“What happened?” I ask bringing him back to me.
He shakes his head before looking back at me.
“While I was cowering in the dirt trying to protect myself from arrows, Khalid appeared. He was always so large to me. A man that walked into a room, and every eye turned to him. That day, he punished the soldiers who had bullied me and practically took me under his wing. He taught me to fight even though it was beyond my station. He treated me as if I were his family.”
His eyes go distant, and he fades off again.
“After the war, I was sent to the underworld prison. For a long time, I was angry with Khalid. I felt betrayed by him. While I was stewing in my anger and lost, I caught the eye of a beautiful princess. She was the daughter of a forsaken duke. I fell for her hard and fast.”
I try to ignore the sudden bout of jealousy that curls in my stomach.
“When she asked to form the mate-bond with me, I followed her blindly. Again, I was just searching for that family and connection that I had with Khalid.
“Not long after we formed the bond, I figured out why she wanted it. Her father had found out that Khalid was looking for me. He was in negotiation with the king of the forsaken for my release.
“The same day I found out I was being released from the underworld was the same day I found out my mate had plans for me to kill Khalid. Something she could have made me do with the bond.”
He stops rubbing my feet. I remove them from his lap and tuck them under my butt.
“How did you get out of it?”
He licks his lips and shakes his head.
“I made a deal with an angel. Only the person who placed the bonds can break them. The only way around it is to have a more powerful being sever the connection. However, somethinglike that requires permission and a debt that is so heavy most wouldn’t even attempt it.”
“But you were desperate.” I could see the guilt on his face.
He nods. “I made the deal with the angel. She took my blood and the little bit of soul light I had left and tied it to a bell. Any time she rang that bell, I had to run to her and do her bidding. I lived for over a thousand years in pure hell. The things she wanted me to do.” He shakes his head.
“Around the 1700s, she went silent. I didn’t find out why until the day your mother summoned me with that broken bell.”
This is news to me and leaves me with more questions.
“How did my mother get that bell?”
“I don’t know, and I really don’t care,” he says. “All I know is that she had used up the very last request. When she asked me to heal you, I was more than willing. But I knew that by her using that last request, eventually Uriah would find out and become pissed. And the only thing she had over me was replacing the bond I had with Abrigia. So, when I saw you lying in that incubator, fighting for your life, I saw an opportunity to save myself.”
“So, the bond was just to save yourself.”
I won’t lie; hearing that did kind of hurt. He didn’t bond with me because he saw potential, or because he felt a connection. He did it to keep his ex from causing him to kill his king.
He grabs my hand, pulling me off the ground and over to him. I straddle his lap.
“Look at me,” he demands. I oblige.
“None of this shit is by chance. Yes, I went to that incubator intending to save my ass, but I saw something that day. I’d gone a long time without my light, the part of me that made me an angel. When you looked at me, I saw that light in your eyes. Looking at you felt like home, like peace. I realized then that you were the one for me.”
A tear falls from my eyes. Everything he said resonated with me. Despite being confused and scared that day at my wedding, the moment I laid eyes on him I felt that connection. It was like for the first time I could breathe. Like I’d been underwater for so long and had finally surfaced.
Seeing him felt like I was being saved after years of captivity. I didn’t understand it then, but now that I’ve been with him for so long, I get it.
“I love you,” I say as I stare down into his face.
He looks down between us and takes a deep breath. When he looks back up at me, his eyes are pitch black.
“Say it again,” he begs.
I chuckle. “I love you, Razzy.”
