“Good. I’ll let my mother know that you’re my mate. She’s well-connected in the Tower, and her support will make things easier for you.” He dropped a kiss on the fresh bite mark on her shoulder, making her shiver. Then he retrieved a key from a wooden chest in the corner of the room and pressed it into her hand. “My nest is yours. I want you in it while I’m gone.”
She swallowed and nodded, adding the key to the ring on her belt for safekeeping. She pulled on her petticoat and struggled into her skirt, all while Brandt watched with rapt attention. Theirs was a short acquaintance, but she would miss him desperately. “I’m glad I’ll be able to sense you while you’re gone.”
“The bond will weaken as the distance between us grows. Don’t be alarmed if it’s faint. If you can feel me, I live and breathe.”
“Will I feel…battles?” The thought was both thrilling and terrifying. To share in his triumph. In his pain if he were hurt.
“No,” he said sharply. “I will build mind walls to shield you from any ugliness of war.”
“What’s a mind wall?” she asked absently as she laced her bodice.
He blew out a breath, rubbing his horns like he was searching for an answer. “What’s an elbow? It is what it is.”
She giggled at his non sequitur. “An elbow is a joint between the upper and lower parts of the arm. A bony prominence. A very useful body part.” She gave evidence by nudging him in the rib with hers.
He nipped at her. “A mind wall is a wall in the mind, then. A way to separate one’s thoughts to avoid feeling or thinking about certain things until a more appropriate time. I don’t believe humans have them. You feel everything all the time.”
Idabel swallowed, pushing back against a storm of memories and pain that threatened to roll over the landscape of her mind, her mouth tight and determined until it was all firmly locked away. Brandt must have caught wind of it through the bond because his smile slipped as he studied her face.
“We have some version,” she said quietly. “Perhaps an earthen version of your stone walls.”
He nodded, understanding flickering between them. “I will keep you safe in my mind.”
“I should go,” she said weakly.
“If you must,” he agreed, his hands wandering down her back, tracing the curve of her waist with possessive familiarity.
Through the bond, she felt his reluctance, his desire to keep her here in his nest where she would be safe and his for a few more hours. It matched her own impulse so perfectly that for a moment she couldn’t tell which of them was feeling it.
“Tomorrow night?” she forced out. “I’ll come to you tomorrow night, just after dusk. You’ll be here?”
“I’ll stay as long as I can. Whatever happens,” he added fiercely, and the promise in his voice made her hands clench. “Whatever happens, the bond will hold.”
She pushed up on her toes to kiss him in case it was goodbye and hurried out through the servants’ passages and ladders before she gave in and stayed.
Only when she was halfway to the apothecary shop did she realize that everything in her life had changed in just a few short hours. She was no longer a refugee, nor a maiden, nor on the edge of losing everything. She was Brandt’s mate, bound to him by magic older than the fallen gods themselves.
Despite the impossible nature of their pairing, the uncertain future that lay ahead, and the war that would soon separate them, she had never been happier. She had a home and family once more.
Chapter 13
Brandt
Idabel’s scent drenched his nest like dew. Brandt lingered in the doorway, breathing it in, their new mate bond thrumming through him like a second heartbeat. She’d reach the apothecary soon. He could feel the short distance stretching between them, the bond gossamer thin. But no matter how far it stretched, it would never break.
He wanted to shout it from the highest tier:I have a mate. He would have to keep it quiet for now, though. If it became knownbefore he deployed, the Nadir would surely get involved, and a Council review might jeopardize his position.
Instead, he forced himself to dress, buckling on his leathers. The barely-visible scars where Idabel had stitched him felt like badges of honor. He was used to healing quickly, but this was swifter than he’d experienced before. His mate’s skills made his chest tighten with pride.
By the time he made his way to the training tier, the last stragglers of the Sixth Watch had finally reported from the outlying villages, and the air crackled with energy. Everyone was on edge, knowing deployment was imminent.
Rikard approached him immediately, fist to his horns in formal salute. “Commander.”
“Ready to train?” The young gargoyle’s posture was subdued. Good. The near-disaster had knocked some sense into him.
“More than ready.” Rikard’s jaw set with determination. “I won’t disappoint you again.”
Brandt jerked a nod and gestured for him to rejoin his gathering watchmates. After welcoming the new recruits and pairing them with those who’d been training for weeks, the sparring began in earnest.
