That was another lie, but it was one he needed to believe. He wouldn’t let the bond be real—not when it terrified him. Not when it reminded him of everything he’d lost.
I stepped toward the ladder, my heart aching. Ribbon scrambled to his feet and trotted after me, dragging another of Savla’s wooden spoons as a parting ‘gift.’
Savla didn’t turn around. He didn’t move and I was pretty certain he didn’t even breathe.But I felt the bond pulse again as I left. It was stronger now. Unavoidable.
Unwanted—by him. Undeniable—by me.
I didn’t mean to fall apart. I made it down the stairs, past the landing, past Ribbon—who hopped anxiously after me with the spoon still in his mouth—and into the elevator, jabbing at the button for my floor when all of a sudden—my knees buckled.
I sank onto the cold floor, my hands shaking, my breath sharp and shallow. The night pressed around me in a way that felt both too heavy and too empty.
It all flooded in at once. The fear in his eyes, the denial in his voice, the nightmare I felt pulse through his bones.
And the bond—Goddess Mother, the bond.
It throbbed like a bruised heartbeat beneath my ribs, warm and aching, trying to reach for him even as he pushed it away.
“Savla,” I whispered into my hands, voice breaking.
The bond shimmered and answered. There was a faint echo in my chest that wasn’t mine.
Ithurt. Not physically—not like a wound or a burn—but in that way hope hurts when someone tells you you’re not allowed to keep it.
I sucked in a shaky breath and wiped my face. Ribbon nudged his massive, damp head into my shoulder, croaking softly.
“I’m okay,” I lied.
Ribbon croaked again—doubtful.I pressed my foreheadagainst his warm side.
“I just… I don’t know how to help him,” I gasped. A sob clawed up my throat before I could swallow it down. “He’s so scared of the bond. Of what it could make him become. Of being like his father.”
Ribbon shifted his weight, curling protectively around me.My voice dropped to a whisper.
“What if he never lets himself want me?”
The bond pulsed again—low and painful—like it hated the idea as much as I did.I stayed there until the trembling in my hands finally softened. Ribbon eventually nudged me into standing again and I wandered into my apartment with his help, wobbling on my feet.
And still—Savla lingered under my skin. He was breathing with me, hurting with me but trying not to.
Chapter 23
Savla
Ididn’t remember moving. One moment I was standing at the far end of the workshop, staring at the carving like it had betrayed me and in the next, I was sitting on the floor again, my palms pressed into my eyes, trying to breathe through the storm knotted inside my chest.
Her scent still clung to the air—something wild and warm and green. It made the silence unbearable.My hands were curled into fists, pressing hard enough into my eye sockets that they ached.
Why didn’t she get angry? Why didn’t she scream at me? Why didn’t she tell me she hated me for pushing her away? Why did she look at me like I was worth understanding?
I exhaled shakily. Then, before I could stop myself—
“Hanna,” I whispered.
Her name slipped out like a secret, raw and cracked aroundthe edges. The bond pulsed once—hard—and ajolt ran through me, sharp enough to knock my breath loose.
“No,” I muttered. “No, no, no—”
I pressed a hand to my chest like I could flatten it, kill it, drown the part of me that kept reaching for her, but the bond warmed under my palm anyway.I closed my eyes and whispered her name again.
