A long silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
Finally, the Commander exhaled sharply, and his jaw clenched so hard I thought it would break. “Fine.” He stepped towards Riven, towering over him, voice low and venomous. “But hear me, Iron Guard. If you step foot inourbedchambers again…” His shadows bled around him, sharpening into deadly points, “…I will tear your spine out through your throat.”
Riven didn’t flinch, his dimples flashed in a dark grin. His grey eyes flashed to mine, softening at whatever he saw on my face. It broke him to leave me here.
“I will see you in the morning then, Princess.”
Riven clapped a hand on the Commander’s shoulder. “It was nice meeting you.”
A low growl rolled from the Commander’s chest in warning as a shadow lashed at his hand. Riven drew his hand back as if he had been burnt, chuckling softly.
“—or not.”
The door clicked shut as Riven left and silence pressed in around us like a third presence. His shadows crawled up his feet, restless, tasting the air as though deciding whether to attack or retreat. The Commander didn’t speak. He just stood there, chest rising and falling too fast, his eyes raking over me like he was trying to see if I hated him.
I wrapped my arms around myself, urging my broken pieces to stay together. “You lied to me,” I whispered, hating how weak my voice sounded.
He sighed, running his hand through his dark hair. He seemed exhausted. He gripped the edge of one of the sitting chairs and dragged it out. He sat, elbows leaning on the arm rests, legs spread and relaxed. He looked purely masculine, and for a moment I forgot why I was angry.
“I did not lie,” he murmured, tipping his head back to look at the high ceilings. He gestured for me to sit in the chair across from him, but I stayed standing, crossing my arms against my chest. His lips tilted in a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and his shadows began crawling up his arms and burrowing against his skin. “You have been forced into every choice in your life. I wanted you to wantme. Not be another person holding your leash.”
His words broke open a piece of my heart that I wasn’t ready to look at yet and I sat next to him.
“You cannot hide from these feelings anymore, Little Drownling.”
I stared down at the bargain tattoo, tracing the lines that marked my left hand while he spoke. My finger stilled, my eyes shooting to his left hand wherethe mirror image etched into his skin. His words were pretty, but he had been lying about more than his identity.
I stood so abruptly that the chair skidded against the ground. The Commander’s brow creased as he watched me pace in front of him. A broken laugh escaped me. Marrying him didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change anything. I was already his.
“This mark isn’t just from the bargain. Is it? It’s the Mark of Anamryn.”
When he stared down at the matching mark on his left hand, the room tilted. Like something ancient inside me had been waiting for this truth, whispering it in every stolen glance. I felt the bond then, not fully, not completely, but like a heartbeat beneath my own. The ache deep in my chest. It washim. “You are my Fated Mate.”
Thirty-Six
Bonded
Icontinued to pace in front of the Commander, bare feet sinking into the soft carpet with each footfall.
“I did not know we were Fated and I did not mean to invoke it. But when our blood mingled during the bargain, it partially accepted the bond.” His eyes opened, lashes fanning his cheek as he looked down at his hands. “Do not worry though, Little Drownling, you will not be stuck with me for long.”
The pain in his voice melted a small part of my fury. “What is that supposed to mean?” I snapped.
His dark eyes lifted to mine, swimming with something dangerously close to grief. He had lied to me by omission. Twice. He wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t safe. But neither was I.
The realisation hollowed me out. I should have been terrified. I should have run. I should have done a thousand sane, logical things.
Instead, the earth shifted beneath my feet, pulling me towards him. Or maybe it was the bond, forcing me to want him.
Gods, I wanted him in a way that felt older than time.Like remembering a story that I used to know. Like cominghome. No. I stopped myself, turning away before he could see the choice tearing me apart. Before I could give in.
Without a word, I crossed the room and climbed into the bed, pulling the blankets around me like armour. I laid on my side with my back to him, curling in on myself.
“Yell at me. Be mad at me,” the Commander whispered. “But please, do not shut me out.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, fingers tightening in the blankets. His words seeped into the cracks I was trying to seal.
“Silence has always been safer for me,” I whispered back.
