Chapter 82

Rion's POV

I wanted to open my mouth and scold her, yell at her to stop spouting nonsense but I had suddenly lost all my willpower. The fight was gone and I was completely drained.

The last of my strength I used to grab a chair and sit beside her bed, leaning down and resting my head gently on her shoulder while she brought her hand to my hair, threading her fingers through the dark strands, gently massaging my scalp.

“Ziarre……” I whispered, breathing in her scent like I was starved of it, wanting to take all of her and lock her away safely in my heart, where no one could hurt her ever again.

“Just stay with me like this, please.” Her voice was so low I could barely hear it.

I closed my eyes, letting myself bask in her warmth, listening to the rapid pounding of her heart against her ribcage, almost like it was doing overtime. Part of my brain understood what was going on but I chose to be delusional, if only to protect this precious moment and keep it as perfect as possible.

I couldn