I took the brush off the hook and began to groom her.
You’re so sad.
She hadn’t opened her eyes, sensing my confusion and heartache through our Bond.
The gods are taunting me, I said, my hands stilling. It was meant to be a sarcastic comment, but it was all broken in my head.They show me pieces of my past, and I…I don’t know what any of it means. I feel weak and afraid.
Do you know why tygers Bond to certain humans?
I shook my head without speaking.
Power. We are by far the most magical animals in the Mortal Realm. We carry more power than any other and we are drawn to it in turn. We live in the Dominion of the Silver Tyger, for we descend from their Celestial Guardian, but in truth, tygers do not care what color your hair is. We seek only the strength that resonates with our own, something that can balance us and challenge us. Our humans steady us.
I brushed the ruff of her chest with wide strokes.I guess everything is about balance.
Flame lowered her head so that her golden eyes fixed on me, unblinking.Yes, Rubi. We complete our humans as well. And you are the first chosen by the most powerful of all the tygers, their queen, to be Bonded. Do you truly think that means you are powerless? No one before you has ever been worthy. Yet I chose you. Do not call yourself weak.
I sighed.I just wish I could remember. If only I could win the boon—
Rubi, Flame said, her voice intense. Her tail swept once across the floor, slow and deliberate, before she spoke.If danger comes, you must not sacrifice yourself. Your memories may return without the boon. Your life is precious.
But I—
Say it, she growled.
My voice trembled even within the confines of my mind.My life is precious.
“I found you,” a voice said, the hint of a smile bleeding into the words.
Still tremulous, I turned to look up at Blake’s large form leaning in the doorway of Flame’s stall.
“You always do,” I murmured, before standing and dusting off my pants. “What are you doing here?”
He turned his chin over his shoulder. “Kingsolver asked me to come.”
I told him to get his rider here already.Flame huffed.Sometimes you humans just need your own kind.
Thank you, my dear friend.
I stepped close, drawn by his solidity, how present and real he was, not a figment in a mirror—here and then gone. Then, before I could stop myself, I flung myself into his arms.
“Hey, songbird.” He rested his chin atop my head and stroked my hair. I marveled at how I fit, the safety I felt.
His arms tightened around me, just enough to feel his strength, his presence, unmoving and steady. My body started to shake. The kind of trembling that came when everything caught up to you. When you realized how close it had all come to breaking. I buried my face in his chest and tried to breathe, but the air wouldn’t stay in my lungs. My hands clutched at the back of his shirt like I needed to anchor myself to him, or I’d vanish.
“I’m sorry,” I said, though I didn’t know what for. Maybe for needing this. Maybe for not being able to hold it in. My voice came out broken, too high and too thin. “I didn’t mean to—I just—”
“Don’t,” he said softly. “Don’t apologize.”
He lowered us both to the floor. Leaning against the wall, he pulled me into his arms. I was still trembling. He just kept holding me, his hands sliding up and down my back, slow and firm. My heart skipped and stumbled, my throat clenched tight. I hated how close I was to sobbing.
He breathed against my hair. “Rubi,” he said, “you don’t have to be so strong all the time. Whatever it is, I’m here now. With you.”
“Can we go to my rooms?” I whispered. “I…I need to show you something.”
Blake nodded, gripping me tighter, then pressing a kiss, light as a feather, to my lips, my cheek, and then a lingering one to my temple, his hand wrapped in the blue-green strands of my hair.
“I’ll follow you anywhere, songbird,” he whispered low under his breath.
