She feels the shift. I see it in the way her lashes lower. A faint flush creeps over her cheeks. But she doesn't withdraw. She continues healing me.
I open my eyes to find her looking at me with something soft in her expression. Concern and care. Things she has no reason to feel for an enemy.
"I feel better now," I admit. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She withdraws her hands slowly. "You're very kind, for an enemy commander."
"You don't seem particularly cruel yourself, elven queen," I respond before I can stop myself.
She laughs. The sound is warm and bright. It does something dangerous to my resolve.
"Is that what you expected?" she asks. "Cruelty?"
"I didn't know what to expect."
"And now?"
"Now I'm confused," I admit.
"About what?"
Everything. My mission. My loyalty. This stupid fucking heart that's betraying me with every beat.
The bond thrums between us, visible threads of gold that pulse with light.
"Can you see them?" she asks suddenly.
I freeze.
I look at where she's pointing and my breath catches. "You… see them?"
She nods toward the space between us. "Thank the gods. Since you walked in. I thought I was imagining it."
"You're not." I turn to face her fully. "Those threads are real."
"What are they?" she asks.
There is no point in lying now. "They're a mating bond."
She stares at the threads, then at me. "We're... mates? You and I?"
I hold her gaze. "The gods have marked us that way."
Rhianelle looks at the golden threads again. "They're healing me," she says slowly.
Perceptive. She's sharper than I thought.
"They accelerate recovery," I confirm. "It's why you improved so quickly after I arrived."
"So I'm alive because fate decided we belong together."
"In essence, yes."
"How do you feel about that?" she asks.
The question surprises me. "How do I feel?"
She meets my eyes directly. "About being bound to someone you didn't choose. Someone from an enemy kingdom. This can't be what you wanted."
