I dragged in a deep breath, taking a step closer to her. When she turned her face away, a scoff on her lips, I cradled her cheeks in my palms, surprising her. I forced her to look at me, keeping my gaze locked with hers, my thumb rubbing against her skin.
“Heartstone magic is unpredictable. You know that. It’s drawn to certain threads of magic, and if it latches, then it willcatch. But I think our abilities are so different from one another’s that there’s little risk of it.”
“What does it mean if itdoeshappen, though?” she asked. “That you’ll be inside my head all the time? Like you were?”
Like what I’d promised her I wouldn’t dowas what went unspoken.
“Not like that,” I told her, shaking my head. “I’m bonded to Samryn. Our magic caught and held at the Tharken cliffs during myilla’rosh. The choosing. It means I can feel him…always. A constant touch in my mind, until the day either of us dies.” Her lips parted. “I can feel his emotions. I can give him direction when we fly. I know when he’s in distress, when he calls for me. The same for him. Right now, I know he’s resting in this very mountain. He’s at peace.
“But there is still agency and decision in what we share across the bond. He hid the depth of his own pain from me. I didn’t realize how much until I was able to feel it throughyou, Amaia.”
I finally released her, but I didn’t step away.
She swallowed hard, licking her lips, then asked, “And if you are bonded…what happens if…if…”
“If he dies?” I asked, lips twisting. “Part of me dies with him. There will always be an emptiness where the bond once was. I will forever feel it. But it goes for Samryn as well. Only it will be worse. Because he was bonded once before too.”
“He was?” she whispered, compassion lining her face.
“To a rider, two centuries ago. But we are all mortal creatures. The Elthika just live much longer than we do, and so they are cursed with bonds. It’s rare that it happens. But…I think he knows that if I die before him, it will mean his death too. Because he might not withstand it again. He still mourns his last rider. I feel it.”
Part of me thought he might even view this curse as a mercy. One that took his life before mine had the time to end.
I cleared the tightness in my throat. “So believe me, littlemariss—the last thing I want is another bonded.”
“Then why even risk it?” she breathed.
Then realization shrouded her expression, answering her own question. Because of Samryn. She was finally understanding. I was fucked either way.
“Then don’t help me,” she insisted. “Don’t use your magic if there’s a risk of a bond!”
I shook my head. “The curse is too strong for you alone. Especially without direction. Your magic is pure. It’s rare. But you also don’t know how to wield it.”
Her spine stiffened. “I’ve been doing just fine on my own.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I said carefully.Proud little thing,I thought, trying to hide the way my lips quirked. “But can we agree that this curse is much more powerful than anything you’ve encountered before?”
After a long moment, she finally inclined her head. “I’ve never even felt a curse before,” she admitted softly.
“Then let me help you,” I said. “Let meteachyou.” When she still hesitated, I continued with, “You know how many recorded bonds have happened in the last two decades? Of all the riders? Of all the wielders of heartstone magic in Karak?”
She waited.
“Three. I’m included in that number,” I said. “Out ofthousands. And like I said, bonds can be broken.”
Most,I amended silently.And not without consequence.
“Fine,” she said. But her giving in didn’t fill me with relief. “What do you want me to do?”
“Open up to me,” I told her simply.
“A tall ask,” she breathed, staring up at me with luminous eyes. I remembered her standing on the plains of Dakkar, outside her city gates, when I’d first come to her. I remembered thinking she was wild. A puzzle. Something to be untangled, especially since she’d been able to cut off my magic within her so easily.
“But necessary,” I told her softly.
Chapter 17
AMAIA
