chapter 34

Sparks rush over my skin, my senses returning as their scents waft around me. Hands trail up my sides soothingly. My face presses into Mateo’s neck as he holds me when fingers move my hair from my face. My eyes flutter open to witness Ezra’s caramel eyes peering back at me from where he sits next to Mateo on the bed. “Hey, babe,” he whispers, and Mateo looks down, his lips pressing to my forehead. I can feel both their relief that I am now awake. “Gave me quite the scare,” Mateo gently scolds, hugging me even closer. A tear slips down my face when Kora surfaces, her words breaking my heart, knowing she endured this for many lives. “I am home, I am free,” she whispers, and I can feel the restraints that restrict her break free, shattering the cage that surrounds her heart. The one she kept sealed as she tried to protect it each time she loved and lost. My mark tingles as their DNA blends in my bloodstream, pain radiating through my entire being, but I embrace it as I feel it morph, feel