you Claire. A lot.”
She stiffened in surprise, suddenly understanding where he was going with his ramblings.
“Ro,” she started to say, but stopped when he shook his head.
“I need to say this,” he said quietly, wringing his free hand incessantly.
Then he inhaled sharply, looked up and at her, his eyes open, unguarded. “I love you, Claire Owens,” he said, every muscle tensing in his body as he said the words.
Time seemed to freeze. Even though she’d had an inkling that he might be about to say it, actually hearing him utter those three short words was entirely different than imagining it.
Especially because now I have to respond.
There was a lot she could say. A lot that she could tell him, about their connection, about the relationship she could no longer deny was forming between them. If she was given the time, Claire knew she could talk to him for ages, expressing her feelings, desires, hopes, dreams, and everything in between.
She knew he would listen as well. That he would let her talk for as long as she needed to say what she needed to. Pietro wanted nothing more than to give her everything. He’d never said as much, but his actions made it clear that he would support her in anything.
Half a dozen times, Claire started to speak then stopped. Each time, the long flowing sentences and important words and thoughts simply evaporated. They were boiling away, each time, to reveal one simple truth to her.
Everything she wanted to say could be summed up much more succinctly than that.
“I love you too,” she said at last, the four words feeling just right. Like they’d been what she needed to say all along. “Oh, Ro, I love you too. This is crazy, but I do!”
He laughed, the sound a nervous relief, almost like a hiccup. They embraced, his strong arms lifting her from the ground and spinning her around. She laughed like a little girl, happier than she could possibly express despite the danger looming in their immediate future.
If I die now, if this all goes wrong, which it very well could, at least I’ll die knowing I didn’t hold anything back. That I went for it, despite my fears. That I put myself out there.
“Now, you focus on surviving so that we can properly celebrate after these things have received the fate they so deserve,” Pietro said with quiet insistence.
“Don’t worry. I intend to see that they are properly punished for what they’ve done to my family and me.”
Pietro nodded. “Good.”
“That’s why I have to do this,” she continued. “It’s why I have to go. I know you don’t like it, but there isn’t much choice. They’ve got my parents, Ro. I can’t let them do that. Not when I can save them.”
He sagged. “I know. Just…don’t lose sight of who you are. No matter what happens. You are Claire Owens, and you are a good person. Remember that here,” he said, touching her head before moving to her heart. “And here, remember that I love you. All of you.”
“I will.” She smiled, lifting herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Pietro let her, but before she could pull back, he swept her up into a long, deep kiss that reminded her of many other things Ro could do to her that would follow actions like that one.
But not now.
Claire pulled back, cupping the side of his face. “It’s time for me to go,” she said quietly. “I have to do this.”
Pietro grimaced but nodded. “I love you,” he repeated, pulling open the door for her.
“I love you too,” she said quietly and then darted out into the night.
I’m coming, Mom and Dad. Just hold on a bit longer!
Chapter Thirty-Six
Claire
She arrived at the destination with ten minutes to spare.
“Well, this just makes too much sense,” she muttered as she exited the car, staring at the ruined remains of a building.
The destruction was recent though. The building, the former broadcast center for Five Peaks, had been the center of the final whirlwind battle between the dragons and their enemy, the rogue government agency that had descended on Five Peaks two months earlier.
It was here, she knew, that the entire world had witnessed the reveal of the dragons. It was this building where they had shown everyone that they existed. It was here that Pietro’s kind had fought for their right to exist.
Much of the world had replied with a resounding agreement, rising up to defend the dragons, to encourage governments to