We were both still in bed and I wasn’t confident we were going to leave until we absolutely had to return. Griff was seated with his back against the headboard and I was nestled between his legs, using his chest as a backrest. The covers were pulled up to my armpits; the warmth Griff gave off could only do so much against the evening chill. One of his hands was splayed across my stomach, tracing lazy patterns on my skin, while the other rested just beneath my breasts, keeping me firmly tucked against him. I curled my fingers around his forearm and felt his muscles flexed in response.
If only we could stay like this forever.
The golden place next to my channels, the place I now knew was the mating bond, pulsed with joy. Testing a theory, I thought down the bond,“Griff?”
“Princess?”There was no surprise as he brushed a kiss onto the top of my head.
This was a deeper connection than when I used my mind channel. Instead of talking mind to mind, this was soul to soul.Understanding finally dawned; this was why I sometimes felt a mysterious confirmation when I needed it most, or that inexplicable strength when I was faltering. It had always been Griff—perhaps unknowingly, perhaps deliberately—reaching across that invisible thread that connected us.
“How long have you known we can do this?”
I felt a tingling of ruefulness stretch between us.“A while. It’s common with mating bonds. At first, I could tell when you were hesitant, or scared, and I attempted to reassure you. It wasn’t until the mountain with the hufen and I lost sight of you”—his arms tightened around me—“that I tried to send words through it.”
“How far will it stretch?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve heard of mates being able to contact each other at great distances. But since I don’t plan on being separated from you, I hope we won’t have a reason to test that theory.”
Out loud, I asked, “Is this also why you can just fling yourself into the ether and always end up where I am?”
“Fling?” He sounded offended by the word.
“Got a better description?”
“It just sounds so… lame.”
I laughed as I snuggled deeper and nuzzled his neck. “Probably should have asked this earlier, but any clue where we are?”
All I knew was I felt safe here. And it was more than just the safety I felt whenever I was with Griff. I had no idea why a seemingly abandoned cottage in the hills brought me so much peace, but I knew with absolute certainty that we were the only two souls here and that this place would keep it that way as long as we desired it.
And in some strange way, it felt like mine. The thought settled into me with deep conviction that went directly to my soul.
“There have long been stories of the gods’ refuges,” Griff said slowly. “I think this was Solais’s house.”
I stared at him in surprise, even as my soul channel hummed in agreement.
He shrugged, one corner of his mouth tilting up. “I do listen sometimes when Finn talks.”
At Finn’s name, reality came crashing back. “Tell me what happened while I was gone,” I said softly.
His hand tightened involuntarily on mine. “Are you sure you want to know?”
I looked over my shoulder at him and gently kissed him. “I think I need to.”
I turned back around and settled deeper against his chest, tucking my head under his chin. He sighed and brushed a kiss against my bare shoulder before opening his mind to me and letting me in to see the memory.
I was walking down the hallway when it hit me—a pain emanating from my chest that nearly brought me to my knees. I staggered against the stone wall, clutching my chest. The golden thread that always connected us, that constant warm presence beside my own power, had gone instantly dark. I reached through our bond, preparing to throw myself into the ether to reach her side.
Empty.
Her space was empty.
“Finn!” The mental shout tore from me.
Silence. I could tell that bond was still active, but he wasn’t responding. Either he couldn’t hear me or he was deliberately blocking me. When I went to teleport to him directly, something prevented it.
Fucking wards.
This panic was foreign. The calm, the control, that I’d built my reputation on had shattered the moment her light disappeared.
