I shifted back, enjoying the breeze and scratchy grass against my skin. I hadn’t bothered to bring my bag or a change of clothes since I planned on running the whole time.
Rhett swooped down before shifting in front of me and grabbing the back of my head. My body fell against his before he crashed his lips over mine.
I moaned, wrapping my hands around his neck and pulling him closer.
“Fates, I've missed you,” he murmured over my lips.
“I missed you.” I ran my tongue over the seam of his lips before he pulled back.
“Your bond has been quiet lately. It's causing me anxiety not knowing what's going on inside your head.”
“Just ask Thorn.” I shrugged.
My ice fae had been delving into my mind more often lately, and it’d been giving him more and more headaches from using his power so much.
“You know what I mean.” He groaned, stepping back and running a hand through his inky hair. “But I wanted to ask you about something.”
“What?” I moved my hair from the front of my body to the back, stepping on a stick that cracked beneath the sole of my foot.
“I knocked your bag off the table last night, and well, a jar of eyes and charms dropped out of it. The jar that Damien made for me out of the stalkers…” His violet eyes flashed with unease, and his breath hitched. “I just want to know why you have it. Damien had mentioned he’d offer it to you, but…”
I let out a breath of air before giggles erupted out of me, and I doubled over, holding my stomach. “Rhett, I still have the bone Damien gave me of Grayson. Making gifts of the body parts of our enemies is a rather lovely sentiment. Don't you think?”
“Um… I guess.” His brows furrowed, and a silence so loud I could see his confusion settled over us. “…But why are you keeping mine?”
“Well, he gave it to me, and he wasreallyexcited about it.” My lips pulled into a ghost of a smile at the memory. “I couldn't refuse that, Rhett. And honestly, he just did it so you would feel safe again. I mean, if you have their eyes inside a jar, obviously they can't watch you anymore. Right?”
He glanced around the forest, refusing to meet my gaze as an indecipherable emotion hit the bond.
I found myself crossing my arm over my breasts. “I feel like you didn’t want me to accept the jar.”
“No, it's okay. When did you accept it? Was it before the dark magic?” His gaze strayed back to my face, and my heart clenched.
“Yes, I did. Actually.” I scratched my temple. “It's just that Damien was so excited about it. I never wanted to turn him down.”
“I get that. It was actually kind of difficult to refuse the gift for some reason.” He ran a hand through his hair with another sigh. “Has Grayson tried to talk to you lately?”
“No, he hasn’t, but I can feel his darkness at times.” I tilted my head, but I couldn’t feel anything right now. “Did Rowan tell you that Damien and I are going to eavesdrop on the human syndicate?”
“The human syndicate… That’s what they're calling themselves now?”
“Apparently.” My ears and tail popped out from the heat as a bead of sweat slipped down my spine.
“Come on, baby. Let's get you into the air conditioning.”
I let my arm fall to my side and moved closer, inhaling his cherry scent. “Thanks for being here and for still loving me. Even when there'sreallysomething wrong with me.”
He growled, and his horns peeked out of his skull. “Nothing is wrong with you. We're going to work through this. It’s just a roadblock.”
“I think being infected with dark magic is a little worse than a roadblock,” I muttered bitterly, turning my head to the side.
His growl reverberated through my body as he gripped my throat with his hand and squeezed hard, turning me to face him before crashing his lips on mine.
The kiss was hungry, devouring. Our mouths clashed as we bit and licked at each other until he pulled slightly back with a ragged breath. “Don't worry. I'm not lettinganythingtake you from me. Dark magic, a rejected bond, a fucking war. You’re mine. Doesn’t matter what’s in our way.”
The darkness around my heart cracked as our pheromones seeped together.
Rhett was ruthless when he wanted to be, and I loved everything about it.
