Chapter 117

Elora’s POV

I freeze. Goosebumps everywhere. My instincts hiss a name I haven’t let myself think of for months.

Mira.

Wings cut the quiet. I spin just in time to see a raven come out of the dark, eyes glowing red.

It lands on my window ledge and tilts its head, like it’s sizing me up.

My mouth goes dry.

It stretches out one talon. There’s a letter dangling from it. Black wax sealing it, pressed with the sigil moon of Mira’s old family. I would recognize that anywhere.

I reach out, slow, half-expecting it to bite. The raven just blinks and stares at me.

I take the letter. The bird lets out this harsh, shattering cry that makes my skin crawl, then flies away into the night.

I stand there, holding that letter, staring at the wax seal. My heart is racing.

“Mira,” I breathe. First time I’ve said her name since the war ended.

The wax catches the light, like it’s breathing.

I didn't even need to open it. I knew.

Peace is dead.

That pull in my chest... It wasn't fear. It was the old bond waking up. Enemy to enemy, tangled and raw.

Behind me, Dante stirs again, voice rough. “Elora?”

I turn, letter cold in my fist. “Go back to sleep,” I whisper.

But we both know sleep’s not happening.

Thunder strikes again and I swear I could hear a wicked laughter coming from it.

Mira’s back.

She didn’t come for war.

She came for me.

When I turn around, Dante’s fully awake now. Eyes sharp, like he already knows.

“You felt it too, huh?” Soft, but no doubt.

I nod. “She’s not gone.”

He doesn’t ask how I know. Just came right over, his hands gripping my arms like he wanted to hide me from the storm.

“Elora.” His voice came out low and tired. “You’re shaking.”

I tried for a laugh, but it stuck. “I don’t know what’s coming next. But whatever it is? She’s the start.”

He didn’t hesitate. “Then we deal with it together.”

That word... together... it just did something inside me. Maybe it was how steady he sounded, or maybe I was just done pretending I could carry all this by myself. The letter, the raven, that storm... suddenly it felt like the universe was shifting under my feet again.

At some point, I had drifted close enough that I could feel his breath on my hair. Next thing I knew, my forehead was pressed to his chest, and his heart was pounding so hard I could almost rhyme to it.

He didn’t move right away. Then, slow and sure, his arms came around me.

“Dante…” I barely managed.

He just whispered, “Shh. Breathe, Elora. You’ve been holding your breath since forever.”

He wasn’t wrong. My whole body was tense. But with him wrapped around me, it started to ease. Just a little.

He pulled back, hand brushing my jaw, coaxing my gaze up to his. His eyes were a mixture of fear and assurance.

“Come with me,” he said, softly.

I didn’t argue. I didn't trust myself to speak.

He took my hand and led me through the compound. We both didn't speak, not like we needed to anyway. There were things we couldn't say in the silence.

His room still smelled like smoke and cedar. He closed the door behind us, and for a second, we just stood there, staring at each other. The light was dim, only pir shadows standing apart from each other.

His hand slid up, fingertips touching my cheek, tracing down to my neck, pausing right on my chest. “You’re shaking,” he said again.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Scared?”

I shook my head and laughed awkwardly. “No. Just…feeling too much.”

He let out a breath, rough. And then, like he’d finally given up on holding anything back, he dragged me against him.

The kiss was a storm. Not gentle, not careful. Desperate. The kind of kiss that would make you feel like all your troubles are over. My hands found his shoulders, the back of his neck, and he held me like he was scared I would run away.

He deepened the kiss, caressing my lower lip with his thumb. I found my hands in his hair as I reciprocated. I pulled him close as I sucked on his lower lip. He tasted divine.

For once, I didn’t flinch. I didn't think so. Didn’t try to be good or right. I just let myself have him.

He lifted me up like it was nothing and laid me down carefully, his forehead against mine.

“Tell me you’re here,” he breathed, voice breaking.

“I’m here,” I whispered back.

His mouth found mine again, slower this time. His hands slid over my arms as they reached my waist. He moved them to my breast and played with my nipples that were covered with clothing. I felt my breath hitch as I inched closer.

When he pulled back, his eyes were dark, searching. Not just hungry for me, but something more. “I don’t want this to be another fight we lose,” he said, like he was pleading.

“It won’t be,” I whispered, and I meant it.

He smiled, like he was doubting me. “Then don’t vanish on me again.”

I shook my head. “I won’t.”

And for once, I wasn’t lying..

Later, when I was lying with my head against his chest, my heart was still racing, but it wasn’t scary this time. There was a kind of peace I had with him like this. Like nothing else mattered.

He brushed my hair away, thumb caressing my cheek. “You’re here for real,” he murmured, like he could not believe it.

“I am.”

“Not running?”

“Not tonight,” I said, managing a smile.

He gave me a half smile. “Then maybe we stop fighting ghosts for once.”

I closed my eyes, letting his words settle. Outside, thunder rolled, far off, but real. And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t afraid.

Whatever was coming... Mira, the curse, the storm...I wasn’t alone.

Not this time.