Chapter 46 FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Chapter forty-six
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Ornella
It had been hours since we left the cavern and returned to the encampment.
I had lost track of how many times we had made love since then, but it seemed like we might have finally exhausted ourselves.
We were both tangled in his silk sheets that clung to our damp skin as we caught our breath.
I had been healing Sage periodically through the day as my power or that of the others was replenished, but it was starting to feel like it would never be enough.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him, and he tensed as if he knew what he was about to say would upset me.
“There is no… wound. And yet it aches as if my flesh was stripped raw,” he admitted as his hand rose to rub at his unblemished sternum as if he were in pain.
“My magic isn’t helping you at all?” I asked in alarm, covering his hand with mine so it stilled on his chest.
“It is. You have healed the physical strains. But there is still an ache that feels like it is…” His voice trailed off, and I knew he was unsure whether he wanted to burden me with the full extent of whatever was wrong.
“Sage,” I breathed his name in a soft plea for him to be completely honest with me, and he sighed.
“I think this pain is something that may never be fully healed for me,” he whispered my deepest dread aloud.
I exhaled hard as if his words were a physical blow that knocked the air out of me. My lips rolled between my teeth as I tried to breathe through my nose while my eyes immediately filled with unshed tears.
“Sage… are you okay?” I whispered, barely managing to keep the tremble out of my voice.
“I will be,” he tried to reassure us both. “This feeling is more akin to… mourning. Perhaps time will help it.”
I nodded reluctantly as my eyes dropped down to his chest where our hands still clasped together.
“I will keep trying to ease it. Even if it only brings you a small measure of relief, I will do whatever I can. And… thank you for telling me the truth,” I added tentatively. “No matter what, I want to know your pain.”
I was shocked when I glanced up and saw a shimmer of tears in his eyes. Then he nodded and leaned forward to kiss my lips with heartbreaking tenderness.
“Just being here with you like this is healing for me,” he breathed against my mouth.
I pressed closer so Sage could wrap his arm more fully around me.
His fingers began stroking through my hair as he gradually smoothed the unruly strands away from one of my antlers.
He had already commented on the autumn buds that had started to open on the tiny wooden prongs.
My ear flickered when his hand brushed it slightly, and it made him breathe a laugh before he kissed it.
“I know you protected me. They would have used our bond to pull your power out of me too,” I blurted while my head was pressed into his chest to avoid his eyes.
Sage flinched the way I expected he would, and I felt a brief pang of regret for hurting him.
And then I felt his emotion. It was almost as if I had jogged his memory, and suddenly I could feel the echoes through our bond like I had the first time.
The memory of his fear and horror at the realization of what they were trying to do.
The feeling of their claws scraping along the doorways in his mind that would have given them access to me.
To the other riders. It had taken every ounce of his resolve and mental fortitude to keep those monsters from hurting us.
Even as they retaliated with unspeakable pain, Sage had defended our bonds fiercely.
“There was no way I would let them hurt you like that. No matter what they did or threatened to do to me. I will always protect you,” he promised me.
I was about to reassure him of the same, but then I felt his head turn away from mine.
“Are you alright?” I asked him worriedly as I lifted my head up to examine the deep furrows between his brows. It seemed to take him a moment longer this time to work up the courage to say whatever was on his mind.
“I just… I should not make promises I cannot be sure will never be broken,” he said without meeting my eyes.
“What do you mean?” I pressed, although I was pretty sure I already knew what he was talking about.
“I promised never to leave you, and then I broke that promise just hours later,” he reminded me bitterly.
I was expecting his words, but the explanation still felt like it crushed my chest. I quickly pulled out of his hold to straddle his waist, and my hands slipped around his jaw to make him look up at me.
The insecurity and confusion in his eyes wasn’t something I could have ever imagined seeing Sage struggle with.
I hated it. I hated it so fucking much.
“It was out of your control—”
“But you were reluctant to entrust me with your heart, and I insisted that you could. Then I let you down almost immediately. You must have been so… angry with me,” Sage guessed uneasily, watching me for any hint that his fear was legitimate. But I shook my head vehemently.
