Mother stands thoughtfully, placing a hand on my sister’s shoulder. “Talk some sense into your brother. I’m growing weary of this conversation.”
“Yes, Mother,” Freya answers as our mother strides from the room in her billowing purple gown, the other council members following closely behind. My uncle gives me a swift nod, my mother’s word final.
Freya opens her mouth and closes it again as I walk past her. Turning at the last moment, I say, “If you have anything else to say to me, you can say it in front of Dove.”
I keep a modest room at the highest point of the mountain. My bed, made of the softest cottons and finest silks, sits on a carved platform out of the rocks below. Up this high, the opal is sparser, so the walls and floor are mostly shades of grey or brown. And because of the height of my room, I have the luxury of a fireplace, which allows for easy ventilation to the outside.
Snuggled up where I left her lies a sleeping Dove. Wavy chestnut hair drapes around her heart-shaped face, and her pouty lips seem even more pronounced when she sleeps. I could lay next to her for turns without growing tired, which is just what I plan on doing.
After kicking off my boots, I gently ease in beside her, enjoying the warmth from the fireplace and her body. My princess naturally falls into me, making little sniffing sounds as her fingers find my tunic and grasp on for dear life. I weave my hands around her back before a cough lets me know someone else has joined us.
“Oh, yes, sorry, sister. Please, talk some sense into me.” Freya stands opposite me on Dove’s side of the bed and looks down at the small bundle wrapped in my arms.
“Why is she so small? Is she a child?” Freya looks genuinely confused.
“No, she is a full-grown female. Humans do not grow to our height or strength it seems,” I answer.
“Oh.” She takes a seat next to Dove, flattening her ankle-length sleek dress. “She’s quite pretty for a human.”
“You say that as if you are surprised,” I comment as I pat my bonded’s unruly hair, seeing the peak of red, ravished skin underneath.That scar makes me want to set the entire universe ablaze. Instead, I pull her hair slightly aside and kiss it, making my princess pant out a contented breath.
“Considering the stories we have heard of humans, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you returned with a one-eyed, horned monster,” Freya replies earnestly.
I pat Dove’s hair back in place, committing every inch of her to memory. The cleft above her full upper lip, the flutter of her long lashes and her small, curved ears. “We can’t hide forever under these mountains, Freya. We’ve already been found outandthreatened by the Silver Sands people. I can understand not wanting a repeat of the past. Goddess, I was going to find Dove with every intention of ending this bond by any means necessary. Just like mother wanted.”
Freya spreads her hand out to lay it on top of mine. A jolt hits me, wanting to pull my hand from hers, but I leave it. “I’m sorry. It’s hard for any of us to imagine such a bond connection exists any longer without the full force of the Goddess’s powers behind us.”
“That’s just it, you see, I found the power. Oona chose Dove. She holds the song within her and she can teach it to us.” I pull my hand from under Freya’s and continue to brush my bonded’s hair as a contented purr moves through my torso at finally being able to scent the intoxicating aroma from the woman snuggled beside me.
“Rivern, do not speak such things. A human…” She shakes her head. “A human could not possess the Goddess’s power.”
“Just because she doesn’t look like us doesn’t mean she can’t learn our ways. She taught herself the song from our books, and when she sings, it is magic.” The female next to me lets out another deep, contented breath.
I have fallen so hard and fast that I’ve come back to this place completely changed. Maybe I dreamt of leaving Terra because I knew I’d find her some turn. And now that I have her, I never want to leave. She wants to help her people back in Haven, but I just want her safe and protected by me.
Standing from the bed, Freya looks down at us. “Well, I don’t know what to say, brother…other than we received a missive by bird just after you left the council. Moyrie is already en route to Terra. She will be here before the suns find their slumber again. If you don’t marry the Silver Sands female, you know what Mother will do to your little human. Make the right decision,” she firmly states.
A threat. I was expecting it. What she wants me to do—what they all want me to do… They probably think this connection with Dove is a lie. That she has somehow bewitched me, and by killing her, they would be doing me a favour.
The door slams following Freya’s retreat. My sister is slowly turning into our mother. The ice queen of the hill.
This is not what I want. I have no intention of hurting Dove or my family.
My intentions were always to marry Moyrie. I was willing to live in the Silver Sands. My sister would rule over Terra when my mother abdicated, and I would visit. Being the best possible prince for Terra had always been my goal until… Her.
Dove’s lashes flutter against her upper cheeks, and her pouting lips beg me to kiss them. Instead, I run one of my fingers over the plush softness.What I would give to have these lips against mine again.
She cannot be yours.
You will be her death.
The voice rings out so carelessly that I want to stab my sword through each offending syllable.
My heart is starting to bleed at the reality of my situation.This bond may tie us together, but Dove is not mine, and my life is not mine to give, either. We will be each other’s ruin.
Placing one last gentle kiss on my bonded’s forehead, I ease from the bed, heart bleeding out on the bed next to its one true owner.
thirty-three
