Chapter 63 Elowen
ELOWEN
The room is small but comfortable and very simply furnished—there’s a large bed, a small table, and a basin for washing. A single lantern casts a soft, golden glow over everything, making the space feel warm and inviting.
My eyes go immediately to the bed. It’s big—big enough for both of us.
My heart starts to pound again, but for a different reason this time.
Is he going to…does he want to…do I want to—
Yes.
The answer comes from deep inside me, immediate and undeniable.
Yes, I do. I want to be with him again—I want to have him inside me. Without anyone watching this time.
The thought makes heat rise in my cheeks, but I don’t say anything. I can still feel Theron—his emotions…his awareness of me…the way his gaze lingers just a fraction too long when he looks first a me, then at the bed, and back to me again.
For a moment, neither of us moves. Then he exhales slowly.
“Come on,” he says quietly, and we lie down together.
The mattress dips beneath his weight as he settles beside me. The space between us feels charged and fragile and full of everything we’re not saying.
I wait for him to say something—to make the first move. Every part of me is aware of him—the heat of his skin…the steady rise and fall of his chest…the faint brush of his shoulder against mine.
But instead of reaching for me the way I expect, instead of kissing me or touching me, he wraps his long, muscular arms around me and pulls me close.
I reach for him through the new connection we seem to have and find that I don’t feel any desire—just sadness.
“Let me just hold you tonight, baby,” he murmurs against my hair. “After tomorrow, I’ll never get to hold you again.”
Something inside my heart twists painfully. I feel so much yearning coming from him—he doesn’t want to let me go. He doesn’t want what we have together to end.
I don’t want it to end either, I realize. I want to stay with him. I want to build a life together. Could it be he feels the same way?
“Maybe…” My voice trembles but I have to push the words out before I lose my courage. “Maybe we don’t have to part,” I say. “Maybe I don’t have to do the spell.”
Theron goes still against me, and I feel an instant surge of hope that floods through him—bright and sudden and overwhelming.
A wave of elations washes over me—I was right! He wants us to stay together! My heart lifts…and then it shatters.
Because just as quickly, the hope I felt from him is gone, crushed beneath something heavier—some emotion so dark I’m not even sure it has a name.
“No, baby,” he says softly. “It’s better for you to do the spell. We can’t stay together—I wouldn’t be good for you.”
The words echo in my chest.
I wouldn’t be good for you.
I turn away before he can see my face…before he can see how much that hurts.
I thought maybe he wanted me…thought maybe what I was feeling from him meant something more—something for the future.
But I was wrong. All we have—all we’ll ever have—is the present and the past. No future for us.
I squeeze my eyes shut as tears slip free, silent and hot against the pillow.
Now I know for sure I have no choice—I have to do the Time Weaving spell.
I have to go back because whatever this is between us was never meant to last.
I fall asleep with my heart aching and tears still wet on my cheeks, holding onto one final, painful resolve.
Tomorrow I’ll end this. I’ll do the spell, go back in time, and forget everything.
No matter how much it hurts.