We fell asleep like that—fingertips barely touching, breaths mingling, the bond warm and alive between us. And I knew, with terrifying clarity that he was already mine. Even if he didn’t believe in fate and he didn’t believe he deserved this.
Because the Goddess Mother help me…I wasn’t ready to let him go.
Chapter 25
Savla
Iwoke slowly. I was the most warm and rested I’d been in my adult life.
Peaceful in a way I hadn’t felt since childhood—back before death and duty carved out whole pieces of me. For a moment, I let myself drift in that warmth just letting myself breathe it in.
Then I realized I wasn’t alone. There was a light weight beside me, along with a scent—wildflower, rosemary and something soft. A warmth that wasn’t the blankets.
My eyes shot open. Hanna Greyleaf was lying on the bed beside me.
Not touching me—barely an inch of space between us—but close enough that I could feel her breath on my arm. Close enough that her hair brushed my shoulder. Close enough that the bond pulsed so quietly I mistook it for my heartbeat.
“Shit,” I whispered, jerking upright.
She blinked awake, slow and soft, like morning light. “Savla…”
“What—how—what are you—what happened?” Words tumbled out incoherently. “Why are you here?”
She sat up, brushing sleep from her eyes. “You were having nightmares and you reached for me, so I stayed.”
I went still.I reached for her.
No.No, that wasn’t—I didn’t—
“I didn’t mean—I wasn’t—” I stuttered. I ran a hand through my hair, heat rushing under my skin. “You shouldn’t have stayed.”
“It helped,” she said gently.
It had, but I couldn’t admit that. I couldn’t admit how deeply I’d slept—how good it felt, how easy it was.
So I forced myself to look away.
“You shouldn’t have stayed,” I repeated.
The bond throbbed in disagreement, but I ignored it.
She shifted on the bed next to me. “Savla, I didn’t mean to upset you—”
And the bond snapped. It gave a sharp pull that yanked through my chest and down my arm. Before I knew what was happening, my hand shot forward at the same moment hers did.
Our palms slammed together and heat surged up my arm like molten metal.I froze, she froze and the air crackled around us with electricity.
For one terrifying moment, I felt her—not her body, not her skin—but hersoul.Bright, warm and everything I wasn’t allowed to want. I tore my hand away so fast she gasped.
“No.” My voice came out rough. “No. It’s just a magic surge. Proximity. Residual energy from the pigments. It isn’t—it’s notthe bond.”
The bond pulsed again, stronger, as if to disagree. I just ignored it harder.
“You can’t let this pull you in,” I said, harsher than I meant.
She looked at me with something soft and aching. “Savla…”
“I mean it.”
