his sister. “If you’re willing to do your part, I’ll do mine.”
Aithinne’s face softens in a way I’ve never seen before. She seems so young compared to him. “I never thought I’d hear you offer that again.”
CHAPTER 28
THE FOLLOWING morning, after I change and clean myself up, Kiaran guides us out of the city and through the long tunnel out to the sea. The beach is just below the tall, jagged cliff side. The water laps against the pebbles there in a calm, soothing rhythm.
Though it’s only early afternoon, the winter light has already dimmed to near-twilight, casting the sky in hues of light and dark blue. The color reflects onto the ocean, turning it the startling, vivid color of sapphires.
As the tide comes in, the rocks grind against each other, as if the sea is groaning with age. Wind bites my cheeks and sprays sand and salt on my lips.
I wear a pale shift that Derrick has made for me; soft and light and warm. Aithinne wove the brìgh in my hair, the glowing blue flowers forming a crown around my head. When I die, some of my energy will be absorbed into the buds, a small piece of my life force left behind.
Kiaran leads me across the beach, leaving Derrick, Aithinne, and Gavin at the cave entrance. As soon as the tide hits my bare feet, I gasp at the cold. We walk into the water slowly. Kiaran grasps my hand and I feel his power, warming and soothing.
I offer him a grateful smile. He doesn’t smile back.
Wading into the water wearing the shift and the crown of flowers makes me feel like a sacrifice. I catch the way Kiaran gazes at me—as if he’s thinking the same. As if he’s about to lose me.
But I have no choice.
Kiaran looks away. Despite his power, the seawater is freezing the farther in I go, so cold that my lungs constrict. I’m growing numb with each step. Snow falls heavily around us as the waves lap around my waist.
Kiaran’s hand tightens around mine and his sudden rush of power warms me up again. His heat is an unbelievable thing, a radiating glow that presses into my palm.
“I’m surprised you agreed to this,” I say. I glance back to shore. Aithinne waits there with Gavin, Derrick on his shoulder. Snow gathers around them.
“If there were another way, we wouldn’t be here.” We’re far enough out and Kiaran stops me. His hands are on my arms, gliding up and down as if to warm me. “I made you a promise,” he tells me. “I still intend to keep it.”
“MacKay, I—”
What? I feel like I should tell him something important, in case I don’t come back. Something meaningful. Something that tells him I want us just like this. I want us just like this, and more.
As if he reads my mind, Kiaran kisses me softly. Then he pulls back and I wish he didn’t. “I’ll have to release you at the last second,” he says. “Or I’ll break my vow.”
“Right.” I can’t die while he’s holding me down or the faery vow will kill him, too. Only, his death will be longer and more agonizing.
“Kam.” His eyes are intense, as if he needs me to understand. “There’s no shame in changing your mind.”
“I know.” But what if Aithinne can’t bring me back? “Do you think it’ll hurt?”
He grasps me closer and the warmth of his body breaks through the cold. Snow falls from his hair onto his eyelashes, where it melts against his skin. His eyes are so beautiful, reflecting the slate-gray sky, his irises the color of lavender.
“I don’t know,” he says.
I lick the ice off my lips, tasting the salt there. It’s so quiet out here, only ocean waves crashing around us. It’s these moments when I realize that my time with Kiaran is such a fragile thing. At any moment, my human life could end and he’d still be as unchanging as the sea.
“Not even a half-lie?” I say. “That’s not like you.”
He brushes his fingertips along my cheek and I shut my eyes. “No half-lies,” he tells me. “No reassurances, either. Just come back.”
I dart a glance to the others on the beach. Waiting, watching. “You and Aithinne will take care of everyone if I don’t, won’t you?” I ask him. “Promise me. Just one more promise.”
He lowers his hand. The air around us is suddenly so cold that I nearly choke. It snows harder. My every breath is