Chapter Thirty-Six
C hapter Thirty-Six
Rory
I scan the room, making sure no one’s watching. The party’s in full swing, but I can’t focus on anything except Brigid.
S lipping out, I head down the hallway. She’s heading toward the bathroom, then she turns, catching my eye.
Without a word, I grab her hand and pull her into an empty classroom. The door clicks shut behind us. Darkness envelops us.
“Rory,” Brigid breathes, her voice a mix of surprise and desire. “We shouldn’t—”
“I know,” I say, crowding her against the wall. “But I couldn’t stay away.”
My hands find her waist in the dark. She’s warm, solid. Real. After the void, I crave her presence like air.
“Someone could see us,” she whispers, but her fingers curl into my shirt. “We should go back,” Brigid says softly. “Separately. Otherwise, all of this pretending we don’t like each other will be for nothing.”
I rest my forehead against hers. She’s right. But that doesn’t make it any easier.
“Yeah,” I sigh.
I step back, instantly missing her warmth. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I catch a glimpse of longing on her face before she schools her features.
“This sucks,” I mutter. I run a hand through my hair, trying to suppress the feelings threatening to overwhelm me. It’s not just desire—though there’s plenty of that—but a soul-deep ache to be near her, to protect her, to exist in the same space. The wolf in me is desperate to claim what’s mine, and instead I have to pretend our mate bond doesn’t exist whenever we’re in public now.
“It does,” Brigid agrees. “But we have to be careful.”
“I hate this,” I growl, pacing the small classroom. “Having to pretend I don’t give a shit about you.”
My mind flashes to earlier tonight, when I had to force myself to look away as she entered the party. All I wanted was to pull her into my arms and never let go. Instead, I’d barely acknowledged her presence, knocking back a shot to dull the ache in my chest.
“I know,” Brigid says softly. She reaches out, her fingers ghosting over my arm.
Fuck it.
I pull Brigid to me, crushing her lips with mine. She responds instantly, her fingers tangling in my hair, as she presses her body against me. The kiss is desperate, hungry, like we’re trying to make up for lost time. I guess I am. For her, it was days. For me, it was… longer.
My hands roam over her curves, relearning every dip and swell. “Fuck, I missed you,” I breathe against her neck. “When I was gone.”
Brigid pulls back slightly, her eyes flashing in the darkness. “That redhead had her hands all over you,” she hisses. “I wanted to rip her throat out.”
I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. “Is that right?”
I tease, nipping at her earlobe. “Didn’t peg you for the jealous type, love.”
“Shut up,” she grumbles, but I can hear the smile in her voice.
“Nah, I like this side of you,” I murmur, trailing kisses along her jaw. “All possessive and fierce. It’s hot as hell.”
Brigid’s response is cut off as I capture her lips again. I back her up against the wall, one hand cupping her face while the other slides down to her hip. She arches into me, a soft moan escaping her.
“Rory,” she gasps, breaking the kiss. “We should... we should go back. Someone might notice we’re gone.”
I groan, pressing my forehead against hers. “Just a few more minutes,” I plead, my hand already sliding under her shirt. Brigid shivers at my touch. “Rory,” she warns, but there’s no real heat behind it.
“Tell me to stop,” I murmur against her neck, “and I will.”
She doesn’t. Instead, her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer as I trail kisses along her collarbone. My hand skims higher under her shirt, tracing the curve of her ribs.
Brigid breathes. “We shouldn’t, not here—”
But her body disagrees with her, arching into my touch.
A burst of laughter from the hallway shatters the moment. We freeze, bodies still pressed together as footsteps pass by the door.
“Shit.” I reluctantly pull away.
Brigid smooths down her rumpled clothes. In the faint light, I can see the flush on her cheeks, her lips swollen from our kisses. It takes every ounce of willpower not to pull her to me.
I want this. Want her. More than anything in this world. After the nothingness of the void, all I crave now is her warmth, her taste, her scent. But she’s right; we get seen now then all the time apart has been for nothing. Reluctantly, I pull away, feigning nonchalance I don’t feel. “Fine,” I grumble, adjusting my jeans. “For now.”
