The glamour didn’t give her additional power, only the appearance, so other than her unique connection with dragons, she was still fragile. Thank the Guardians for that.
An unspoken heaviness rode between us, like invisible weight added to our packs.
I knew what I’d felt when I healed her. I knew she felt it too.
But she acted like she wanted to forget it ever happened.
If only forgetting were that easy.
My entire opinion of her had shattered when I saw her fly
Zephyros, and ever since, I’d been drawn to her. Obsessing over her.
I wanted Delilah for myself. Not to share. Mine.
After half an hour, she was steadier, adjusting to her longer legs. She pulled a banana from her pack.
She was always eating fucking bananas. Were they her favorite? Why did I care?
I was pleased her handmaid had survived the night with Cercies and packed her bag.
I smirked. He must not be doing it right. If I found my fated mate, she wouldn’t be able to walk the next day—let alone pack a bag.
Fated mates were rumored to experience ultimate sexual pleasure because they could feel everything their partner felt, so, the entire experience was two-fold, giving and receiving simultaneously. Chosen mates had something similar after the blood-binding ceremony, but only a fraction of the connection.
I had detected jealousy in Aurelius when we discussed fated mates. I assumed it was about amplified pleasure… but now I wondered if it was something deeper.
Something like what I felt around her.
The rest of the hike blurred into awkward silence, my eyes drifting to her ass, and the occasional small talk. There were a million things I wanted to ask her, but again—I shoved it all down and kept going.
The Kingdom of Terrain had a jagged rocky wall protecting its border from my kingdom, with only a few entry points monitored closely by Folliade’s army. We approached a small wooden building where a clerk shuffled parchment inside. A line of heavily armed guards blocked the entry point.
We waited behind a short line of merchants and traders until it was our turn.
“Name?” the clerk said mechanically. I nudged Delilah.
“Delilah Raye,” she blurted, nervous.
He flipped through files and pulled a list.
“Yes. You have a permit to mine three crystals today. Who is your companion?” he asked, pointing to me.
“Oh—uh, this is my…” we answered at the same time. “— servant,” she said.
“—mate,” I said.
I widened my eyes, slowly turned my head, and glared at her.
Servant?
Fucking seriously, Delilah!?
The clerk gave us a leery look. Great. Not suspicious at all.
I was about to talk our way out of it when she continued, “What I meant was… he is my servant that I mate with sometimes, and I’m not even sure why because he’s not very good at it. He is my bedroom servant. If you know what I mean.”
And as if it couldn’t get worse, she gave the clerk an over exaggerated, theatrical wink.
