He lookedverypleased with himself.
She sent everything she was feeling down the bond, the love, the contentment, the completely embarrassing degree to which she meant perfect. His smugness softened.
“This is strange,” he said after a moment.
She frowned. “The bond?”
“No,” he assured her. “The bond feels natural. Like breathing. But the knowing you feel everything I feel. It’s, well, I’ve spent years making sure no one could do that.”
“Does it bother you?”
“No,” he said. “That’s the strange part.”
Kara turned into him and pressed a kiss to his chest, just above his heart. “Can you feel me right now?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“What do I feel like?”
He considered. “Warm. Bright. Like sunlight.”
She blushed. Again. “That sounds nice.”
“It is,” he told her, kissing her forehead.
“You feel like lightning,” she said.
“Lightning?”
“Lightning,” she confirmed. “Powerful. Electric. Alive. That’s what you feel like.”
His lips skimmed her hair, her temple. His voice came in a rough whisper. “I love you, Kara Hale.”
Her heart leapt. She tilted her head to look at him. The bond pulsed with his certainty. “And I love you, Sebastian Thorne.”
He kissed her again, sweet and unhurried, and tightened his arms around her, pulling her more firmly onto his chest. Tangled together, happier than either had ever been, and bound by love and vow and soul, they drifted into a peaceful sleep.
CHAPTER 38
THE SCOUT
Extended use of corrupted magic may leave permanent scarring on the wielder.
–Caldris Study on Dark Magic: A Theory
The morning bells had rung an hour ago, calling the day’s session to order. That dawn had found Tobias Thorne at the long oak table in the Council chamber. It was old, its wood covered in knife marks from many an impatient lord, half-drunk goblets strewn across it. Tobias still had his armour on, as he had the past three days, ready to move at a moment’s notice. The steel breastplate had dulled, his crimson cloak was dirtied at the hem and the leather bracers had worn grooves into his forearms. The chamber had become a crisis hall, and soon, Tobias knew, it would be a war room. He had all but memorised every inch of the eight stone archways that adorned the circular walls, each carved with the house crests. The stone rang with arguments by day and whispers by night.
None of the Lords or Ladies had returned home since the Fire Shard was stolen, and no one planned to. They would not leave until Sebastian Thorne and Karalynna Hale were found.
Evelyn’s sharp voice had already clashed with Merrick’s bluster twice this morning, Galen brooding over maps at the far end, Simone and Elias quietly weighing every word. Not one of them trusted him – or believed that he wasn’t hiding something.
Nor did he trust them. Not when it came to Sebastian’s life.
Tobias had kept his silence, though his mind had been anything but. It had now been five days since Sebastian had taken the Fire Shard. That was how long his soldiers had been searching for his son and Karalynna Hale without a trace. Up until then, there had been the odd clue –whispers of riders passing at night, descriptions from merchants of a girl with green eyes travelling through with a tall dark-haired man. But now? Nothing. It was as if they’d disappeared from the realm of Vallenna itself.
And the Fatàn shield had flared three days ago. Serena and Kaelen had provided Fatàn’s reasons, such as they were. A result of fear, Elias suggested. A show of strength, Merrick had insisted. But Tobias had served too long, fought too many wars, to believe in such neat timings. His instincts told him that Sebastian and Kara were under that shield. He knew Evelyn suspected it too, he’d seen it on her face whenever the shield was discussed, although she wouldn’t accuse Fatàn without proof. What Tobias didn’t know – what was keeping him from sleep – was what Fatàn meant to do with Sebastian and Kara. They were not a violent people, never had been, but neither were they quick to trust. As a rule they did not interfere. If Fatàn had chosen to shelter them, it would explain their silence, the timing of their withdrawal, and he would be nothing but grateful for it.
Please let them be safe.
