“The Seeing Room,” I said, understanding dawning. Faylinn did smile this time, joy radiating from every pore and casting her in a beautiful glow.
“Yes, the Seeing Room. I had . . . speculated that I would need to use it one more time. Fate was rather ambiguous when I returned to my body after our bargain.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Once I obtained that information, I was all yours.”
A smile broke across my face, tugging at my cheeks and stretching them wide.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely before kissing her soundly. “Thank you.” I tried to push every emotion, every thought and feeling into that kiss, and when Faylinn finally relaxed into me once more, I knew she felt it all.
I sighed in contentment as Faylinn’s breaths evened out, her breasts rising and falling as she finally found sleep.
Finally—at long last—Faylinn was mine, and I was just as stoutly hers.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Faylinn
Iwalked across the cold floor, the bare pads of my feet scraping slightly against the rough stone. My fingertips trailed softly against the walls of the hallway, jolting with every dip and bump.
The first time I was here, I was too blinded by grief and exhaustion to fully appreciate my surroundings, but this visit was different.
I knew it would come; I expected it, anticipated it.
I completed the Bond with Rohak, knowing exactly what would happen the minute we both fell asleep, wrapped in each other’s warm embrace under the coil of post-coital bliss.
Now, I could absorb my surroundings with a freedom that didn’t exist before, and the scholar in me wanted nothing more than to sit and document every inch of this sacred space.
How much longer would it be before I visited here again?
I wandered the winding halls, head hung back on my shoulders so I could gaze at the open ceiling. At least, itappearedopen. Upon deeper inspection, it was clear that a very powerful Air Ward kept the interior of the castle dry and protected from the elements.
Fate’s residence was almost at the peak of the split mountain in Meru. The sporadic window—curtained by the same enchantment as the ceiling—revealed blustery landscapes and feet of snow without a view of the cracked earth far below.
I hummed as I watched the tendrils of magic—for that was certainly what the colors in the clouded sky were—dance and writhe. It almost looked . . . painful. As if they were stuck there by some unseen force, unable to move freely and touch the ground below.
Perhaps that was why the earth was so dry, the trees dead and barren.
“Taking your time, granddaughter?” Fate’s voice echoed from somewhere up ahead, and I sighed at the combination of amusement and exasperation.
Patience wasnota virtue the immortal being possessed.
“No, Fate,” I said softly. “Just observing.”
Fate was silent as I felt along the hallway. The walls moved suddenly, and I closed my eyes at the lurching feeling that gripped me low in the gut. Disoriented, I leaned against the stone for support, breathing heavily through my nose in a desperate desire to keep my stomach from upending its contents all over Fate’s palace.
“You’re naked,” Fate deadpanned, his voice much closer than before.
If my eyes were open, I would roll them aggressively in his direction.
“Yes,” I panted, still fighting the urge to vomit. “You’re the one who expressly said in our bargain that I was to return here after I completed the Bond with Rohak. Did youreallythink I would do that fully clothed?”
“I expected you to dress afterward,” he grumbled, and I barked a short laugh.
“How many times have you redressed after fucking the love of your life, Fate?”
Silence met my question, but I felt soft shadows kiss my bare skin as something akin to a magical dress covered my naked body.
I expected his magic to be cold and smell of sulfur, but the shadows were surprisingly warm, their gentle writhing leaving little sparks of heat on my skin.
My eyelids cracked open of their own accord, and I gazed at the shadow dress in barely concealed awe.
