CHAPTER 47
Frankie
A glow gathers under our palms as we open ourselves up.
For the first time, it appears. A single thread of light, fine and trembling, stretched between us. So small, and yet the reason for everything. The bond.
It begins to unravel. The light jerks, tightening once before it tears. The sensation is worse than pain. Something inside me is being peeled away. The thread unwinds until there’s nothing left but the empty space where it used to live.
I reach for it. Please! Just one more heartbeat with it. Just one more.
The last of it snaps free, pulling me forward with a strangled sob. Zarreth catches me, holding me against his chest. A tremor runs through his body, another sob breaking free. We cling to each other as the glowing braid drifts across the ash and vanishes into the heart of the gate.
The portal steadies, no longer thrashing, but instead pulsing slowly as the warmth of my mating mark fades from my skin. The emptiness it leaves behind nearly breaks me.
“It’s gone,” I sob.
He presses his forehead to mine. “You don’t need a mark to find me.” His voice cracks. “You’re in me, Frankie. Every thought. Every breath. If it takes losing everything to keep you alive, I’ll do it again. Every time.”
I try to believe him. I know nothing can change the way we feel about each other, but everything inside me feels broken. I’m empty now and it fucking hurts. My chest keeps pulling tighter and tighter, trying to find what’s no longer there. I can’t believe this is happening.
A voice threads through the stillness. “It’s done.”
I don’t look up. I can’t. Zarreth’s arms tighten around me like he’s afraid she’ll take me too. After a moment, I gather the strength to speak. “Why does it feel so wrong?”
“Because the balance is not whole. He is shadow unbroken; you are the bridge between light and dark. To stay whole, the portal will seek to correct itself. Each time someone passes through, it will draw from what light remains, and that light is yours.”
“So, it takes from me,” I manage. “Every time?”
“Yes,” she says. “You are its tether now, Frances Hart, the guardian who steadies the breath between realms.”