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His own voice filled his ears, though, calling Cora’s name over and over and over. He had no concern for himself. With an impossible surge of strength, he pushed his way out of the debris, even as clouds of dust filled his lungs.
“Cora!” he called again once he emerged.
Through the clouds of gray dust, he spied a tiny movement in the debris. Levi sprinted over the piles of destruction to pull back the sheet of cladding that moved helplessly in the mess. Beneath it he discovered Cora, covered in dust but unharmed and more beautiful than she had ever been before.
“Are you okay?” he asked desperately, and her smile told him everything.
He pulled her to her feet and smiled into her eyes, knowing now more than ever that he had to tell her.
“Cora, I love you,” he said, placing his hands gently on her dust-covered face.
Her smile widened and she let out a laugh that told him a weight had been lifted from her chest, just as it had been lifted from his.
“I love you, too,” she replied. Through the dust and debris, on the bones of a fallen empire, he kissed her.
Chapter 37
“Cora!” came a voice she’d longed to hear since the moment the Jorvlens had taken her. That now seemed like ages ago and felt like another world away. Everything in her world had changed since she heard that lovely voice last.
Her mother’s voice sounded through the forest halfway down the path to the resort. Cora looked up to see her father and brother close behind, picking their way through the forest as the burgeoning daylight broke through the trees.
With Levi following, she ran forward into her mother’s arms. It was an incredible relief, and the tears flowed quickly, streaking the dust on her cheeks and leaving gray stains on her mother’s blouse.
The tears didn’t stop as she hugged her father and brother in turn, all of them clamoring over her.
“Oh my gods, Cora, I’m so glad you’re okay,” her mother cried.
“What happened?” asked her father, taking her into a bear hug.
“And who is that?” asked her little brother Ajay, pointing at Levi lingering in the background.
Cora turned, reaching out for Levi’s hand and pulling him forward.
“This is Levi,” she told them, holding him close. “He’s the only reason I made it out of all this alive.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Levi said, bowing his head to her family.
Cora was touched by the gesture, knowing that it would be more apt for them to bow to him according to his royal status. It only made her love and appreciate him more.
Her parents pulled him into the same warm hug they’d given her. Levi grinned so big it looked like his face hurt. Cora felt her heart warm at the sight of the ones she loved most in the world finally meeting each other. And it seemed like they had the same instinctual love for each other that she and Levi had felt from the start.
She wished they could stay, but the Desolation Stone was still in Levi’s satchel. She knew the island was probably crawling with Jorvlens. They had to go.
“I can’t explain right now,” Cora said, interrupting her parents fawning over Levi. “But we need to get to Lorrs. There’s something we need to finish. I’ll see you soon, though. This I can promise.”
Her parents looked shocked but recovered quickly.
“Then we’re coming with you,” her father said, stepping forward.
Cora grinned. “If that’s what you want, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The zoomer fit all five of them, and the trip gave her a chance to fill her family in on everything that had happened since she disappeared. If her parents liked Levi before, they absolutely adored him now after hearing all that he’d done for Cora. Ajay, of course, was in awe of the Lorr warrior, especially after discovering he was a prince. He peppered Levi with questions for hours.
It wasn’t until her father suggested she and Levi might be tired after all their adventures that Ajay sheepishly stemmed his barrage of questions. But as tired as Cora was, she felt her body hum with energy. She and Levi had done everything they’d set out to do, and now their families were blending together—or at least one side. She only hoped the king would give her the same warm reception that her family had given Levi.
Her hopes were dashed the moment they set foot in the royal palace on Lorrs.
“You could have at least taken a shower before you stepped in here,” said the king as Levi entered the king’s sitting room with Cora following close behind.
