I ignore his skepticism and step toward the streetlamp, scanning the streets beyond the river.
“Who are you looking for?”
“My friend Naima.” I glance back at him. “And Kage Yoshioka.”
His entire body goes taut. “Kage is here?”
“He said he's here for the Reckoning.” I turn back to the empty streets. “They should be at Siren's by now. Assuming they didn’t encounter any of those creatures.”
“If she's with Kage, she's safe.”
“How do you know?” I look up at him. “Does he have one of those glowing swords?”
His brow arches. “I don’t think Vida would appreciate that description.”
“Who's Vida?”
“My sword.”
“You named your sword Vida?” I almost laugh. “As inlife?”
“It seemed fitting.” He shrugs. “What is Siren's Call?”
“A tavern. Brothel. Gambling den. Dance hall.” I point toward the docks. “Past the last bridge, corner of Veneficia Alley.”
“And where will you be while I'm searching for this den of sin?”
“Home.”
I should explain that I just need to change and clean my wounds, but something tells me he'd follow me upstairs, and I need a few minutes alone. A few minutes without his presence pressing against my senses like a hand around my throat. But instead of going in the direction I pointed, he turns towards my building.
“Where are you going?”
He stops. Turns. “You said you were going home.”
“I’mgoing home. Alone.” I cross my arms. “Why don’t you just tell me what my debt is so we can get this over with? Then you can go find your friend and do whatever you came here to do.”
He points at me, the gesture almost accusatory. “We are sticking together from now on.”
“Why would we?—”
The words die in my throat as he stalks toward me, his expression dark and furious, and I find myself backing up until my shoulders hit the wall.
“You could have died on that bridge.” His voice is low, rough, barely controlled. “Do you understand that? Do you understand that when I heard you screaming, I felt like I was going to lose my fucking mind?”
My heart lurches. Confusion and something else, something I refuse to name, wage war inside my chest. None of this makes sense. Not his admission. Not the way my pulse quickens to hear it.
A thousand thoughts crash through my mind, but one rises above the rest: the bonding elixir. The one I’ve refused to make for two years. The reason I'm still trapped in my apprenticeship, still under Mother's thumb, still fighting for a freedom that seems further away with every passing day.
Logically, the connection makes no sense. But it’s the only explanation I can find for the way his emotions slam into me even when I’m not reaching for them. The way he found me on that bridge. The warmth that flooded my chest when I was drowning in cold. My knees threaten to buckle. I grab the lamppost to steady myself. No. It can’t be that.
“How did you find me?” The question comes out smaller than I intend.
“Because the goddess bound us together.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. I stare at him. “What … what do you mean?”
“You don't know what bound means? Linked. Tied. Connected?—”
