(Part 3)
Was it absolutely wicked, considering the context, that now that some minutes had passed, Wren was starting to enjoy being in Hawk's arms again? She didn't want to let him go. Having him near her again, so tangibly alive - breathing, warm, that same familiar heartbeat in his chest - was a relief so strong she could have confused it with bliss.
"I'm so glad you're alive," she whispered.
"Barely," he whispered back.
"Let me look at you."
It felt so natural to put her hands on his face. How sweet to feel his warm skin under her fingers! He didn't look good, even to her hungry eyes. Was the gauntness in his face from months of deterioration, or from that one awful event?
"Oh, Hawk."
"Don't." He ducked his head to avoid her gaze, resting it on her shoulder instead.
Wren closed her eyes, happiness was overtaking all other emotions. Hawk was alive! He had come back to her, just as she had longed for. She had him there with her, feeling his breath against her neck, his hands on her waist.
But there were still tears running down her cheeks. This was the reunion she was getting? Wren struggled to hold back more sobs, Hawk obviously wanted to save most of the pain for later, and he was also clearly almost smothered by the sense of loss that Wren was just now beginning to reel from. How long had he been grieving on his own?
"Please don't cry." He pulled her closer again. "I'm fine, really."
Wren couldn't keep herself from weeping. A part of him was gone forever, and could never be replaced. Had that little boy with a fetter on his ankle struggled and finally broken free, just for this? He was tethered to the ground now a hundred times more solidly than any chains could have done.
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Bird Wings
FantasyWren's life is about to change forever - but not how she expects it to. Kidnapped on her wedding day, she finds herself trapped in a mountain cave, unable to return home with no company outside of the inhuman creature that took her. *** "Wait, Wren...
