I Will Find You

Part II

P A R T I I

surrender

1. VERB

to say officially that you have been defeated and will stop fighting

"They had surrendered after years of fighting."

Song: The Great Wide Open - Trent Reznor

⏳

S I X   M O N T H S    L A T E R

"Yield, Shadowsinger," Gwyneth Berdara panted, the blade of her wooden dagger pressed to Azriel's throat.

She had pinned him to the mat, her knees digging into the bottoms of his wings, keeping his arms stuck at his sides. Azriel was well and truly trapped. Her braid slipped over her shoulder, the setting sun above the training ring illuminated her auburn hair like a halo around her head.

Gods above, she was a wonder. A stunningly beautiful wonder.

Yes ... his shadows purred in agreement.

Gwyn dug her knees in harder, leaning her face closer to his so that he nearly drowned in her scent of sweat and willow trees. " Yield ," she said through her teeth.

Azriel shook himself from his stupor, banishing those wayward thoughts and nodded, "I yield."

Gwyn's feral expression spread into a grin that made her teal eyes crinkle. "You admit defeat then?"

Throat bobbing, Azriel nodded again. Yes, he admitted defeat. He was no match for her. Not any longer. Six months of training and midnight snacks and trips to Velaris and Windhaven and Rosehall and countless parties with his family and the priestesses had done him in. And it was only now that he realized it. Beneath Gwyneth Berdara's leather-clad thighs.

He wasn't certain when it had happened. Perhaps somewhere between helping her move into her chambers in the House and surrendering her invoking stone to apprentice him as the future Valkyrie Spymaster. At some indiscriminate point, he'd well and truly fallen in love with Gwyneth Berdara. And now, in this compromising position, after months of refusing to acknowledge it, Azriel surrendered to that fact.

He loved her. He loved his best friend.

Gwyn's heavy breathing slowed as she studied his face, no doubt spying the distant look in his eyes. He prayed she was clueless to what he was thinking. Prayed she couldn't hear his thundering heart or sense the sparking in his chest.

Her expression softened then, smile becoming something more warm as her thighs' grip on him loosened, allowing him to sit up slowly.

The position they were in now was incredibly intimate – with him sitting upright and her straddling his lap, their faces were inches apart. The wooden dagger had long been lowered from his throat and her hands were now planted on his bare chest.

"What do you think, Shadowsinger?" she asked, still a little breathless. "Am I battle-ready?"

Azriel shook his head. "Not nearly."

Gwyn's answering nod was slow. "I need more one-on-one training sessions then."

He hummed in agreement.

Those big teal eyes flicked down to his lips and Azriel's heart leapt in his chest. When Gwyn met his gaze again, there was something both hungry and apprehensive in her stare.

He wouldn't make the first move. He wouldn't be the one to ruin this. If he had to live with this unrequited love for centuries then so be it. As long as he had her as his friend, it would be enough.