It did not make sense.
Ignoring the odd twinge in his chest, Tristan opened his mouth to call out to her when Scarlet threw her arms around Gabriel and started kissing his cheeks and his forehead giddily.
Tristan’s insides went empty as sharp jealousy cut through him and drained him dry. She was kissing him.
Possessiveness was coursing through his veins, but suddenly he felt safe and happy.
What the bloody hell? This was all too strange. He could not understand what was happening to him or why he was feeling such things. It was almost as if…as if….
Realization dawned on him.
Scarlet.
Somehow he knew he was feeling Scarlet. He was sensing her gratitude for Gabriel; how Gabriel made her feel happy and safe. How he made her feel loved. And how she loved him back...
There was no more air and no more light; there was only hollow blackness clouding Tristan’s vision and pressing down on his chest as the jealousy swirled into sadness.
She loved him back…
Scarlet’s eyes turned from Gabriel, caught site of Tristan and, suddenly, his black world burst into color. The love in Scarlet’s chest exploded into a sensation more powerful than words, expanding inside Tristan in indescribable colors.
Her love for him was safe and dangerous. Passionate and soft. Wild and fierce.
It was its own being, held captive for ages and now released into new life. And it made Tristan want to shout.
Which was exactly what Scarlet did.
“Tristan!” Rushing over to him, her face flushed with awe and eyes brimming with tears, Scarlet crashed her body into his and wrapped her arms around him.
An unbelievable pleasure flooded his veins at her touch, but his mind did not care to ponder the bliss. Scarlet was in his arms. Nothing else mattered.
Scarlet clung to Tristan, shamelessly pressing her body against his as they kissed and embraced.
How was she alive? How was Tristan alive?
Ah! She did not care. Whatever had happened—whatever was happening now—did not matter. She had her Hunter. She had everything.
Her heart swelled so large it felt as though it might burst. Actually, it felt like it was bursting already. Harder and harder it beat against her ribcage.
He tucked her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head as she pressed herself against his body.
She inhaled deeply and the scent of leather and water met her nose, reminding her of Hunter and the time she shared with him in the forest and how he had loved her and how she thought she’d lost him. She was so happy she could cry.
She’d been floating through this strange world for two years, so lost, so hopeless. And now she felt at home, safe and loved and happy. She buried her face even more into his chest, wanting to hide there until her world forever made sense.
The fierce pounding inside her grew almost painful and she put a hand to her chest to keep her heart from leaping out.
Tristan shifted away from her with a concerned expression and, almost instantly, the pounding softened.
“I see you’ve found her,” said a voice behind Scarlet. “Fantastic.”
Turning, she saw a stranger with messy brown hair approach them with a smile.
Suddenly aware she and Tristan were not alone in the room—somehow, she had forgotten about Gabriel, oops—Scarlet dropped her hand from her chest and took a reluctant, yet socially appropriate, step away from Tristan.
She looked at the stranger. “Who are you?”
His brows lifted. “Oh. Oh, right. You do not know me.”
“This is our friend, Nathaniel,” Tristan said.
“And I’m a wizard,” Nathaniel smiled.
“Barely,” Gabriel corrected. “He is barely a wizard.”
“Hey now.” Nathaniel said in mock offense. “I’m getting better.”
“No. If anything, you are getting worse,” Gabriel said.
Scarlet was confused. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”
“Well, you were dead. And now you are alive.” Nathaniel smiled.
“Right,” Scarlet said. “And how is that possible?”
“Immortal blood.” He nodded. “It’s a long story.”
Scarlet crossed her arms. “Then start at the beginning.”
Scarlet leaned back against the desk in her small quarters at the inn, her servant’s dress catching on the corner and tearing slightly.
Nathaniel had spent the last few hours explaining Scarlet’s past and the boys’ immortality to her. It was a lot to take in and most of it was disturbing.
Gabriel smiled at her from his post by the door, no doubt trying to make her feel comfortable. She smiled back at him, confusion winding through her head. He had practically been her husband in her previous life, yet somehow he seemed like a stranger to her. Like he was a warm, soft dream that had existed in one reality, but had no place in this one.
She rubbed her pounding chest for the third time that hour. “So I am semi-immortal?”
“Correct.” Nathaniel watched Scarlet clutch at her heart again. “How does your heart feel?”
Confused. Anxious. Unstable.
“Fine.” Scarlet dropped her hand. “It’s beating rather fast but otherwise it’s fine.”
From across the room, Tristan’s eyes slid to her and Scarlet’s nervous feelings vanished. Tristan was alive. Everything would be fine.
She tried to memorize his new green eyes. They suited him better. The brown had been handsome, but the bright green was…alive. Like living fire, burning emerald as he looked at her with an almost-smile. She wished they were alone so she could touch him and smell him and taste him—
The emerald flames brightened.
“—start happening?” Nathaniel’s voice pulled Scarlet away from Tristan’s hot gaze.
She blinked. “Come again?”
Nathaniel cleared his throat. “I asked when you felt your heart begin to race.”
“Oh. Uh…” Scarlet knew exactly when her heart had started to pound, but she didn’t want to announce to the room how her heart had become a hungry drummer the moment she ran into Tristan’s arms.
“Today.” That was a safe, non-embarrassing answer.
”Before or after we found you?”
“After.”
Tristan turned to Nathaniel. “Are you concerned about her heart?”
“I don’t know.” He frowned. “I feel like I’ve read something about ferociously beating hearts, but I cannot recall…” He trailed off for a moment, then shook his head. “Oh well. The most important thing,” he smiled at Scarlet, “is that you are alive and well and have your memories back.”