“Eat. Please?”I urge, holding up a small piece of Tharnfruit to her lips. She takes it, and I don’t miss the way she licks my finger to try and coax a reaction from me.
After a few bites,color slowly starts returning to her cheeks.
We sitin silence for a moment—me feeding her small pieces, her accepting them without protest.
“Why can’tyou just claim me?” she asks. “I know the general reason. You’re worried something like last time will happenagain... but this could go on for years, Andrik. I can’t go through this for years.”
The questionI’ve been dreading.
I setthe plate aside and take her hands in mine, careful of my claws; they won’t retract after what just happened in the tub.
“Because,”I say quietly, “there’s something I need to explain about Rhavari bonds.”
42
Chapter 43
LumiPOV-
He scoopsme into his lap and tilts my chin until our eyes lock. “Lumi,” he breathes, voice shaking uncontrollably. “I need you to understand what we’re dealing with.”
His eyes glowwith a terrifying intensity, but the light is fractured—distorted like sunlight flickering at the bottom of a restless pool. I might not sense things the same way he does... but I can feel his terror as if it’s my own.
“Rhavari bonds aren’t likehuman marriages,” he chokes out. “They aren’t vows you can break or annul. They’re woven into our souls by the Gods themselves.”
He reachesfor my left hand, absently tracing the opalescent stone with a single claw.
“When we complete the bond,our souls will be tied together. Forever. Across lifetimes.”
I openmy mouth to respond, but he pushes forward with urgency.
“But there are laws.Sacred laws that even the Gods cannot bend.”
His grip tightens slightly.
“If another maleclaims you before the bond is sealed—” He swallows hard. “The bond doesn't just break, Lumi. It shatters. Like ice struck with a hammer.”
I stare at him,trying to hide my mortification.
“And when a Rhavari bond shatters...”His voice falters. “The one left behind doesn’t just grieve. They go feral.”
His tremblinghands slide up my back.
“First, the madness comes,”he whispers. “You forget your name. Forget who you are. You hunt endlessly for something you can't find—because it no longer exists—ripped jaggedly from your soul.”
He jerkshis hands away when he notices his claws pricking my skin.
“Next,the blood hunger sets in. You slaughter anything that breathes. Not for food. Not for survival. Just because the bond is screaming and you can't make it stop.”
His head bows,but I don’t miss the tears falling onto his lap.
“Eventually...”He takes a ragged breath. “Your heart just... stops. Without the bond holding the pieces together, you unravel, bit by bit, until all that’s left is snow and silence.”
The airaround us thickens with the weight of his confession. The fire crackling softly is the only sound between us.
“That’swhy I can’t claim you yet, kaelthra’sael. Not while he’s still out there. Not while there’s even the smallest chance he could—” (My fated one.)
He can’t bringhimself to finish the sentence. “If he enters you,” he rasps, “if he takes you before I can complete the bond—” A tear slips down his cheek.
