“Morning,” I whispered. My fingers traced the scar from his ear down to his jawline. “Sorry, I guess I fell asleep here.”
“Only after I wore you out with orgasms.” A smirk curved his lips. “And I wasn’t about to move you. You needed the rest, and you were already where you belonged.”
The raspy admission made warmth bloom in my chest, but it also brought the questions I’d been avoiding. I hesitated, my mind swirling with the lingering fear that I’d be a burden to him.
My aura felt noticeably calmer near him, which both comforted and scared me. I didn't know what I’d do if the next spark proved I was still dangerous to the one person fate had chosen for me, now that the bond between us was even stronger.
“I can feel you thinking too hard.” He brushed a kiss against my temple. “How are you feeling?”
I was suddenly aware of the pleasant ache between my thighs and the way my body still hummed from the night before.
“Physically good. Better than I expected.” I hesitated, then added softly, “A little overwhelmed, too. Happy. Guilty. Terrified. It’s a lot.”
He shifted so he could look at me properly, his dark eyes searching mine with gentle concern. “You don’t have to carry all that alone. Talk to me.”
I bit my lip, the mate bond humming between us with a familiarity that shouldn’t have been possible so quickly. My father had taught me the importance of keeping information to yourself and only revealing it when there was an advantage. But that felt wrong when it came to the man fate had paired me with.
“I just don’t want to be a burden to you.” I pressed my cheek to his chest. “Your fated mate is supposed to be a blessing, nota curse. But I brought trouble with me the same night we found each other, and they only got worse with the Council rep’s visit last night.”
His arms tightened around me. “You don’t need to worry. Nobody is taking you from me. Ever.”
There was no mistaking his certainty, which made me wonder about something else I’d heard last night. Tilting my head back to meet his gaze again, I asked, “He mentioned a gate beneath The Abyss. Does it somehow factor into your willingness to go up against the Council for me?”
“Not even a little bit,” he denied before capturing my mouth in a quick kiss. “I’d take on anyone who wanted to take you away from me, no matter the odds. But the gate should make them cautious because Adan and Calliope control it.”
I blinked up at him. “Where does it lead? Why is the Council so worried about my aura near it?”
Kastiel’s expression sobered, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, his hand slid up to cup the back of my neck in a protective hold. “It’s one of the most closely guarded secrets in our world. The Abyss was built on top of a ley line junction. Beneath us is an ancient gate to the underworld. It’s sealed, but the veil between realms is thinnest in the days surrounding the festival. The Council is worried that an unstable aura near it could weaken the seal and let something through that we can’t easily contain.”
My stomach twisted into knots. “So I really am a danger to everything you’ve built here.”
“No.” He shook his head, his thumb stroking my cheek. “Even without my help, Adan and Calliope are strong enough to defeat anything that could come through the gate. We’ve done it before, and we’ll most likely need to do it again in the future with you at my side. You’ve been suppressing a power you neverasked for. That’s what has been destabilizing things. Your aura isn’t meant to be caged like that.”
I searched his face, stunned by his lack of doubt. “How can you be so sure I won’t hurt everything you’ve built here?”
When he answered, his voice was rougher, as if the words cost him something. “Because I know what it feels like to believe you’re only capable of harm.”
“You do?”
I stroked my palm up his chest to soothe him. “For fifty years, I was a blood-bound enforcer for a warlord named Varak. My shadows were a weapon. I destroyed bloodlines on his orders without question. Until the day I stood over a girl who looked up at me and asked if I was there to save her.”
My breath caught, but I stayed silent, letting him continue.
“I turned on my own side that day. Tried to get her out but failed. She died anyway.” His eyes darkened with old pain. “After that, I went rogue. Took every dangerous job I could find, hoping one would finally end me. Adan found me half-dead after one of those fights. Dragged me back here and gave me a new purpose—protecting something instead of destroying everything in my path.”
My heart broke for him, but his confession also gave me a new understanding of why fate paired us together.
“I already know what the worst looks like, Isolde. And you’re nowhere near it. You’re not a monster. I want to be the one to help you stop hurting yourself and embrace your power.”
Tears pricked at my eyes, and the guilt in my chest eased just enough for hope to slip through. “I don’t know how to stop being afraid. It’s been ingrained in me for so long.”
“Then we’ll figure it out together.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “One step at a time. Starting with Lirael. She can help you understand your power without fear. And I’ll be right here, every step of the way.”
He had walked through his own darkness and come out the other side. Chosen to protect instead of destroy. His will was strong enough to break a blood bond, and he seemed to have no doubts about being fated to me.
As much as I hated the suffering he’d endured, I appreciated that he knew what it was like to carry the weight of your own power and still believe you could be more than the harm you’d caused. It made me feel like he understood in a way nobody else could.
As I took all that in, the mate bond morphed into a living thread connecting us rather than a chain pulling me toward something I feared.
