Bridget flapped her wings, winding higher into the sky. The hedge wall kept growing, but she was faster. She sped over the top of it and reached for Bas and her body with all her might.
“Bas! I’m still here! I’m trying to get out and back to my body! Help me!” she cried, hoping that he would hear her.
A thorned vine snatched her from the air, and she was back in her human form. She screamed as the vines tightened, and she was dragged back down towards the earth.
36
Bas had lost how much time he had been talking. The Brollachan had been glaring balefully out of Bridget’s eyes the whole time.
Bas contemplated going to bed and trying again in the morning, but he couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t leave his Bridget in a cell she didn’t deserve to be in.
“Please come back to me, little hawk,” he begged, his voice cracking.
The Brollachan thrashed, making Bas startle. The dead look in Bridget’s eyes vanished. “Bas! I’m still here! I’m trying to get out and back to my body! Help me!”
Bas didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her by the knees and plunged into her mind, caught the edge of her subconsciousness, and let it pull him after her.
They were falling through the sky, Bridget’s hands just out of reach. Bas shifted into a dragon and caught her in his talons before they hit the earth. They tumbled, Bas holding her close to his chest as he bore the weight of the impact.
“Oh fuck, oh shit,” Bridget was muttering when they stopped moving. “Bas! Oh god. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he wheezed, placing her down on the rocky ground. He rolled on his feet, shook himself once, and shifted back into his human form. Bridget collided with him, her arms going tight around him.
“You found me,” she said, her face smooshed into his chest.
“The other way around. You got through to your body and I held on and was pulled in after you,” Bas replied. He tilted her face up and kissed it all over. “You scared the life out of me. The Brollachan is in your body, and it kept saying that it was feeding off you. We need to get you out of here.”
“I know, but the fucker keeps making prisons. I heard you through a wall in a maze,” she explained. There was no sign of a maze around them, but there were brambles. “This feels very ‘Sleeping Beauty’ right now.”
Bas took her hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay, baby. We will find our way out.”
“Ah, actually, we need to talk first,” Bridget said, pulling her hand free. She put her hands on her hips. “What the fuck were you saying about me being your mate?”
Bas cleared his throat awkwardly. “Don’t you think that we should maybe get out of here first?”
“Nope. I’m not going anywhere,” Bridget said and sat down on a large rock.
Bas cleared his throat. After a night of telling her for hours how he felt, he was now tongue-tied.
“According to my dragon, you are my fated mate. It wants you…”
“And doyouwant me? Or is this still a separate thing?” she interrupted, her scarred eyebrow rising.
“I want you. I’ve wanted you since the moment I met you. The dragon and I are one on this matter. I didn’t want to scare you away. I still don’t. If you agree to be my mate, it’s a forever thing, Bridget. It’s more binding than a marriage,” Basblundered on. “I would understand if it’s not something you would want.”
“Does it mean you get control over me?” she asked, a worried look coming into her eyes.
Bas shook his head. “Quite the opposite, actually. It means you have control over me. I would do anything for you, Bridget. If we mate, you become my whole world. I’ll always love you and protect you. See to your every need.”
Bridget’s frown hadn’t gone away. “You’re not going to try and like put a baby in me straight away or anything. Because there’re things in life I want to do.”
“Of course not! I don’t want kids. At least, I never have. I don’t know if that will change in the future, but if you don’t want them, then we won’t have them. It’s your body and will always be your choice, love.” Bas got down on his knees so they were at the same height. “I don’t want you barefoot and pregnant. I want you to learn magic with me. I want to take you to see this world and Faerie. I just want to love you.”
“Okay,” Bridget said, dragging the word out like a sigh.
“Okay, what?”
“Okay, I’ll be your mate,” she replied with a shy smile.
