Page 189 of Fallen Nocturne

“Rhianelle,” I say softly. “Look at me.”

“No,” she says stubbornly, trying to burrow back into my chest. “You’ll try to convince me to leave and I won’t. I won’t—”

“Look at me,” I repeat and I cup her face in my hands, tilting it up.

Her eyes meet mine. Red-rimmed and wet with tears but fierce. So fierce.

I was going to ask if she was sure. If this was really what she wanted. If she understood what she was giving up.

But looking into those lilac eyes, I see the answer.

Rhianelle knows exactly what she’s choosing. She is absolutely, unshakably determined to stay.

I smile at her. I can’t help it. “I’m not leaving you, Rhianelle. If you want to stay here, then we stay here. Together.”

Her eyes widen. “Svenn…”

A sob escapes her throat, but she’s smiling now through the tears.

“We’ll need a place to live.” I turn and keep one arm around Rhianelle. “I mean we can’t just wander forever.”

Death stares at me as though I have started speaking in a language he has never heard before.

I ignore the bastard and look past him.

I scan the gray landscape and in the distance, I spot something. A cliff and high ground overlooking the endless desert. “There. That cliff is the perfect spot for a castle. I’ll build it for you. It won’t be fancy, but it’ll be ours.”

Rhianelle follows my gaze and smiles. “I don’t really need a castle. A cottage is fine, really. As long as I’m with you.”

“You deserve a castle,” I tell her. “Something with towers, great halls, and windows large enough to fill every room with light.”

Her smile grows. “Will it have a forge?”

“Of course it has a forge,” I reply. “It will have a garden too. If anyone can figure out how to make things grow here, it’s you.”

“A library too,” she adds, getting into it now. “And a room for—”

Her smile falters. “Coral.”

The happiness slips from her face. Something pulls quiet and unexpected in my chest at the mention of that name too. I had not anticipated missing the wyvern. She was Rhianelle’s creature, small and stubborn. Coral had a talent for causing trouble and destroying anything within reach of her tail, but somewhere along the way I had grown fond of her.

The thought of never seeing her again leaves a hollow place inside me.

“She’s not here,” Rhianelle whispers.

“But she’s independent now,” I say firmly, even though it hurts. “You trained her well. She can hunt, fly, and survive. Coral will be okay.”

“But she’ll be alone,” Rhianelle says, and fresh tears spill down her cheeks.

“She’ll be free,” I say gently. “Free to fly. Free to live. Isn’t that what you always wanted for her?”

Rhianelle nods slowly, wiping her eyes. “Yes. Yes, you’re right. Coral’s strong. She’ll be all right. I know she will.”

I pull her close again and we both look at the cliff in the distance. Our future home in the realm of the dead. “We’ll have eternity to build it exactly how we want it and make it perfect.”

“Eternity,” Rhianelle echoes, and she sounds happy. “Eternity with you.”

“What the fuck,” Death suddenly says.