Ruthless 🗡️/ Fourth Wing

Chapter 62

Three days later...

"When humans fight, it's deadly. But when dragons fight, it's a massacre," I say, leaning back in my chair, eyes fixed on Xaden.

He doesn't look up from the map, his fingers tracing the lines as if they could reveal the answers he's looking for.

"I'm aware of that," he replies, his voice thick with exhaustion.

I push up from the table, frustration burning in my chest. "I have to do this, Xaden. I can't stand by and watch. My signet will end this. The Barrens are two days away, no more. Let me go—let me end it."

I'm done waiting. I can feel the urgency building inside me, the weight of it pressing on my chest.

Xaden's gaze finally lifts to meet mine. His eyes are dark, filled with more than just concern. "No," he says, the word coming out sharp, unyielding. "I won't let you do this."

I take a step closer, almost pleading. "It's not just any cause, Xaden. It's the only chance we have to save Navarre. Some already want me dead because of who I am. Others, because of what I did to the general."

"I will not let you kill yourself just to destroy these things".

Xaden says, his voice low but filled with undeniable force. He stands now, towering over me, his body tense, his anger barely contained.

My chest tightens, frustration boiling over as I rise to meet him. "Why, Xaden? Why do you keep stopping me? You had to have known why I came here. You knew this was coming."

His eyes lock onto mine, and for a moment, the world feels like it fades away. His breath hitches before he speaks again, his words coming out with a weight I wasn't ready for.

"Because I love you."

His admission hangs in the air between us, raw and unfiltered, a confession that leaves me breathless. The anger, the frustration, the uncertainty—all of it crashes against the force of his words.

For a heartbeat, neither of us speaks. His confession hangs between us like a weight, heavy and suffocating, but also undeniable. And I—I—can't seem to breathe properly.

I take a step forward, my pulse racing, every inch of me drawn to him, and I'm sick of pretending that I don't feel it too. Sick of pretending I'm not just as terrified. Sick of pretending I don't want him as badly as he wants me.

"You think I don't know that?" I whisper, my voice trembling now, all my anger draining away as the walls between us start to crumble. "You think I don't see it in everything you do, in every moment we've shared? How could I not know?"

Xaden's eyes soften, the storm behind them finally starting to settle. His hand reaches for mine, his touch gentle, almost reverent as his fingers curl around mine. He pulls me close, not with force, but with something deeper—something that feels like a promise.

"Then why do you keep pushing me away?" he asks, his voice barely a whisper now, full of vulnerability that I've never heard before. It breaks something inside me, a crack I didn't even realize was there.

I reach up, touching his face, tracing the sharp line of his jaw, feeling the tension in his muscles, the need in his eyes. "Because I'm scared," I confess, my voice barely audible. "I'm scared of losing everything. Of losing you. Of losing myself."

He doesn't hesitate. His hand slides to the back of my neck, pulling me in, closing the distance between us until there's nothing left but the overwhelming heat of him.

"Then let me help you," he murmurs, his lips brushing against mine. "Let me be the one to stand by your side, through everything. No more running. No more fear."

And I don't fight it anymore. I don't fight the pull, the longing, the need to finally let go and be with him. I kiss him—hard, desperate, as if this is the moment that could save us both.

It's everything. It's all the frustration, all the loss, all the love, crashing together in one perfect moment. And as I pull him closer, feeling the warmth of his body against mine, I realize I'm no longer alone. Not in this fight. Not in this war.

Together, we'll burn.

Our kiss deepens, the world around us fading into a blur. Every hesitation, every doubt that has held us apart for so long vanishes like smoke in the air. This—this—is what we were meant for. I feel it in every heartbeat, every shiver that races down my spine as his hands roam to my back, pulling me even closer, if that's even possible.

The weight of everything we've been through—the battles, the lies, the pain—melts away with every second. It's just us now. No kingdoms, no veins

, no war. Just the two of us, caught in the fury of this moment, wrapped in the fire we've both been too afraid to ignite.

"Nora..." Xaden breathes my name like a prayer, his lips brushing against mine before he pulls back just enough to look at me, his gaze burning with something raw, something that goes deeper than anything either of us could have imagined.

I swallow hard, the words escaping before I can stop them. "I never wanted to need you this much."

The confession comes out in a rush, my chest tight, my pulse hammering against my ribs. But it's the truth. I've fought it, struggled against it, even tried to bury it under the weight of our mission. But I can't deny it anymore. I need him.

Xaden's thumb runs along the edge of my jaw, his eyes softening, a quiet understanding in the depths of them. "I know,"he says, his voice hoarse.

"Then stay with me," I whisper, my voice thick with something that feels like hope for the first time in so long. "Stay with me, Xaden."

He doesn't answer with words. Instead, his lips crash against mine again, this time with an urgency that speaks louder than anything either of us could say. His hands are on my body, pulling me closer, as if he's terrified that if he lets go, I'll slip away again.

And maybe I will. Maybe I'll keep pushing him away, afraid of the things I can't control, afraid of losing the only person who's ever made me feel alive in a world so consumed by death.

But for now, for this moment, I let go. I let him in. And I kiss him with everything I've kept hidden, every piece of myself that I've been too afraid to show.