Mara
The second I saw his face—filthy, bruised, beautiful—I couldn’t breathe. Relief slammed into me so hard my knees nearly gave out. My punch had landed before recognition did, and now all I could do was cry.
He caught me, arms wrapping around me like they were meant to hold every shattered piece of me.
“Why did you stay away so long?” I sobbed into his chest. My voice cracked open with all the nights I’d spent alone, staring into silence and imagining the worst.
I had been ready to leave everything behind. My bags were packed. I would’ve walked straight into Mistwood, dangers be damned, just to find him. Just to see him.
“Mara,” he whispered against my hair, the way someone says a prayer they thought they'd never get to say again. His lips pressed to the side of my head. Then his h
