Was this how it would be if we were to honor our bond and bind our souls together? Would he protect me as easily as I protected him? Two warriors, not competing for strength, but lending it where the other faltered?
The notion was dangerously enticing. Because depending on someone gave them the power to break you.
I didn’t want to be breakable.
But when Brenton looked at me like I was someone worth standing in front of . . .
I wanted him. Not only in Vistos. But forever, just as he’d declared.
He didn’t trust me, and I couldn’t fault him for it. Time and time again, I’d turned away while he kept stepping closer, offering pieces of himself I’d never been brave enough to accept.
I loved Brenton. He lived in every breath I took, filling every hollow space in my chest.
But Etienne . . . could I really leave him now? He was doing better, yes. Fewer seizures, but the seizures were still there, along with the horrible head pain that followed a major episode. The nightmares were worse, the kind that followed him while he was awake. I couldn’t banish them, but I could be there, talking him through the panic until it passed. He trusted me to be that steady place just as I trusted him.
Walking away from that couldn’t be the right choice, even if every beat of my heart called Brenton’s name.
Kassidy halted, she and her dragon riders sitting on the small patch of sand that surrounded an inground firepit. When Brenton also sat, I took a spot next to him, making sure to stay close enough to him that my knuckles brushed the back of his hand.
His hand jerked at the contact before he ran two fingers over my thumb. I twined my pinky with his and angled my body to the side so my knee touched him. Unlike the many times I inched away from his touch, he held on to my finger with a sense of possessiveness that made my soul tremble with desire. The look he gave me was just as dominating, as if he coveted every inch of who I was.
I wanted to explain to him why I kept moving away from his touch, but I wasn’t certain he’d understand. Etienne could stand by my side without casting a shadow, his steadiness groundingme rather than holding me up. But Brenton . . . Brenton’s presence was different. Where he could appear strong with others at his side, I didn’t know how to be strong whenheoffered his support. Around him, I felt too much, too seen,too vulnerableand giving up that control wasn’t simply frightening. It was unimaginable.
My heart raced, galloping so hard against my chest, I feared it’d tear right through bone and cartilage and flesh to land at Brenton’s feet. Eager and wanting of no one but my mate.
“First, I want to apologize for my youngest brother,” Kassidy said, waving a hand at the young male Brenton had held by the throat. “I asked my brothers to intimidate you.” She frowned. “Apparently, Everitt needs to learn the difference between intimidation and disrespect. Maybe we should wait a few more years for him to mature further before he is entrusted with the role of dragon rider.”
Everitt kept his head bowed, slowly and gently dragging his fingers through the blades of grass. “If that is how you feel, sister.”
He looked young. It was his devastation at disappointing his sister that struck me the hardest.
“In Niev, warriors-in-training begin at an early age. Oftentimes, far younger than Everitt,” I said, keeping my attention on the young male who now looked at me, worry making his dark eyes glisten. “It is through that training that they learn and mature into the hardened warriors they become. It is not my place to advise you on how to lead your people”—I turned to Kassidy—“but I did not take offense to what he said of me and believe this could be used as a life lesson.”
Brenton’s grip on me tightened, and I felt his distaste at my words.
“Yourmatetook offense to what my little brother said.”
“He’s fae,” I said as if that were all the explanation she needed.
Brenton huffed out a laugh while Kassidy tapped a single finger on her bottom lip.
“I don’t understand,” she said slowly. “You are also a fae, yet you say you didn’t take offense. So why should he?”
“Because Finley is my soul mate,” Brenton answered. “It is in my nature to protect and defend her.” Brenton unlatched his pinky and placed his hands in his lap. “Finley is capable of taking care of herself, but I can’t seem to stop myself from being there for her despite the cost.”
Despite the cost.
“If her soul were to be damned in the pits of Enfierna, I’d follow her there, and we’ll either burn together or bring the whole place down.”
The image he painted was everything I wanted. I squeezed my eyes shut painfully tight while this heaviness settled in the pit of my stomach.
“That’s . . . an interesting sentiment,” Callan said.
Kassidy grinned at her eldest brother. “I’m sure it’s a sentiment we’ll understand when we find our other halves.”
Callan threw back his head, laughing at whatever inside joke he and Kassidy shared. “You first, sister.”
“Why would you ask your brothers to intimidate us?” Everly asked.