She shoots me a look equal parts amused and exasperated.
I lean against the wall, letting out a long breath, needing a minute before I walk back to the party. The darkness of the room feels oppressive now, reminding me too much of that other place. That timeless, endless void where I was trapped.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I just—” I trail off, not sure how to explain how I feel. How do you describe nothingness? “Being in the void, it changed things. Changed me.”
Brigid steps closer, her hand finding mine in the dark. “Talk to me, Rory.”
I swallow hard. “It was like... existing and not existing at the same time. Endless emptiness. No sense of time, nothing to anchor myself to—except you.” My voice cracks. “I thought I’d go mad. But I could feel you.”
“I could feel you too, Rory,” she says softly. “And you’re here now.”
“Am I though?” The words slip out before I can stop them. “Sometimes I wake up and for a second, I’m not sure if this is real or if I’m still trapped there.”
Brigid’s grip on my hand tightens. “This is real. I’m real.” I nod, clinging to her touch like it’s my salvation. “It’s just... hard sometimes. Everything feels different now. Marius, the others... even you.”
“Me?”
I hesitate, weighing my words. “Your powers are growing. I can feel it. And Marius... he’s not exactly subtle about his interest in you.”
Brigid tenses. “Rory—”
“No, it’s okay. I get it. He understands the darkness in a way I can’t.” I force a smile she can’t see. “Just be careful, yeah? There’s something off about him.”
She doesn’t respond right away, and in the silence, I wonder if I’ve said too much.
“I know,” Brigid says finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “I feel it too. The darkness. It’s... tempting.”
My chest tightens. “What do you mean?”
She’s quiet for a long moment. “It’s like this pull, deep inside. Calling to me. Promising power, answers.” Her fingers twitch in mine. “Sometimes I want to give in, just to see what would happen.”
“Brigid—” I start, not sure what to say.
“I won’t,” she says quickly. “I’m scared of what I might become if I do. But the temptation is there.”
I pull her close, wrapping my arms around her. She melts into me, burying her face in my chest. “I saw things in the void,” I murmur against her hair. “Visions, I guess. Of us. Of what could be.”
Brigid stills in my arms. “What kind of visions?”
I hesitate, unsure how much to reveal. “Flashes of a possible future. You and me, the others, together. Happy.” I swallow hard. “But also... darkness. Pain. Something big coming for all of us.”
She pulls back, and even in the lack of light I can see the worry on her face. “The prophecy?”
I nod. “I think so. It’s all tangled up somehow—us, the Morrigan, Marius, the others. I don’t understand it all, but I know it’s important.”
When she speaks, her voice is quiet. “I’m scared, Rory. Of what’s coming. Of what I might become.”
I pull her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I know, love. But you’re not alone in this. Whatever happens, we face it together. All of us.”
She nods against my chest, her fingers curling into my shirt. “Promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“If I…if I start to lose myself to the darkness. If I become something I’m not—”
“That won’t happen,” I interrupt.
“But if it does,” she insists. “Promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to stop me. Even if that means—”
I cut her off with a kiss, pouring everything I feel for her into it. When we break apart, I cup her face in my hands. “Listen to me, Brigid. I will always fight for you. Not against you. If the darkness comes, we’ll face it together. I’m not giving up on you. Ever.”
She lets out a shaky breath. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I echo.
We untangle ourselves, smoothing clothes and fixing hair. I can’t help but take one more kiss from my mate before we leave. “I’ll go first,” I tell her. “Wait a few minutes, then follow.”
She nods, but grabs my hand as I reach for the door. “Rory— ”
I give her hand a squeeze. “See you soon, love.”
Stepping out into the hallway, I scan for any sign of our nosy classmates or Council minions. Coast’s clear. I slip back into the party, snagging a drink to look casual.
My eyes find Brigid as she re-enters a few minutes later. She catches my gaze across the room, a secret smile playing at her lips. For a moment, I forget about prophecies and darkness and all the shit coming our way.
Right now, in this moment, we’re just two people falling in love.
And fuck if that isn’t worth fighting for.