I stumble blindly toward her, my mouth lifting off of Graylen.
“Drink,” Graylen rasps.
It takes me a minute to realize he said italoud.
My eyes snap to him just as darkness begins to bleed into the green of his irises.
He stumbles away from me, lost to the virus again.
I snap my shadows out, the cocoon around us stopping him from getting away. My magic still feels weak—lost.Like drinking his blood fuels it enough to use, but then it’s gone.
With my magic stored in Nightfall, it’s almost like this is a way around it—even if only for a moment.
My mouth connects to his neck once more. Everything disappears again, the feel of his blood rushing into my mouth the only sensation I can focus on.
The slowly fading Essence inside of me roars back to life, bursting at the seams as it comes back with dizzying speed. My magic calls to me, filling me with a fierceness that’s addicting. Intoxicating.
There’s a spark of a memory, of hazel eyes so like mine staring back at me.
But that falls away, too.
All that matters is Graylen—the feel of his throat against my lips, the emotions of warmth he’s sending through our connection.
At this moment, I can’t deny that he was made for me—and I for him.
He’s given up everything for me. His body, his soul.
Graylen has loved me in ways no one ever has or ever will.
“I’ve got you,”he soothes.
I whimper against his neck ashecomfortsme.
That’s when I know. My soul doesn’t belong to me—not entirely. A piece of me resides within Graylen, just as his intertwines within every fiber of my being—our souls two sides of the same coin.
My soulbonded, perfect for me in every way. Not made for me, but one soul cleaved into two—forced to live apart until this very moment.
I know what I have to do to save Graylen. Whatever monster has infected him can’t stay. Not when a part of his soul is inme, tethered on this plane by residing within me.
Ellerry’s voice washes over me, the memories causing me to hesitate.
“A mate hasn’t been found since the split of the Valon Empire. The pull of mates just…disappeared.”My mind races as her lessons surface.“Soulbonds are a gift from Eurydice. A fae’s Essence can be intertwined with another. Two halves of a whole, separated by two bodies.”
If there’s any chance of helping Graylen, I have to try to intertwine my Essence with his. Even if the chance is small, it could be the only way to force this creature out of him.
Suddenly, I’m not afraid. Not with Graylen—never when he’s near.
He tells me that he’s got me, that I’m not alone. But I’ve got him, too. It isn’t about him saving me or me saving him; it’s about loving someone so completely that you would do anything to makethemhappy. Safe.
Ihaveto try. For him.
With my magic coursing through me—bursting at the seams to find a release—I push every ounce of it into Graylen’s mind.
“Graylen.”His name is a cry within my thoughts—a plea.“Come back to me.”
With my lips still against his neck, I can feel his body begin to sway. His strength wanes with each pull of blood out of him. But I need him weak, need this monster infesting his body to lose its hold long enough for me to get through to his consciousness.
A beat of silence passes, our connection silent—the tether between our minds that I now know resides there because of our soulbond.