“I could never be angry with you for something so out of your control. I was heartbroken,” I admitted because there was a good chance he could see as much about my memories and emotions as I could about him. “But none of this was your fault; we could not have foreseen it!”
Sage held my eyes for a moment as if making sure of my sincerity before nodding. And as I watched him take one of my hands to kiss my palm, the anger that had been simmering in my stomach began to turn acidic again.
“The ones I hold responsible for this will pay for what has been done to you,” I swore with such fervour that my voice trembled. He glanced up in surprise.
“Did you not already mete out punishment?”
“Not to everyone,” I gritted through clenched teeth.
“You mean Riordan and Amira,” he guessed and raised a hand to tug more hair away from my antler. “I can only guess what you are feeling since she is your friend—”
“She is no longer a friend of mine. She betrayed me in the worst way possible,” I snarled. My rage was so potent that it filled the air between us with the awful scent of scorched wildflowers.
“I doubt she did so intentionally,” he tried again.
“Does it matter? You were taken and hurt because of her and Riordan. The Sylvan could never have taken you if not for the deal they made,” I maintained.
“Perhaps, but I am also home safe now because of her, and you would only—”
“But you are not whole without your magic!” I insisted more loudly than intended. I quickly dropped my head into my hands when Sage sat up, but I let him wrap his arms around me and give me a comforting squeeze.
“Hurting your friend will only hurt you in the end.”
“Maybe. But it would be worth it,” I mumbled into his neck as I melted deeper into his reassuring embrace.
“Not to me,” he replied as his hands stroked lovingly across my bare back.
“I am sorry. I hate that I cry so much with you.”
Sage snorted a soft laugh as he took a firm hold of me at the back of my neck to pull me off his chest so he could look at me seriously.
“Do not apologize for giving me the parts of you that you keep from the world. I am honoured that you trust me with the most tender pieces of you,” he insisted and then kissed my damp eyelids.
“I love you, Summer. I am not afraid of your darkness, and I will not falter before your ugly truths. I promise to cherish every forsaken corner of your heart if you will let me,” he swore.
“It’s yours,” I assured him as even more tears began streaming silently down my face.
“Good,” he murmured with an adoring smile, and then he kissed away every droplet on my cheeks.
Sage
I was jolted awake by the sensation of Ciaran prodding at me through the rider bond. Summer groaned sleepily in protest and tried to roll off my chest, but I caught her and dragged her delicious body back up against mine.
What is it? I asked Ciaran, keeping the link muted so he could not perceive anything about her.
Well… we gave you the day to be together, but we also missed you, Sage. So we decided we should come to your yurt tonight to see you. I wanted to give you plenty of warning so you two can be decent, Ciaran explained with a smirk in his voice.
“What?” I growled aloud, waking Summer.
“What’s wrong?” she gasped but then realized I was speaking to someone else and waited.
Why my yurt? I demanded.
How else can we be sure you show up? Ciaran pointed out with a mental shrug that made me grit my teeth.
How long do I have? I asked him.
Maybe an hour? But don’t be surprised if your mother cannot wait and gets there before the rest of us.
I heaved a sigh and sent him my appreciation for the warning before closing the link with him.
“What’s going on?” Summer asked once I dropped my head and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers.
“We are being… invaded,” I sighed.
“What?” she gasped, her entire body coiling readily as if she were preparing to spring out of the bed.
“No! I mean our friends and family cannot wait any longer to see me, and they are coming here soon.”
“Oh,” she breathed in relief, her shoulders dropping, and then she laughed as she leaned over to place a kiss on my chest. “I like the sound of ‘our friends and family.’”
I hummed my agreement as I bent down to nuzzle my nose between her neck and shoulder and greedily inhaled her scent.
My claim had only gotten more potent on her skin with every climax I’d coaxed from her; and despite the day we’d spent together, the idea of sharing her with anyone else made me feel a little crazy.
But night would fall soon based on the darkened canvas walls of the yurt, and I wanted to see my family now that I was better.
“Hello? Sage?” called my mother’s voice suddenly in the main chamber of my yurt. Clearly she was early, just as Ciaran had predicted she would be.