“This is brilliant news, Aveen. Brilliant.” I kissed her hairline, inhaling the scent of soap from her bath.
“No. No, it’s not. Your heart—”
“You are my heart.”Aveen and her light had taken root in the most hollow parts of me. As long as she drew breath, I would know happiness and hope existed.
She pulled away, sinking to the hideous rug. I sat beside her, wanting nothing more than to drag her into my lap and hold her to keep a chill from settling in my veins.
“We have to get your heart,” she insisted.
I added more fuel to the fire, none of its heat penetrating beyond my skin.We couldn’t get my heart. The Queen had it locked somewhere in her castle, and I refused to risk Aveen’s life to save mine.
Because that was how our story ended.
To save me, she had to die.
“I understand you’re scared,” she said, “but—”
“You’re feckin’ right I’m scared. You can’t imagine how scared I am. I have watched my mother tear the heart from a woman’s chest and consume her life force. I’ve felt her claws reach into my body to rip out mine. If you’re not scared senseless by the idea of entering that Forest, then you are a fool.”
“We can do this.”
“Immortal or not, you can’t set foot in the Forest,” I reminded her.
Her eyes narrowed. “Then I’ll ride a horse through.”
Obstinate feckin’ woman.
“Or,” she said slowly, “you can release me from the bargain.”
“Not. A. Hope.”
She dragged me forward by the collar, tracing the scars at my throat. “Look at this.”
I didn’t need to look to see the hideous marks.
“You died for me today, Rían,” she kept on. “You died for me. You don’t think I would do the same for you?”
It wasn’t the same. Not really. I’d only died because I could come back.“Aveen, listen to me—”
“No, you listen to me. If you give up now, she wins. If you leave me, you are letting her take away your soulmate. We can end this. Once and for all.”
“It’s not worth it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” She lifted to her knees, cupping my face in her hands, rubbing my cheeks with her thumbs. “You are worth everything to me. And because I love you, I will give you a choice. You help me get back your heart, or you refuse, and I do it on my own.”
How could I let her do this?
More importantly, how could I stop her?
I stood, tugging her to her feet as well. “How do you think we’re going to take back my heart when you can no longer wield the cursed dagger?”
Her brow furrowed as she considered. Then, as if dawn were breaking, she smiled up at me and said, “I have a plan.”
“Go on, then. Let’s hear it.”
“We just need to get her to leave the castle, sneak in, and take it back.”
“Is that all?” I smacked my forehead with my palm. “Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, wait. I remember.Because she never leaves the feckin’ castle.”