“The only person who owns me is me,” I poke my finger into his chest, and with each tiny jab, my finger is zapped, sending electrifyingpricks like mini finger orgasms down my arm.Even his touch is hauntingly thrilling, infuriating.
“Follow me.” I leave no room for argument and walk in front of him down the hall.
The bond tugs him along. Now that we have found each other, we will always follow each other. The bond will never let us part. Which is both the most terrifying thing I’ve ever known and the most heart-warming.
When we reach the door that leads back towards the main courtyard, we find it unlocked.I see Gideon is quite cocky in his scouting abilities.
Luckily for him, he will not have to look far.
“We should go back the other way. It’s too dangerous up top.” Rivern makes his concern known—the bond itches with it—but I don’t listen to it or him. My defiance at the situations I’ve been placed in has been steadily fuelling my internal fire pit. At this point, I’m surprised I’m not releasing steam from my ears with the rage flowing through my body.
“I told you already. I’m not leaving,” I whisper-hiss at the striking fae behind me.
He huffs. “You are coming with me to Terra. We can figure out the bond there.” He’s been telling me that we may be able to break it. That they have oracles in Terra that might give us answers on how a human and fae have become bonded by the Goddess. He keeps calling her Oona—the same name they use in the old texts—but humans only know her as the one Goddess.
Apparently, I’m told, our bonding is an impossibility. Hard to believe it’s an impossibility when the bond is connecting us in ways I’ve never known with anyone before. It’s jarring, to say the least, and the last thing I expected from this evening’s events. Death? Yes. Bonded fae prince demanding I go to an unknown kingdom? Not so much.
“And I already told you that isn’t happening. You didn’t see all those children lining the castle steps with their families! The king and Castor need to be stopped.” In my silent eating earlier, the thought of those poor kids and families on the steps dug a hole deep in the pits of my soul. The villagers are not being told the truth. The land is failing us, and they deserve to know. Something sinister is afoot, and I am not about to watch corruption win any longer. Maybe I am just a broken servant girl, but if my earlier actions prove anything, they show I can create change. Be that negative or positive.
And if the Kingdom of Haven is going to survive, we need change.
“Little Dove,” he says my name with gentleness, and I snap, spinning on him and getting on my toes to shove my face into his. Well, as close as I can get with our height difference.
“It must have been sooo nice, Prince Rivern. Growing up in luxury, never having to hunt for scraps so your belly would not cramp during the night. Never wondering whether your father would remember to bring his wages home instead of blowing them on mead.” My fingersizzles as I punch it into his chest. “To have everything you’ve ever wanted and not have to think about…” I choke on a sob and spin.
I’m sure he can feel everything through the bond. I cradle the burn markings on the side of my face.
“Dove.” His body moves around me, and he grasps my face, filling me with fervor. Sadness and ferocity filter through the bond.
I close my eyes. “Please help me, and then I will go with you to Terra.”
As I open my eyes, those deep violet orbs say so many things that it’s hard to grasp onto just one. “Okay,” he responds.
I can’t help the smile that lights up my face. “Thank you,” I squeak, and my body very uncharacteristically hurtles itself towards Rivern in an embrace.
“Ooof. For a tiny female, you pack a punch.” He doesn’t let go as the bond sings. My head buries in his chest, breathing in pine and sunshine.Do humans even smell of sunshine? Fae apparently do.
With my hands clenched around his neck, they begin to fiddle with his soft, silken braid.Fae also have extremely soft hair. Or is it just Prince Rivern?
In my current position, with my legs dangling down Rivern’s torso, I become very aware of a hard length pressed up against me. A searing temptation through the bond makes me want to move and find out more about this sensation, but I can’t.I—
“Little Dove, either let go, or I’ll have to satiate this urge and fuck you against the wall, which would solidify the bond.”
The fog lifts, and I jump back.
“Sorry,” I hiss as if I’ve been stung.I can’t be fully bonded to this fae. I know nothing about him. And where would we even live? He keeps mentioning this Terra, but Haven has been my only home.
My breathing starts to become laboured.I can’t leave Haven. I can’t leave Haven.It becomes a roar, and my breaths come in short and sharp.
A wide-eyed Rivern expresses worry down the bond but quickly takes me in his arms and crushes me to his chest again. “Breath, Little Dove. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out.” He breathes with me, taking deep exhales as I do.
I cling to him like a possum hugs the branches. His sunlight and the comfort of home seep through the bond, filling my body with the strength I need to keep going. “I’m sorry,” I say into his hard chest.
“Stop saying sorry, Little Dove. There’s nothing to be sorry for. We are bonded. We will naturally seek comfort in each other. It’s as simple as breathing.” I nod into his chest as he begins to stroke my hair.
“Well, this is interesting,” a voice coarsely tracks down my spine, and I push off Rivern. In a swift move, he alters my course, pushing me behind his body and unsheathing a very pointy silver sword.
Gideon bares his teeth as he hunches over his body, a growl echoing through the small space.
