“You burned someone and you’restillangry?”
“Yes.”
Her expression softens slightly.
“Because of me?”
“Because someone believed they could threaten what belongs to me.”
The bond pulses sharply between us. Elowen’s gaze drops briefly to my chest where the invisible connection hums with shared heat.
“I’m not something you own,” she says quietly.
“No,” I agree easily.
Her eyes lift slightly at the lack of argument, as though she had expected one.
I look at her for a moment, then add with mild amusement, “Ownership is inefficient.”
Her brow furrows. “That sounds like something a demon would say.”
“It is.”
I tilt my head slightly, watching the way the moonlight catches in her hair. Gods she is beautiful.
“You are something I protect,” I continue.
The bond hums softly between us, warm and relaxed now instead of volatile. She exhales slowly, clearly deciding she dislikes how reassuring that sounds.
“And the bond will always react like that?” she asks.
“It does not have to.”
Her eyes narrow with interest.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” I reply, folding my wings slightly to avoid knocking over the small table beside us, “that the bond has been listening to the wrong signal.”
“Which is?”
“Your fear.”
She folds her arms.
“That seems like a design flaw.”
“It is a feature,” I correct lightly. “Just not the most useful one.”
Her brow furrows deeper.
“So what are you suggesting?”
I step a little closer, lowering my voice.
“That from now on, I will not answer only your fear.”
Her attention sharpens instantly.
