“I’m sorry.” They were the last words I uttered before power shot out of my body, barreling toward Kole as agony ripped me apart.
Resignation rippled across his face.
He knew he couldn’t fight me.
He knew his magic was no match for mine.
So he waited for the inevitable and accepted that his thoughts were about to be shattered and his memories erased.
A sob worked up my throat because I knew that would mean he would forget what we’d just experienced. Since I’d been a vampire when we’d completed our mating bond, my magic would completely erase that experience too.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, not able to bear the catatonic expression that was about to wash over his face as my magic rewrote his memories. I didn’t want to see it when I stripped him raw and took away his free will.
But when my magic reached him and shredded through his Shield, it abruptlystopped,and the golden ties of our forged mating bond reared up, strong and precise, as thin as silk yet stronger than the celestial tides. Our bond cascaded around my uncle’s command and danced like lightning in front of it.
My jaw dropped, and my eyes flew open.
Our mate bond encased my uncle’s manipulation, encapsulated it, and...
I gasped. “Do you feel that?”
Magic shimmered around Kole. Magic as strong as the galaxy.
The sad acceptance on Kole’s face vanished, and his brow furrowed. “Our bond is...protectingme.”
I stood frozen, waiting to see if it was a fluke or if my uncle’s command would find a way around it or was able to override it.
But slowly, my uncle’s commanding power retreated, and my horrific magic returned to me, the threat of harming Kole dissipating into nothingness.
Shock rendered me still, and for a moment, we just stared at one another, then I burst into action.
“Stars, Kole. I didn’t hurt you!” I flung my arms around him, and he caught me just as fast. A laugh bubbled out of me. A true, joyful laugh. “You’re safe from me. Our bond protected you!”
Kole laughed too and picked me up to twirl me around. He hugged me hard, and I clung to him just as tightly. Joy filled me that was so poignant I was crying, and when the door opened, and Betsee glided into the room, that was exactly how she found us.
“Oh Stars, I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I was only here to help you prepare for bed.” She abruptly turned around to leave, but I called out to her.
“No, it’s fine, Betsee. It’s absolutely fine. Kole was heading out soon anyway. It’s been a long day.”
Her cheeks pinked, so Kole and I finally released one another. Since our mating scents were hidden with our magic, the lady’s attendant didn’t know Kole and I had completed our bond or that we’d just had an epiphany that my uncle’s commands no longer applied to him. But I would have to be careful if she undressed me and saw my mating mark. Somehow, I would have to keep that hidden.
Regardless, I could only imagine what she was thinking of our behavior, but I was so over the moons that I didn’t care.
“I hate that you need to leave,” I whispered to Kole as the lady’s attendant bustled to my wardrobe.
His voice grew thick. “Once I’m no longer your official assigned warrior, I won’t be forced to take rest time. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Toes curling, all I could manage was a nod. He gave me one last embrace and lingering kiss, only pulling back enough for me to see resilient hope sparkling in his eyes, and then with a blast of mistphasing magic, my mate disappeared.
Hours later,I stood at the windows to my courtyard, looking out at the beautiful night sky.
Even though Kole and I had both been awake for days, and the warrior obviously needed to sleep, I felt anything but tired. My mind was buzzing, and I didn’t know if it was because of Kole’s rich blood fueling me or if it was my intense satisfaction that I hadn’t controlled Kole’s mind.
Whatever it was, vampiric magic coasted through me, allowing me to stay alert and revel in my profound happiness. Because becoming mated had somehow, miraculously, made Kole immune to my uncle’s commands since our bond trumped what control my uncle had on me.
Relief and disbelief still ran rampant through me, even more so because it meant that I was no longer a threat to Kole, and perhaps it was less important, but intense euphoria blazed through me that he would always remember our sacred mating act that had taken place between us deep within the Bulgarian Libraries.
But as the night passed, and the sun began to rise, something else occurred to me as well. Something that could very well shift the tides of my uncle’s control.
