My chest tightened, and I rubbed at the ache, watching them all laugh together.
“Are you going to join us?” Kieran asked sweetly. He looked like a cat ready to pounce.
I was about to reply when Samian let out a low growl, and I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heart jumped, beating heavily in my chest and in my ears. My skin felt stretched and too tight. I felt Samian’s hand graze against my arm, but I jerked away.
“I need to—I’m going over there for a moment,” I stammered breathlessly.
“Sybil,” Samian whispered. I winced at the tightness in his voice. “Okay, just be careful.Pleasebe careful.”
“Sybil, what’s going on?” Kieran murmured, the same tightness echoing in his voice as Samian’s.
“Stop it,” I hissed. I turned away, walking briskly into the dark forest until their voices became distant murmurs.
I found a tree and leaned against it, letting out shaky breath after shaky breath. My body shook, trembling as I pushed back the nausea that rose. I breathed until my heart calmed, until the ringing in my ears eddied out.
I leaned my head back against the tree, taking my first calm breath of the night, filling my lungs with the cold air. I looked to the treetops when a shadow moved along the branches. My muscles tensed, pressing for me to run, but fear had my body refusing to move. Leaves fell around me, and my hands prickled from my magic when a shadow darted toward me, crashing into me before I could even scream.
Chapter 9
Kieran
Iwatched Sybil disappear into the veil of trees. Her voice sounded so frantic when she demanded for me to stop. I stared at the path she took, half ready to march in after her, but the sound of heavy steps closing in distracted me. I glanced at Samian a moment before his fist met the bone of my cheek.
I heard Orin swear, Viv gasping as I grunted and faltered back a step. Lifting a hand to my cheek, I pressed on the throb spreading across my face. I heard Viv yell Samian’s name, and I looked up just in time to block his next swing.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I growled. We’d gotten into fights before, especially when we were young and swaggering about, but they always ended with us laughing it off. But tonight, his face was twisted in nothing but pure, unfiltered anger. His movements were tight, and he didn’t hold back.
“Why?” he demanded, throwing another fist. I blocked it, hissing from the ache that followed. “Why didn’t you tell me? You knew. You fucking knew she was my mate. Why didn’t you tell me you were hers, too?”
The clearing became quiet, the others conveniently finding somewhere else to be. I watched them turn their backs, talking in hushed tones.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to cause any issues.” I distanced myself from him, glancing back to the forest. “Thank the gods I was wrong. What happened between the two of you?”
Samian snarled, the tree closest to me cracking from the surge in his magic. The sound echoed around us, and Viv turned back to us, her mouth in a thin line. Fucking mother hen.
Huffing, I walked up to Samian, putting my hand on his shoulder. My stomach twisted at the way his body shook. “Tell me what happened.”
“I don’t fucking know what happened,” he muttered furiously. “She was fine last night. She even asked me to form the soul-bond with her. And she was fine this morning until she met with Aster. After that, she was reserved and wouldn’t tell me why.” He ran his trembling hand down his face.
“So,” I whispered, leaning in. “Did you?”
Samian looked at me, scowling. “Did I what?”
“Form the bond.” Samian’s silence was all the answer I needed. “You did something stupid, didn’t you?”
Samian groaned and found a rock to sit on. I settled onto the rock beside him, keeping my eyes on the forest.
“I—” Samian paused, his face cringing. “I told her we had to kiss to form the bond,” Samian forced out, his voice sounding reluctant.
I snorted before I could even stop myself, earning myself a glare. “She probably asked Aster about it, and Aster told her how you truly create the bond,” I said softly. Samian whispered a curse and rubbed his hand down his face again. He may be a master strategist, but he could be the dumbest motherfucker at times. “Well? Was it good?” Samian threw me another glare, his eyes full of warning. “What? She’s mine too.”
Samian sighed and dug the heel of his boot into the dirt and leaves. “It felt like I was engulfed by the hottest of flames that trapped me in a maelstrom that I never wanted to leave.”
I pictured myself with Sybil, my lips against hers. Heat gathered low in the pit of my stomach. “A whirlwind of fire, huh?” It was all I could do to keep myself planted on this rock. To not march in those woods, push her against a tree, and kiss her until she’s breathless and begging for more.
The silence stretched between us as we both watched the path Sybil took. Eventually, the others returned, Orin grumbling while Daelan spoke nonstop about his most recent adventures. Viv and Ivara snickered every time Orin rolled his golden eyes.
We all fell into quiet conversation, catching up on what had been going on in Daelan and Ivara’s territory when Sybil came back to the clearing. I looked up, my eyes narrowing on the cat that walked beside her, its fur of pure black. No, not fur—shadows. The damn creature was nothing but shadows. I could see where the eyes were supposed to be, the nose and mouth too, but there were none. Just endless black wafting from its body that sucked up the light around it
