He shuddered, his voice low, “Before… When he took you…”
I put my finger on his lips. “I’m here now. We’re together.”
Xander nodded, the movement shaking me. “I know, but I need to say this.”
He cleared his throat, and I waited.
For him, I would wait forever. We were mates, and I wasn’t sure exactly what that entailed, but if it meant feeling the way I felt now, I would gladly wait forever. Forhim,I would do anything.
A full minute passed before he said, “When I realized you were gone… something fractured within me.”
“Me too,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against Xander’s. “I need you to know I didn’t want to go with Remington. I fought back. Every single step of the way, I fought.”
My voice cracked on the last word, and Xander pressed his lips against my cheek. He kissed away my tears, one by one.
His lips brushed over my cheeks, my nose, my eyelashes as he whispered, “I know, Sunshine. There was never a doubt in my mind. I’m sorry for fighting with you. Soon after I got back to camp, there was an ambush.”
I gasped, pulling back. In the chaos of everything that had happened, I had forgotten about the others. “Daegal? The children?”
Xander nodded. “All fine. Daegal was able to See the attack before it took place. There were a few injuries, but nothing major. Everyone survived.”
“Thank Kydona,” I murmured. “I couldn’t forgive myself if something had happened to them because of me.”
“They’re all safe.” He brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear, his gaze tender. “No lives were lost. Daegal sustained a laceration on his side, but Morwen assured me he would be fine.”
“Good. That’s good,” I said. Pursing my lips, another question came to me. I wasn’t sure how to ask it without insulting Xander.
“Go on,” he said gently. “You can ask me anything.”
“I just…” I took a deep breath. “How old are you?”
My mate laughed. The sound of his mirth bounced off the cavern walls, and he shook beneath me. I blushed, trying to get off him when his grip tightened around me.
“Don’t go,” Xander whispered. Vulnerability leaked into his words as he said, “Please don’t. I… I want to hold you.”
I nodded, stopping my movements. “Okay. But will you answer my question?”
He cleared his throat, avoiding my gaze. “I am… not young,” he said.
Narrowing my eyes, I placed a hand on his chest. “How ‘not-young’ are you?”
He leaned over and whispered in my ear.
What are We Going to Do?
“One hundred and thirteen?” I blinked at Xander, trying to wrap my mind around this new information. A small breeze blew through the cavern, and I shivered as I stared at him.
This male… I shook my head. No, he wasn’t just any male. He was my mate. Who was apparently nearly a century older than me?
It could have been worse, I supposed. What was a hundred-year difference when we would both live to see many centuries go by?
If the king didn’t kill us first. In that case, I supposed the age difference wouldn’t matter, anyway.
With that morbid thought, I shuddered.
“Aileana?” Xander said my name, his tone betraying that this wasn’t the first time he had called for me.
Blood rushed to my cheeks. “I’m sorry, I got distracted.”