I wanted more of it. I waited until she perched on the other side of the island to put her plate down. Then, I held out a fork and smirked as she eyed it, and me, with suspicion. She knew my game, but I didn’t care.
“Be brave,” I dared her.
With a huff, she snatched the fork from my grasp, managing only slight contact. The small touches were innocent, but I lovedhow flustered they made her. Her cheeks were flushed with color, and I felt her interest down the bond, along with a healthy dose of confusion. The reaction to my touch made her worry, and I wished I could alleviate that.
Only time and trust would fix it. Again, I feared what that meant for the end of this week. She had a few more days to make a decision, and I promised myself that I’d respect it. It would be a million times harder to protect her if she wasn’t here with me. Her dorm was warded, but also too far for me to get to swiftly if something went wrong, as it always seemed to lately.
“I can feel your anticipation, you know.”
Surprised, I met her steady gaze. It was the most I’d heard her voice in days. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it.
“You’re projecting down the bond,” she added. “I thought you were good at blocking your emotions?”
Talking to meandacknowledging the bond. Progress.
I cleared my throat. “Sorry, I didn’t realize. Stronger emotions are harder to keep locked down sometimes.”
She nodded, and the conversation died. Silently, we rinsed our plates and set them in the dishwasher, and I held in my shock when she stepped alongside me to clean the rest of the kitchen. Elbows brushed and hips grazed as we danced around one another in close quarters. She didn’t recoil this time, and a part of me preened at the show of trust.
When there was nothing left to keep us occupied, she leaned against the counter with her arms crossed.
“How would we change things?” Her bottom lip was nervously trapped between her teeth, but she didn’t shy away as I watched her gather her thoughts. “I know I’m not cut out for this life. I won’t fit in. You say you want me for more than just the bond, and maybe that’s true, but help me understand why throwing away a quiet, useful life among the humans is worth it.”
“First,” I held up a finger. “I have to correct you on one thing; youdofit in. You’re cut out for this life because it’s where I am, and together, we just make sense.” I braced my hands on the granite behind me. “As to the changes, you’ve experienced firsthand the consequences of the age-old prejudices our people cling to. My family has fought for many generations to change these beliefs. If you go back far enough in the tribunal records, you’ll find my family actually votedagainstthe bounty on nightmares.”
I both saw and felt her shock. Good. It was time she knew the truth about my family’s involvement with hers.
“What about your current relatives?” she asked. “Would they still feel that way if you weren’t fated to be with one?”
“Yes,” I swore. “And if not, they wouldn’t be part of my family for long. As a faction, we’ve been fighting for a while to change things. I know that’s not enough, and I haven’t personally done much to protect your kind. More recently, other plights have taken our resources. The siren faction, due to their low numbers and ability to mesmerize, have come under fire. Some of the other heirs and I have been meeting in secret these past couple of years in an attempt to organize ourselves in preparation for our time to make decisions. We want to hit the ground running.”
“You all willingly met behind the tribunal’s back? That’s treason.”
“Notallof us,” I admitted. “And yes, if caught, it’s treason. We’d lose our status as heir and any chance at a tribunal seat at best. Death or exile at worst.”
“Who isn’t a part of these meetings?”
More than I was comfortable with, but only one faction worried me the most right now.
“The djinn for one,” I told her and allowed for the implications of that to set in. “They like being in power, so subjectingthe lesser factions to laws and limitations is their favorite pastime.”
“That’s why they want me dead.” She paled.
I nodded. “Our bond pushes them out of power, but ultimately, I think the danger is worth it.”
“Because we’d be strong enough to challenge them?”
Now she was getting it.
“And because with our help, your parents, the sirens, and others marginalized by the tribunal won’t have to live their lives in fear, fighting every day to carve out a reasonable life for their families.”
It sounded like a fairytale—too simple a solution for a problem that’s spanned generations. Our lives would always be in some type of danger, especially after we had children, but the only other option was to do nothing. That wasn’t who I was, and I didn’t think that was who she was either.
I left my side of the bond wide open. She needed to feel my sincerity and the very real fear that came with living this life. She needed the whole picture.
“I’ll continue to stay here after spring break.”
I couldn’t have heard her right. Did she just…?
