CHAPTER <b>92 </b>


    Just as I was trying to regain myposure from being mmed onto the cold stone patio, I growled low in my chest and jumped to my feet, ready to tear into whoever had stopped me from finally escaping this prison I’d been living in.


    But when I turned, the words froze in my throat.


    There was a figure lying on her side a few feet away, her long blonde hair falling across her face as she faced away from me.


    “Lyra,” I breathed, almost disbelieving my own voice.


    She slowly turned her face toward me, her piercing blue eyes catching the moonlight and locking on mine.


    I dropped to my knees beside her and pulled her into my arms, holding her so tightly I was afraid I might hurt her. My hands roamed frantically over her back, her hair, the side of her face–desperate to convince myself she was real.


    “Is it really you?” My voice cracked.


    “Of course it’s me,” she whispered.


    She started to get up, but I noticed she was struggling. And that’s when I saw it–her swollen


    stomach.


    “Oh my god,” I muttered.


    “How long have I been gone?<i>” </i>she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.


    “You… you don’t know<i>?</i><i>” </i>I said, shocked.


    “Time moved a lot slower in that world,” she exined. “This stomach got this big in a matter of days.”


    “Holy s**t,” I whispered. “You’ve been gone for two and a half months.” <fn0cb5> For more chapters visit FιndNovel</fn0cb5>


    I reached up and gently cupped her face again, needing to touch her one more time to make sure she wasn’t a cruel hallucination. I had convinced myself she was dead. I had believed it so fully that this moment felt unreal.


    Then I couldn’t hold back. I pulled her against me and kissed her–hard. Passionate, desperate, almost feral. I poured every ounce of pain and longing from the past two and a half months into that kiss, gripping her like I’d never let go again.


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    < CHAPTER 92


    She was here. She was really here.


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    The distant sound of wolves howling carried through the trees, but I wasn’t ready to share her with anyone else yet. I grabbed her hand and led her quickly off the patio and back inside the


    house.


    We went upstairs to our room, and Lyra stopped, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the


    sight.


    “Everything’s here,” she murmured.


    “Of course it is,” I said quietly.


    I hadn’t changed a thing. Our room looked exactly the same as the day she’d left. I couldn’t bear to throw away even the smallest piece of her.


    She sat down on the edge of the bed, and I immediately sat beside her, taking her hand in mine and holding it like a lifeline. I couldn’t let go. I was terrified she’d vanish again.


    “I really don’t know what to say right now<i>,</i>” I admitted, my voice low.


    “Neither do I,” she said softly. “I was just so focused on getting back here.”


    “I know what you mean,” I said, squeezing her hand.


    Her eyes drifted around the room, and I saw the flicker of realization as she took in the empty alcohol bottles littering the floor and nightstands.


    “So that’s why you didn’t feel me the moment I came back to this realm,<i>” </i>she said quietly.


    The weight of her words hit me like a punch. She was right. I <i>should </i>have felt her the second she stepped through that portal. But I hadn’t.


    Because I’d drowned myself in so much alcohol, I’d numbed the bondpletely.


    “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I should have known. I should have been there for you,” I whispered, guilt heavy in my voice.


    “Stop. None of this is your fault. And I will never, <i>ever </i>me you,” she said softly.


    “I know you won’t,” I murmured, but it didn’t make the weight on my chest any lighter. I reached out, gently touching her stomach, and froze when I felt a sudden kick against my hand.


    “Oh my god… that’s incredible,” I said, my voice full of awe.


    “Yeah, it is,” she said with a small smile. “It just… it all happened so fast for me.”


    < CHAPTER 92


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    “We need to get you to a doctor,” I said, panic starting to rise in me. “We have to make sure everything’s alright–not just with the baby, but with you too-”


    “Elias,” she interrupted firmly, cing her hand on mine. “Calm down. We’ll do all of that. But right now, I just want to be with you. I’m not going anywhere, okay? So please… just breathe.”


    “You’re right,” I said, forcing myself to calm down. “Honestly, I don’t even want to share you with anyone yet.”


    “Elias,” she said softly, her eyes searching mine. “What were you doing out there?”


    I swallowed hard. “I couldn’t feel you. I didn’t know where you were… and I’d convinced myself you were dead.”


    Her expression shifted with understanding. “I was afraid of that. I was in such a rush to get back here. I knew time moved slower in that world, which meant you were here suffering for much longer than I was. I knew you’d probably think I was gone. I didn’t waste a second after I killed the witch–I didn’t stop until I found a way back.”


    I leaned forward and kissed her again, deeper this time, and felt her arms wrap tightly around my neck. She clung to me as if she needed my closeness just as badly as I needed hers.


    “You have to tell me everything that happened over there,” I said against her lips.


    “I will,” she whispered. “But not right now.”


    Iy back on the bed, pulling her down with me so her head rested on my chest. My hand moved slowly up and down her back, trying to soothe her, though I could tell there was more she wasn’t saying.


    I had a sinking feeling that whatever she’d been through had been unbearable. She said she’d only been there for about a week, but with time moving slower, I knew it had been far longer for me.


    The alcohol was wearing off, and for the first time in months, I could <i>feel </i>her through our bond. It was the most incredible feeling in the world… except for the strange undercurrent in her emotions. Something about her stomach.


    I could sense it<b>, </b>and I could also feel her power now–it was so much stronger than before


    she left.


    “Lyra…” I began carefully,


    “Don’t,” she interrupted quickly. “Please… I just want to forget about it.”


    “Was it that bad?” I asked softly.


    < CHAPTER 92


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    “You really have no idea,” she said, her voice breaking just a little. “I’m home now, Elias. Can we just… enjoy this? We’re going to have a baby. We’re going to be a family.”


    I kissed the top of her head gently. “Alright,” I said. “It’s forgotten about.”


    She looked up at me and kissed me, and I held her as tightly as I could, silently promising myself that nothing would ever take her from me again.


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