Actually, trulysafe.
"You know what?" I say, still grinning. "I've never been happier to be kidnapped."
Something flashes in his eyes—relief, maybe, or satisfaction—and he shifts, rolling us so I'm on my back with him propped on one elbow beside me. His free hand comes up to smooth my hair back from my face, fingers lingering against my temple.
"Good." He brushes his thumb over my cheekbone. "Because I want to be bonded."
The words hit me like cold water.
I blink up at him, trying to process. "Bonded?"
"Soulbonded." His gaze doesn't waver. "Properly. With the Nashai to complete it."
My heart starts racing. I knew there was a bond between us—felt it that first night at the Masquerade, and even more strongly now—but I hadn't thought much beyond that. Hadn't considered what it actuallymeant.
"I don't..." I swallow hard. "I don't understand."
His expression softens. "The bond is already there. Between us. But right now it's incomplete—just formed, not sealed. If we don't complete it with a Nashai ceremony, it'll slowly drain us both. Make us sick. Weak." His thumb traces idle patterns on my skin. "But even if the bond wasn't there, even if we weren't fated... I'd still pick you. Still want you. This just makes it official."
Official. Permanent. Binding.
My chest tightens—not with the bond this time, but with something sharper. Fear.
I've heard stories about xaphan my whole life. Terrible, cruel creatures who looked down on humans as lesser beings. Who used their power to subjugate and control. And I've spentyearstied to a man who treated me like property. Who used marriage as a weapon to hurt me.
Soulbonding would tie mylifeto Lorenth's. Would make it impossible to ever leave, even if I wanted to.
What if I'm wrong about him? What if this kindness is temporary? What if he turns into someone else once he has me locked down?
I must pull back without realizing it, because his expression shifts. The warmth in his eyes doesn't fade, but something cautious enters them.
"Senna." He says my name like a question.
"I just..." I struggle to find the words. "I've been bound to someone before. Legally. And it was... it wasn't good."
"I know." His hand hasn't left my face, still gentle. Still careful. "But this isn't like that. A soulbond isn't some piece of parchment that says you belong to me. It's... deeper. More permanent, yes, but it goes both ways."
I meet his gaze, trying to see past the reassurance to whatever truth lies beneath. "What do you mean?"
He shifts, sitting up slightly and pulling me with him so we're both upright. The sheet pools around our waists but he doesn't seem to notice or care about our nakedness. All his focus is on me.
"A soulbond ties us together completely," he says, voice steady. "Your pain becomes my pain. Your joy becomes my joy. If you're hurt, I feel it. If you're happy, I feel that too." He takes my hand, lacing our fingers together. "And most importantly—I physicallycannothurt you."
I frown. "What?"
"The bond won't allow it." His thumb strokes over my knuckles. "If I eventhoughtabout harming you, it would turn that violence back on me. I'd slit my own throat before I could raise a hand to you. And I'd smile while doing it, because the bond would make hurting myself to protect you feelright."
My breath catches.
"That's..." I shake my head, trying to wrap my mind around it. "That's not like marriage at all."
"No." His expression is fierce now. "Marriage is a legal contract. This is... this is choosing to tie my entire existence to yours. Choosing to make your wellbeing more important than my own survival. Choosing to love you so completely that I couldn't hurt you even if I went insane and tried."
Love. The word hangs between us, weighty and significant.
He doesn't take it back. Doesn't soften it or qualify it. Just watches me with those storm-blue eyes and waits.
I think about Darian. About the way he'd cornered me, controlled me, hurt me. About the years I spent making myself smaller, quieter, less visible, hoping it would keep me safe.
