Oath of Betrayal (The Broken Bonds: Slavic Fantasy #1)

T he last few days had been eventful, to say the least. Since I’d Anchored Ormond, my access to the aether had stabilised, but not in the way I’d expected. I could weave it as usual, but whenever I held the skeins of aether in my hands, I felt a wild exhilaration flow through my body. I couldn’t help but remember that moment on the mountain as the magic washed through me. It took a little getting used to, and after Orm caught me blushing a few times, he teased me mercilessly.

I loved the change in his attitude, and it became a ray of happiness during an otherwise difficult time. That it was Alaric’s darkening mood that made those days difficult hurt me more than I cared to admit. I tried to spend as much time as I could with him, but between exploring my burgeoning relationship with Orm and the time spent training with the soldiers, I often felt distant from my dark fae.

Today, Orm was chasing another group of Vel demons. I stayed in the garrison, working through the spectrae strategy with a group of riders before we headed to the Rift on patrol tomorrow. It was immensely thrilling to work through various flying patterns, theorising which would best lure more of the vampiric ghosts to within my reach. After a few hours doing that, however, I was glad I could escape to the library alone.

Blissful silence descended when I finally made it there and closed the door. It was empty; apart from Alaric and me, few people showed an interest in the dusty room. It was exactly what I needed in the moment.