted Jet with a flick of the reins, forcing me to stop too. Before I could retreat into sarcasm, he leaned in close, brushing his fingers along my cheekbone.
“You’re so full of shit,” he said—gruff, amused.
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me against him until every inch of space vanished. His lips found mine—soft at first, then deeper, coaxing fire from where it slept inside me.
“You’re hiding something,” he whispered, his breath fanning across my lips.
“Am not,” I said, way too fast.
I slipped from his grasp before he could dig further and vaulted into Stormfire’s saddle.
My heart pounded against my ribs, already matching the horse’s pace as I urged Stormfire into motion. Wind tore through my hair, tossing it behind me like a banner. As Ophelia blurred in the distance, something twisted in my chest.
We wouldn’t return the same way. We might not return at all. Between magik training and Thrainn’s overbearing sense of ‘protection,’ everything felt… uncertain.
I drew in a deep breath, trying to etch this moment into memory—the light, the trees, the peace before the storm.
But something was wrong. A knot of unease pulsed low in my stomach.
Just nerves, I told myself.
Just nerves about the gift and the choice I’d made.
Still, the feeling clung to me like smoke.
He’d love it. I knew he would. The ring I’d forged from my father’s bracelet—reshaped, reborn. A piece of my past given to him.
But there was still a voice in the back of my head. Quiet. Cruel.
This is too good to be real.
A man like Maalikai doesn’t choose a girl like me.
Sometimes I had to pinch myself. Sometimes I still didn’t believe it. But today… today I’d show him.
What he meant to me.
He deserved something worthy of him.
And I hoped—Gods, I hoped—I was enough.