We part ways at the corner—she's heading home to check on the children, I'm heading back to Lorenth's townhouse—and I wave as she disappears into the crowd.
The walk back is peaceful. The afternoon sun warms my skin, and the bond hums contentedly in my chest, a constant reminder that Lorenth is out there somewhere, thinking of me.
I'm nearly to the townhouse when the bond flares—not with emotion, but with something else. Something sharp and warning.
Before I can process it, someone grabs my arm and spins me around.
My stomach drops.
Darian.
His pale eyes are cold as winter marble, his mouth twisted in that familiar cruel line. He's dressed in traveling clothes, dust on his boots like he's been walking for hours.
"Found you," he says.
17
LORENTH
I'm going through inventory sheets when the bondyanks.
Not the usual gentle pull of emotion or the warm press of Senna's presence at the back of my mind. This is sharp, violent—like someone hooked a line through my ribs and jerked hard enough to drag me sideways.
My magic flares in response, instinctive and protective, reaching for her across the distance?—
And hits nothing.
The bond goes silent. Not quiet.Silent. Like someone snuffed out a candle.
"Fuck—"
I drop the papers, don't even look at the merchant I'd been talking to as I spin toward the door. My wings snap open, knocking over a display of honeyed bread that crashes to the floor behind me.
"Lord Varyon?—"
I don't answer. Can't. There's nothing in my head except the roaring panic, the absolute wrongness of not feeling her there. The bond has been a constant presence since yesterday—thiswarm, living thing that pulses with her emotions, her thoughts, herexistence.
And now there's just... nothing.
I hit the street at a dead run, wings spread for balance as I dodge around pedestrians and carts. Someone shouts after me but I'm already gone, pushing through the crowd with single-minded focus.
Home. I need to get home. She went to lunch with Lora but she should be back by now, should be safe in the townhouse where I left her?—
The streets blur past. I don't remember deciding to fly, but suddenly I'm airborne, wind whipping through my hair as I bank hard over the rooftops. Faster. Need to gofaster.
The bond is still silent.
My magic claws at the emptiness, trying to force a connection, trying to findsomething—but it's like reaching into a void. She's there, I know she is. The bond doesn't break, can't break unless one of us dies. But I can't feel her.
Can't sense her emotions, can't gauge her location, can't tell if she's hurt or scared or?—
I land hard on the front steps of the townhouse, wings flaring to brake my momentum. The door swings open under my hand and I'm inside, taking the stairs three at a time.
"Senna!"
Nothing.
I tear through the bedroom—empty bed, yesterday's clothes still scattered on the floor. Bathroom—empty. Study, kitchen, every room in this godsdamned house?—
