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It started as a soft whimper that could easily be confused as a stray kitten who’d wandered to his bedside. It fell into a cry that made his ears twitch. Someone — injured, lay nearby.
A blast of cold air hit him as someone yanked the sheets from around his body.
Tamlin sat up with a start, breathing heavily. He was no stranger to nightmares. They were his lifelong companion, yet these differed. He starred in the daunting dark until the soft cry came again.
Babe or beast? It was hard to discern.
Neither.
Feyre.
Tamlin turned his head to where she shivered on the other side of his bed, equally as naked as himself, but fast asleep. Her gaunt cheeks were marked with tears.
How did I sleep through this. How could I —
Tamlin resisted his urge to slam his head into the wall and wrapped his much larger body around her tiny, cold one.
“I’m here.” He whispered, placing slow, languid kisses down the side of her neck. “I’m here. I’m here and you are safe.”
For a moment, Feyre stiffened in his arms as fear of captivity again took hold, but his soft kisses against her skin slowly relaxed her body and drew her away from the terrors of her dreams.
“Tam…” She reached up, placing her thin hand against his warm cheek.
“That’s me. I’m here.” He repeated, hugging her closer, and burying his face in her shoulder length hair. They’d both cut theirs after coming home. It was cathartic — in a way. He still remembered finding Feyre on the bathroom floor with a knife and running to take it from her hands.
“Tamlin, stop! I just want it gone! “
“No! You can’t — I can’t lose you. Hand me the knife, Feyre. Please…”
“Then you do it. Cut it off!”
“No…”
“My hair, Tamlin. Please —“
Her words echoed through his mind and his shoulders began to shake. He stiffened, forcing back the onslaught of memories. It had been three months since they’d returned from under the mountain, but life had been changed forever. Nothing would ever be the same again.
“Tam.” Feyre’s voice was different this time: more persistent. She rolled and pressed her body against his. “Tamlin. Stop — you do not always have to be so strong.”
“Oh, but I do.” Tamlin pressed his forehead to hers, hating every single tear that slipped past his tightly shut eyes. “I do.”
“We’re a team —” Feyre’s voice broke. Her fingers drifted along his face, catching the fallen tears. She kissed each streak they left behind, well knowing that to him, it felt like lashes. “let me in. Let me love you.”
He shuddered, forcing his swollen eyes open, near to the light. “I fear that I am past loving.”
“Never.” Feyre wrapped her arms around his neck and cradled his head in her hands. “No matter how much this world breaks you — you will never be too broken for me to love.”
“I do not deserve you. I could not save you.” Tamlin shuddered, falling against her breasts. “You faced your death because of me, Feyre. If I had never entered that cabin in the woods…”
“I would still have died, Tam.” Feyre pushed his hair behind his ear, seeking his gaze. “And starvation is not gentle. Because of you…I have known that. What it is like to matter…to someone.”
“You matter.” His eyes pooled with regret. “You reminded me of the good everyday. I could not — I cannot…lose that.”
“You won’t.” Feyre whispered, pressing her lips to his temple. “I am here, Tam. I am here.”
Tamlin hesitated before slowly joining their lips in a soft, languid kiss. He invited her into his lap, treasuring each little sound that his affection pulled from her.
Feyre pressed her palms against his shoulders, gently forcing him back onto the mattress. “Kiss me, my lord. Kiss me until dawn. Until light draws near. Kiss me until I forget the dark that chases us.”
“I want you…” Tamlin murmured, accepting her invitation. “Near to me. Always.”
“For the rest of time.” Feyre wrapped her lithe legs around his hips, and pulled the sheets over them, and bent to his touch.
“Always.” He said, looking up into her clear gray eyes, as dawn shone through the pearlescent sheets, and cast a bright glow around them. “Nearer unto the light. Until the darkness fades.”