His brows lifted. “She just gave it to you? Don’t get me wrong. I’m appreciative. More than I can put into words. But a witch never just gives anything away for free.”
“They don’t.” I dropped my hands to his shoulders. “She did it in exchange for one of your feathers.”
He stared at me.
“She gave me the impression that she wasn’t going to use it for something bad, and I believe her.” I paused. “Kind of. Truth is, I would’ve made the deal as long as she promised it wouldn’t hurt you, and she did. And I know you probably don’t agree with that and I get it. I do, but—”
“It’s okay.” He lifted his hand slowly, making sure I saw him before he touched my cheek, and I almost started crying again. That was further proof that this was my Zayne. “I would’ve done the same thing—would’ve agreed to anything.” He gently traced the line of my cheek. “What I was like is going to get to me and it’s going to sit in the back of my mind. I’m sure some moments are going to be worse than others, but I’m going to deal with it. I’ll make sure of it, because enough has already gotten between us.”
“That is so true,” I whispered. We had so many hurdles between us, and I wanted our very own happily-ever-after, like the ones in the romance books my mom had loved. We didn’t need to be our own obstacles.
His fingers stilled near where my jaw was still slightly swollen and bruised. “Is my touching you causing you any pain?”
“No. I don’t feel anything bad right now.”
“You look...more banged up than the last time I saw you.”
“Well.” I drew the word out. “I sort of had a run-in with Gabriel.”
Every part of him seemed to grow impossibly still. “When?”
“Last night.” I quickly told him what happened. “Good news, no one is going to be allowed in that school for a while, and I think he’s weakened somehow.”
“I should’ve been there.”
“You’re here now. That’s all that matters,” I told him. “I’m not hurt. Seriously.”
He gave a small shake of his head as his gaze continued to trek over my features. “I can’t believe that. Not when you...” He looked up briefly, his chest rising with a deep breath, and when his gaze met mine again, I would swear the glow behind his eyes was brighter. “How are you up, walking around so quickly?” His gaze traveled the length of my arm, to the numerous bruises that were now barely visible. Then his eyes narrowed. “Better yet, what in the Hell were you even doing here by yourself the night I came back? Even right now?”
I recognized that tone. He sounded just like he had the night I leaped from rooftop to rooftop without warning.
“You really shouldn’t be out here alone. Not with Gabriel still out there,” he continued. “He sent those demons after you. Shit. They were at the apartment.”
He had that same tone when I roamed off ahead of him in an unfamiliar area.
“At least the other night Dez was with you.” A slight frown pulled at his lips. “Is Dez okay? I think I—”
“Threw him into a fountain? Yes. He’s fine.”
Zayne sighed. “Good, but where in the Hell is Roth? Layla? You shouldn’t be out here, Trin. Not alone when you’re not fully healed, and I know you’re not fully healed. I can tell. I can feel that your grace has been weakened.”
Okay, his ability to sense that was annoying, because it was true, but Zayne sounded like he was gearing up for a lecture of epic proportions, and I couldn’t even be mad. The corners of my lips curled, and it felt weird and right and wonderful all at the same time.
“And why are you smiling?” he demanded, disbelief filling his tone once more.
A shaky laugh left me. “I just never thought I’d hear you lecture me again and enjoy it.”
“Try to remember that the next time I do.”
I probably wouldn’t.
“I...” I drew in shallow breath. “When you died, I thought I would never see you again.”
Every line of his face softened. “What did I promise you? If something happened, I would find my way back to you.”
His face blurred again, and had everything to do with the tears filling them. “I still can’t believe you Fell for me.”
“The Glory was nothing compared to your love.” He leaned in, resting his forehead with the barest weight against mine. His breath coasted over my lips as he tucked strands of hair that had escaped my braid back from my face. “I did everything that I could. You did everything that you could. I love you, Trinity, and not even death can break that kind of bond.”
The bond.
I pulled back a little. “I don’t feel you,” I said, and his brows lowered. “I mean, I haven’t felt the Protector bond. I haven’t felt the little, fuzzy ball of warmth in my chest since you came back.”
“Little, fuzzy ball of warmth?” he repeated quietly.
“And I... I haven’t felt any of your emotions.” It wasn’t like I was just realizing that. There just hadn’t been any time to really think about it. “We’re not bonded anymore.”
“No, we’re not.”
I stared at him, at the unearthly glow of light behind his pupils. “That’s good news. I can’t weaken you again and we can be together.”
“Me being your Protector hadn’t really stopped us from being together in the first place,” he replied dryly, and he was sort of right. It had only delayed the inevitable, but it hadn’t been wise. He’d become virtually human. “But there are no rules. Definitely none of the angelic variety. I’m still a... I’m still a Fallen. Just not...”
“Psychotic?”
“Yeah, just not that.” He ran the length of my braid through his hand. “Is a Trueborn going to want a Fallen?”
“I always want you, no matter what you are,” I said earnestly, and his answering smile filled my chest with a sweet, sweeping motion. “But I do kind of miss that little, fuzzy ball of—”
Zayne reclaimed the distance between us, and in one stuttered heartbeat, his lips met mine. He kissed me, and it never ceased to amaze me, the riot of sensations that one single touch could drum up. The taste of him on my lips, on my tongue, was a balm for all the rough, ragged patches scarring my soul, and an awakening. The press of his mouth to mine was gentle, but there was an edge to it, a restraint that was so close to breaking. I knew he was trying to be careful even though he hadn’t thought to be that way in the pool, but that hadn’t been just him. This was only Zayne. I didn’t want him to be restrained. I wanted him, all he had to offer—