"You love me," he whispers.
"You know I do." I grab hold of his hand, and my stomach twists when he turns toward me but lowers his eyes. "What's out there that I should be scared of, Xaden? What did he tell you? What did you see?" What could he know that has him this shaken?
Slowly, he drags his gaze up my body, and it feels like it takes years for him to just look at me. When he finally does, I gasp, my hand tightening on his in reflex. No. That single word is all I can think, feel, scream internally as I stare up at the man I'm hopelessly in love with.
"Me," he whispers, a faint, almost indistinguishable red ring emanating from his gold-flecked onyx irises. "You should be scared of me."
"Do. You. Still. Love. Me?" I enunciate every word and lean right into his space just to prove that I'm not intimidated by him.
He cups the back of my neck and pulls me within inches of his face-close enough to kiss.
"I could reach the rank of Maven, lead armies of dark wielders against everyone we care for, and watch every vein in my body turn red as I channel all the power in the Continent, and I would still love you. What I did doesn't change that. I'm not sure anything can."
