Outside the infirmary, Matthias stopped and faced them. “Nothing I can say or do will change the last ten years. I did what I thought was right. I’m still doing what I think is right. Don’t make me regret it.”
Adan nodded once in acknowledgement. Matthias started to go, but Embry’s hand shot out and caught his.
“You didn’t have to give him back to me. Thank you.” Her voice was thick with emotion.
Matthias made his own nod, then turned to Gage. “You think a two week furlough’s long enough to heal up?” He glanced at Embry. “Might be time for a quick vacation.”
Lips twitching, Gage took his hand. “Yes, sir.”
Then Matthias was gone.
“So… do you think any of that was actually true?” asked Gage.
“It would explain some things,” said Adan. “I never checked your ancestry once I brought you home. I should have.”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” said Embry. “I’m not going to question a miracle.”
“It does seem like we’ve had more than our fair share tonight. You both took an awful risk coming after me. It was ill-conceived, insane, and you’re lucky we made it out alive. That having been said, thank you for not giving up on me.” He embraced them each in turn. “It’s good to have you back, son.” With a glance at his daughter, Adan twisted the knob on the infirmary door. “I’m just gonna… ” Then he slipped inside, leaving them alone in the hall.
Gage turned to her, but she was looking down at the remains of her shirt, tied together across her chest. Blood was still seeping slowly from the wound in her shoulder. “Damn, I’m filthy. I wonder where the nearest shower is.”
“Embry.” He took a step closer.
“I mean surely I should be clean before they stitch me up in there.”
“Embry,” he repeated, lifting a hand to cradle her cheek and force her gaze to his. “You’re rambling.”
She moved in, pressing her face into his shoulder. Her voice was muffled, “I know I am. It’s just… ” she drew in a breath but it was shaky, “not real for me yet.”
“What’s not real? That it’s over?”
“This. You. You’re here. Legally. I never even considered that as a possibility. I can never repay him for that.”
“Oh I think it puts you almost even for what he did to you.” Gage intended to even things a little more the next time he got Matthias in the sparring ring.
“But no matter how I feel about it, you weren’t given a choice. You’ve never been given any kind of choice about this world. From the time my father took you in to the Council’s decision just now. We’ve pulled you along all your life saying ‘Here, do this.’ You have a whole other life that you built, and nobody’s ever stopped to ask you if you’re okay with this.”
She tried to step back, but Gage didn’t release her. “You really need me to say it out loud? Okay then. I love you. I’ve always loved you. Even when I didn’t know who you were, couldn’t remember your face, I remembered that I loved you. And I’ve been walking around for a decade with this big, empty hole in my chest.
“I made a good life for myself. I’m not gonna deny that I moved on enough to do that. And I did my best to fill the space with new friends, new memories, and even some really good fights. But nothing could—nothing can, ever take your place in my heart. Matthias and his bullshit machinations just saved my life—again—and gave me a place in yours. And yeah, no matter what strings may be attached, I’m okay with that.”
“Yeah.” Embry sniffed, blinking against the sheen of tears. “Okay, good.”
Gage smiled at her then, mentally shaking his head. God, how he loved this woman. Even when the crisis was over, when it was just the two of them and any normal woman would throw herself into his arms and start wailing like a banshee—and hey, now he actually knew just what that sounded like—Embry still had to have her pride.
Because she was his match, in every way.
“Come on,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist, “I think you could use a few stitches, and then we’ve got two weeks to figure out how to fill. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get my Happily Ever After on.”
Note From The Author
Thank you for joining me on this little adventure in paranormal romance. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Forsaken By Shadow is the first novella in a series about the Mirus world. I decided to use it as a bit of a marketing experiment to see if I could build an audience and some name recognition. If you enjoyed Forsaken By Shadow, I would so appreciate if you would take the time to review it wherever you purchased it.
To keep up with upcoming releases, you can follow my blog at http://kaitnolan.com. I adore email from fans or fellow writers, and I can be reached via email at [email protected] I also spend a lot of time on Twitter as kaitnolan.
For a sneak peak at the next Mirus novella, Devil’s Eye, keep reading.
Devil’s Eye