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Her anger bled away as she looked down at me as though I were her lifeline, the only thing keeping her head above rising waters. I would let her climb onto my shoulders every time, even if it meant I drowned in her place.

Because I had never loved the soul she carried.

I loved the heart beating inside it, and it was so fucking beautiful.

“You deserve love.”

I wrapped my hand around the delicate column of her throat, her pulse bounding against my thumb while my other still stroked her clit.

Squeezing with just enough pressure to restrict her airway, she pushed into the pressure, pupils blowing wide, and her pussy dripping down my shaft.

Her breathing quickened, needy little moans slipping past her lips that made me groan in response.

“Say it,” I demanded, teeth gritting against the pleasure.

“Say what?”

“That you deserve to be loved.”

I tightened my grip and thrust upwards, her lips parting as she cried out my name.

The bond between us opened us. Shimmering blue poured into my chest until I could no longer tell where my heartbeat ended and hers began.

The weight of a heart that had become convinced it deserved to be hated crushed down on me. Every memory. Every choice. Every life lost. She had chained them all around her own neck like a noose.

“Say it,” I growled, burying myself as deep as I could inside her, praying she would feel me forever. A vicious part of me took solace in the thought that Helion would never stretch her the way I could.

“I deserve it!” she cried out, arching against the pleasure. Fuck, she was so close that it drove me to the edge.

“Deserve what?” I demanded, pinching her clit between my thumb and forefinger.

“Love,” she gasped. “I deserve to be loved.”

Thank fuck.

I unleashed myself, thrusting into her while rubbing her clit without mercy until she cried out my name.

“Cum for me,” I demanded, needing her release to drench my cock before I exploded.

Her head tipped towards the ceiling, her cry of pure pleasure detonating through me as the ship pitched, the sea rising with her release.

Her body clamped down around my cock, and my thrusts stuttered as her pussy surged with wet heat, shoving me over the edge with her.

I came so hard that darkness invaded my vision, spilling hot streams of cum deep inside her while I circled her clit. I wrung out every tormented wave of pleasure tearing through her until she was a shaking mess collapsing against my chest.

I held her against my rotting heart despite the shadows digging into my flesh, the darkness in my veins creeping colder with every slowing beat.

My fingers traced slow paths along her spine until the first sob broke free, crashing through her like a wave against the shore.

I said nothing, holding her against my chest and letting my love pour through the bond until there was nothing left of me to hide.

Loving Lyra had never been my curse, it had been my salvation.

While leaving her behind frightened me, dying did not. No, there was an odd peace inside me at stepping into the void one last time.

Perhaps knowing she would still be loved after I was gone quietened the bitterness that lingered whenever I thought of Helion.

Maybe, just maybe, if she accepted the love she held for both of us, she would not destroy the world over my fate.