But things were different now. She knew better than to let her mind race with the possibilities of why he was doing what he was doing. He probably wasn’t leaning toward her, her eyesseeing something that wasn’t there. She could pretend in her mind, but not in reality.
They all watched in anticipation as the blood of Annora and Aldric melded into one singular puddle. Eurydice clapped once, and Annora threw her arms around Aldric.
“And so it seems the blood of one flows through the blood of the other,”Eurydice declared. “This bond is unbreakable, unable to be unwoven or erased. The pull that you feel for each other will only intensify as the bond permanently settles. Your pain will be their pain, your thoughts will be able to be heard within their thoughts, and your joy will overflow with theirs.”
Annora and Aldric held each other so close that their noses touched and smiles stretched onto their faces. Eurydice nodded her head at Annora. “Do you accept this bond, Annora, daughter of Maliena and Neve, Nocturna with an affinity for dreams, protector of the vulnerable as they sleep?”
“I accept,” Annora said breathlessly, her eyes not moving from Aldric’s.
“And Aldric, son of Odessa and Nolan, Nocturna with an affinity for dreams, protector of the vulnerable alongside your mate, do you accept this bond?”
Aldric held fast to Annora, his eyes alight with hope as he said, “I accept this bond.”
“Then I, Eurydice, Goddess of the Moon, bless this bond,” she said firmly, and another tremble shook the ground of the temple. “For these two souls now become one, no longer a mate calling to another but a soulbond forever bound.”
Annora and Aldric gasped simultaneously, and their eyes widened as an unforeseeable force hit them at the same time. Aldric held a palm up, examining it closely. He held it out to Annora. A stark white scar was burned into his palm. Annora held her palm up, now etched with the same scar.
“The mark of the soulbond will stay with you until your dying breath.”
Evelina smiled. Their love was true. Someone in her life hadmanaged to find a glimpse of happiness within the endless war. She began to lean away from the opening, finally feeling as if she could sleep for the night. Daimon and Lyria had already pulled away, Keir several steps away as he began to exit the tunnel.
But then something shifted in the air around her and she paused.
She watched as the body of the Sacred turned her head toward Evelina, and then the eyes of the moon goddess herself were set upon her. The glowing white eyes and hollow blue ring on her head blazed through the room, and she found that even if she wanted to move, she couldn’t.
Annora and Aldric were too wrapped up in each other to notice, but Evelina was frozen.
In Eurydice’s eyes, there seemed to be a warning. Evelina waited for her to speak, but then the goddess’s eyes dulled, as if it had never happened.
Thirteen
Daimon
Daimon pausedthe moment he realized Evelina didn’t emerge behind Lyria. His skin prickled with heat, and his heart raced at her nearness. He hoped he hadn’t looked as off-kilter as he’d felt when he and Keir found Evelina in the tunnel. The moment he saw those bright hazel eyes, he felt like his world turned upside down. But when he realized she wouldn’t look at him—only at Keir—he felt the heaviness of the guilt that came along with not returning.
And now she would be comingwithhim to the very border he had chosen to stay at. The moment Queen Embry suggested Evelina should be one of the Alpha Fleet’s healers, the memory of Jarrett being cut open with a rebel’s sword flashed into his mind.
If anything happened to her…
“Come on, we can still manage a quick rest before sunup, Dai,” Keir grumbled. His eyes drifted to where Daimon’s focus was set on the opposite end of the tunnel.
His ears strained for her footsteps. Just as his heart began to race, he heard the light, quick pattern of her steps—a cadence he didn’t realize he still knew the rhythm of. His shoulders relaxed,but it wasn’t until her face peeked around the corner that he assured himself she was okay.
“Don’t stick around on my account.” She shot him an icy look, gaze narrowed and lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes blazed with sparks of anger.
He opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words. What was there to say after he never returned home all those years ago? Her choice of words about waiting on her wasn’t lost on him. His stomach twisted at her glare.
It took everything in him not to grab her hand and make sure she was real. To touch her, to feel her hand in his. She was so different, but still so much the same that it took his breath away. He couldn’t help but to be curious, to want to know this version of her.
Daimon cleared his throat and said, “Keir and I can walk you back to the palace.”
Keir snorted and started to walk away. The corner of Evelina’s mouth tilted down, and his gaze tracked the movement of her lips, but she was already looking beyond his shoulder. She quickly shuffled past Daimon to follow behind Keir.
But even as she moved to brush past him, he couldn’t help leaning in—just slightly.
He couldn’t stand it—hehatedthat this was their first conversation after all this time. It nearly drove him to madness, his anger rearing its head to match hers.
He shook his head—pushed the daydreams away—and followed after her.
