Chapter 20 #2
The children had moved from tears of tremendous emotion into unabashed joy. She knew it wouldn’t last once reality set in and they were forced to work through the arduous process of recovery. But for now, tonight, they were free and relishing the beauty of their freedom.
Their joy was infectious, and the adults were likewise in a relaxed and jubilant state.
Sev had even coaxed Cass into dancing and was teaching her an Eldrin style dance, spinning her with quick movements that had her laughing as she tried to follow him.
After a particularly dizzying spin that made the graceful warrior stumble, the two roared with laughter.
Cass broke away, smiling as she waved to Sev that she needed a breather.
Unerringly spotting Daya in the shadows, Cass came over to join her. The warrior emitted a much more relaxed energy than she had during the past few days.
“Having fun?” Daya asked, smiling.
“Kind of a strange occurrence for me, but yes, I am,” Cass admitted, letting her smile broaden into a grin. “Sev is fun to be around. Nothing riles him, and his energy is so relaxed. I’m not used to that. It’s a nice change.”
“Wolflumen lean toward being more intense? I’m shocked.”
Cass laughed. “Yeah, we’re pretty intense and focused all the time. You are as well, from what I’ve seen. Why aren’t you taking the opportunity to enjoy the night?”
Daya sighed, her eyes unerringly finding Connor in the shadowed light.
He sat on a rock near the fire, her father’s lute in his hands.
The fact that he’d brought it and a few other instruments had made her heart twist in the best way.
Her father would have loved to see his beloved treasures used on such a night.
Connor’s fingers strummed a fast beat as he kept rhythm with his foot for those dancing.
“I’m afraid of who I’ll find if I go to him,” she admitted with a low whisper.
“He seems like two different people to me since his memory returned. I love them both. Connor’s strength, loyalty, and resilience are without measure.
But to be that warrior, he has to be hard.
Sharp and cold. I miss the joy and laughter Raiden brought to my life.
The passion. The friend I fell in love with.
” Daya swallowed hard. “Tomorrow, I’ll say goodbye to Connor, but I feel like I didn’t get to say goodbye to Raiden.
I can’t keep any part of him, so it shouldn’t matter. ”
“Of course it matters,” Cass argued. “We build a… persona… to help us be who we need to be as warriors. Strong, ruthless, unyielding. The rest gets hidden. Protected. You probably do it too, as a guardian. Some of us have lived so exhaustively as that person that we lose the rest of ourselves. I imagine Connor feels the time without his memory is both a gift and a curse. He was forced to remember the parts of him that have been buried. Most of us never get that back, not once the warrior takes hold.”
Isn’t that exactly what he’d told her? I just want to be your broken warrior. Connor was struggling, trying to figure out who he wanted to be.
“A very insightful truth,” she murmured.
“But not helpful?” Cass chuckled, making Daya laugh morosely as she shook her head. “Mmm. Well, maybe you’re leaving out something significant. Maybe he wants the same thing. Feels the same way you do.”
Could that be possible? Had she changed personas as well, becoming someone different to him? The shift was subtler than his, but she couldn’t deny it.
Determination came over her. He was leaving in the morning, for good.
She would never again see the man she loved.
Who under other circumstances, she was certain, would have melded with her as her soul-bound mate.
Tomorrow, she would say goodbye. Tonight, she wanted to feel her heart beat in sync with his once more.
“Watch over everyone for me?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” Cass vowed. “Go.”
Unclasping her guardian robe, Daya placed on the altar behind her that still held the jars of herbs and other natural elements she’d used during the ceremony. Nodding her thanks to Cass, she moved around the dancers and came up behind Connor.
Looping her arms around his neck, she leaned over him. He looked up at her questioningly. “Raiden,” she said softly.
A spark lit his eyes as he tilted his head back for a kiss. She met him fiercely, dropping her stoicism to give him honesty. Her hand traced his jaw and throat gently as she urged him to deepen the kiss.
Too soon, he pulled back, but the fire emanating from him remained in his eyes.
The same look he’d been giving her for months before things became so complex.
He immediately passed her father’s lute to the young refugee boy, Holt, who’d been sitting with him.
Standing, he took her hand and led her away from the others without even a glance.
Moving across the clearing, he headed toward the small grove of weeping trees that bordered one side of the lake.
The large, sweeping boughs blocked out the sight of the guardian sanctum and the gleam of the fire they’d left behind.
It was dark and hidden, giving them a moment of protection from the dawn and all that would come with it.
Resolve lit Connor’s features as he framed her face with strong hands, his features barely visible in the shadows. “I love you, Dayanara. I’m sorry. So sorry I can’t be what you need. Can’t stay with you forever.”
She pressed her fingers to his mouth to quiet him. “Not a word about what comes. Just give me you. One more night.” She was terrified saying the words that sang in her heart would tear her to pieces, so she held them back.
“One more night,” he promised.
His lips brushed her fingers with kisses before he pulled her into his arms. His warmth blanketed her as he began to show her how deeply he felt.
Wrapping her arms around him, she let him lift her and press her back to a wide tree trunk.
She arched forward to meet him, matching his desire with her own.
Sweet, heart-wrenching kisses interspersed those of deep passion, making her tremble with emotion. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. She’d have years, centuries, to grieve the loss of her mate. Tonight, Raiden was here, and he was hers.