You touched not just my heart but also my soul. As no other has.
Chapter Six
I look in the mirror and see a young face, but it covers that of an ancient being who drifts from one endless day to the next. I cling to the hope of being with you again. I don’t deserve you, but I crave you like I covet the wind over my scales.
The world is in chaos. A constant drone of disorder, war, and anger rages. But then there’s you. The stillness in the storm. The sound of your laughter, the way you used to caress my face, the taste of your kiss. You touched not just my heart but also my soul. As no other has. You opened a world to me I never thought would be mine.
And then you were gone.
It was my doing. And I regret it every moment of every day.
I let you go, severing the bond of our love for the good of my brethren. Would things have been different had I chosen you? Could I have kept the Kings together even with the jealousy and resentment I saw brewing? Was I a coward to turn my back on you, my mate, for the Kings?
We both know the answer to that.
What I did, I did for my brethren. But I fear it will mean my demise. For I can’t live without you. I love you. I love you. I love you.
I love you.
Rhi lowered the journal to her lap as she lifted her gaze. She looked out the window to see that the sun had begun its descent in the sky. She couldn’t believe that she had been reading for so long, but Con’s words, written with such raw intensity and naked sincerity had a profound effect on her.
All those years, she’d thought he had forgotten about the love they shared. When in reality, he had suffered and grieved more than she. He’d simply hidden it all behind a mask of indifference. That’s what got her the most. Because she knew that’s what he did when he was hurting. Her wounded heart hadn’t allowed her to see the truth, though.
If he hadn’t finally come to her, if he hadn’t remained by her side even when she told him to leave, they likely wouldn’t be together now. He might have ended things initially, but he was also the one who brought their love back from the grave.
She closed the journal, keeping her finger between two pages to hold her place as her mind began thinking of something she could do for him. Everything Con did, every decision he made, every act, was for those at Dreagan. It was time that someone did something for him.
A smile pulled at her lips as a plan started to take root. First, however, she needed to finish the journal. She reopened the book and flipped to the next page. The entries became decidedly shorter as if he had to get the words on paper no matter how difficult they were.
You are always in my thoughts: morning, noon, and night, and all the spaces in between.
It’s just you.
Always you.
I miss you so badly the ache transcends time itself.
To love so profoundly that I cannot tell where I end, and you begin—made that much more difficult to bear because you aren’t beside me.
When Rhi closed the journal, she put her hand atop it and smiled. Then she rose and walked to Con’s bedside table and set the red book down. She left the bedroom and made her way toward the stairs, where she encountered Lexi and Thorn.
Rhi glanced down. “Have either of you seen Con?”
“No’ since he ended the meeting early,” Thorn replied.
Lexi’s slate gray eyes held concern as she asked in a Southern accent, “Everything all right?”
“It’s perfect,” Rhi replied.
Thorn arched a dark brow. “You say that despite the tear stains on your face?”
Rhi wiped at her cheeks. “They’re happy tears.” She smiled. “Don’t expect Con or me for the rest of the day or evening. Spread the word.”
With that, Rhi whirled around and rushed back into the bedroom. She snapped her fingers to produce some red paper and a pen with glittery gold ink. Then she sat down and began to craft her own love notes.
By the time she was finished, she was giddy with excitement. She took all the pieces of paper and folded them before teleporting all around Dreagan, making a trail to lead Con to the place she’d chosen. She glanced at the sky to see that more time had passed than she wanted. After teleporting back to the manor, she went looking for Ulrik.
“I need a favor,” she told the King of Silvers.
Ulrik smiled, his arms crossed over his chest. “Oh?”
“Stop that,” Eilish told him as she playfully hit him in the arm.
Rhi smiled at the Druid in thanks before returning her attention to Ulrik. “I need you to make sure Con finds the note I left him in our room.”
“Is that all?” he asked.
Rhi glanced down at her clothes, her mind running through different ideas of what to wear. “Don’t let anyone stop him. Or help him,” she added.
“We won’t,” Eilish promised.
Rhi flashed them a bright smile. “Thank you. Now, we need to get him to the manor. Or is he already here?”
“Last I saw him, he was in his mountain,” Ulrik answered. “Getting him here willna be a problem. Go. We’ll take care of this for you.”
Rhi placed a kiss on his cheek and then Eilish’s. “Thank you both.”
I want you in so many ways that I can’t put it into words.
Chapter Seven
Con strode out of the mountain and headed through the secret door in the manor’s conservatory. His strides were long as he searched for Ulrik, who had asked him to return. He found his friend in the library. Ulrik sat on the sofa before the fire with Eilish.
Ulrik looked up from rubbing his mate’s feet as she lay on the couch, reading a book. “Hey.”
“Is everything good?” Con asked, worry filling him.
Things had been quiet for several months, and that wasn’t usual at Dreagan. He’d been waiting for something to happen. Had that time finally come?
Ulrik nodded and jerked his chin toward the stairs. “Rhi wants you.”
Con frowned, wondering why Rhi hadn’t come looking for him. He decided against asking the couple if they knew anything and instead turned on his heel and made his way to the stairs. He took the steps three at a time. As he reached the landing of the top floor and passed V’s chamber, he heard V’s and Claire’s laughter.
He was thrilled that the couple was so happy. So far, Claire’s pregnancy had been going well. Her due date was fast approaching, so everyone was on pins and needles. Con shifted his mind from them to Rhi. When he reached the door to their chambers, he opened it and scanned the room for her. When he didn’t immediately see her, he moved farther inside and called out her name.
Unease rippled through him as he walked to the bathroom and looked inside. He looked in both his closet and hers, but he still didn’t see her. It wasn’t until he stood in the middle of their bedroom and cast a more critical eye around the space that he spotted the journal on the table. He slowly went to it and brushed his fingers over the red leather cover. That’s when he saw the paper sticking out.
Con lifted the journal and opened it. A piece of red paper floated out and down, but he easily caught it. He set the book aside and spotted Rhi’s flowy handwriting in gold glitter ink on the red stationery.