Lawler fell onto his back, clutching his nose.
Wilder launched a lightning bolt at him and advanced on him whilst he was down. “How does it feel? To be weak and helpless?”
Lawler laughed, the sound wild and manic. “Fuck you, boy.”
Wilder sat on top of his father, ignoring the manic laughter and grabbed Lawler’s greying hair on one hand, yanking his head up from the ground and slamming backwards. “No. Fuck you, Father.”
Then he swung his hand high in the air, his fingers glowing with magic, before he punched his hand straight into Lawler’s chest. Bones crunched and snapped and Lawler’s gasp of surprise would be forever branded in my memory.
“Take that, you sick fuck.” Then Wilder pulled his hand free, his father’s heart clenched in his hand and he dropped it into the dirt like it was nothing.
Admiration and pride flowed through me as I watched Wilder defeat his father. He stood there, watching the last bit of life fade from the man who’d haunted him all his life, the wind whipping in his hair and his face as hard as stone.
He was magnificent.
Then the tether pulled back as Wilder called his magic back into his body and I finally let myself go. The fight left my body, and I surrendered to the softness of the grass beneath me.
This was better. Lying down was definitely better.
“Byron!” Wilder’s panicked cry kept me from drifting unconscious.
His face hovered above me and his eyes were bright and full of tears.
I cupped his face. “You don’t have to cry for me. I’m not dead yet. Or I think I might have died and somehow come back. I don’t know. It’s all a bit hazy.”
“You idiot,” he huffed as he wiped his nose on his sleeve and sobbed. “What did I tell you about getting stabbed in the heart?”
“Pretty sure you told me not to get shot, actually.”
“Same thing,” he said as he placed his hand on my chest. Warmth spread beneath his fingers and I felt the wound starting to knit back together.
When he pulled his hand back, it wasn’t completely healed, but it was close enough. I wasn’t in any danger of dying at least. I was, however, very much in danger of blacking out. All the exertion and the blood loss had done a number on me.
Wilder pressed a kiss against my lips and when he tried to pull away, I hauled him closer. I didn’t want to let him go, not when I’d just almost lost him.
“Stay with me,” I said as the world started to fade.
“Always,” he replied, and I drifted off knowing that I was safe with him.
I awoke in my bed at my apartment, the sun fading from the sky and Wilder watching me with curious eyes. He was lying on top of me, his chin resting on his folded hands and a sappy grin curling his lips.
“Well, this makes for an interesting change. It’s usually me watching you.”
He smiled wide and free. “I’m just glad you’re here. I had to bargain for your life, you know.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You did? With who?”
“With Death. Adela was right. He was a bit of an ass, but he did get me out of my deal with Terence.”
“That’s good.” I’d never been a fan of that deal, even though I’d understood the motivation behind it. “How do you feel about your father now?”
He pursed his lips. “I don’t really feel anything yet. I’m sure it will hit me at some point. I killed him. I actually killed him and I don’t think I feel anything other than relief. He can’t get me anymore.”
I brushed his wild curls away from his forehead, tucking them behind his ears. “That’s okay. All your feelings are genuine and valid, Wilder, and it doesn’t matter what you feel, good or bad. I’ll be here for all of it.”
He pressed a kiss against my lips. “Thank you. I love you.”
“I know. I love you too, baby.” I kissed him again, just because I could, and it soon turned filthy. As it always did. I was insatiable when it came to him. I’d never get enough. “Want to get married?”