Bonds Eternal (Fae Hearted #4)

1. Aftermath

1

AFTERMATH

WYNSTELLE

T he human realm’s snow-covered hills glow with the coming light of dawn.

Beautiful but harsh, I think to myself, as the winds blow across my painfully reddened nose and cheeks. I’m not fond of my human heritage’s sensitivity to the cold weather.

I pull my wool cloak tighter to my body as I ride with my Elven mate, Prince Eldrin. His arms bracketing me in as he holds the reins.

My other two mates and Eldrin’s advisors, Jaden and Oakes, ride beside us on their own horses. Eldrin hasn’t looked at them since we escaped the nefarious Elven Commander Turgon’s clutches less than an hour ago.

Only the crushing sound of frosted grass below our horses’ hooves breaks the silence in our group.

Eldrin’s focus is narrowed on the path leading our small group toward the mortal king’s castle. My father’s castle. Although, everyone believes that the mortal king is my uncle—well, everyone besides my mates and his daughter, Twyla.

There would be an uprising if the mortals discovered that the king’s daughter was actually a changeling sent to replace me as a baby. King Nathaniel loved Twyla, despite the truth of her origins.

As for my fate after the switch that sealed the peace treaty between realms… I grew up an indentured servant in an Elven foundry, hidden in a village on the outskirts of the fae realm.

Riding on horseback, my former Elven keeper, Merlara, and our guards protectively surround us and constantly scan the snowy terrain for the many threats we face on the journey.

Our entire group, including my other mates, eye Prince Eldrin cautiously. Although we follow his lead, we are still wary of his recent behavior.

Eldrin’s ploy to deceive Turgon into believing that he’s eager to start a war with the humans was a bit too convincing.

I still have doubts about his true intentions. Since Eldrin can now block his emotions through our mate bond, I wasn’t able to read him during that tense and frightening situation. To add to my confusion, after his apology for frightening me, he continues to be distant and withdrawn through our link. It’s almost as if it has broken again, although not quite as emotionally painful.

During our capture, Eldrin told Turgon he would go after the human King Nathaniel. He was chillingly convincing. The prince is still angry at my father for locking him up in the dungeon. The iron shackles almost killed him, not to mention Jaden, Oakes, and our four Elven guards. I don’t want to forgive my father yet either, but I don’t wish for him to die.

Fear courses through my veins. Will Eldrin kill my father after all?

“You alright?” Eldrin asks when he feels me stiffening at my horrible thoughts.

I glance over my shoulder and smile weakly at him. I stare into his stormy blue eyes and wonder if he’s the same elf I bonded with. Or did something change within him when our mate bond was briefly broken?

“I’m a bit overwhelmed,” I explain. “Our bonds broke. I thought you had died. Even when I discovered you were still alive and we could re-bond, it was still upsetting, because right after that, it appeared you were going to betray me… all of us.”

“Oh, Wyn, I’m sorry I had to deceive you like that.” He kisses the top of my head and, with his muscular arm, pulls me tighter to his chest to reassure me.

Despite his comforting words, my nerves remain frayed from his deception. I know it was probably the safest way to escape Commander Turgon’s clutches, but I don’t like how easily Eldrin can block me from reading his emotions. Our connection wasn’t like this before the bond breaking.

I look over at the recent addition to our traveling party, my former keeper, Merlara. When I look at her now, I think about my nightmare during the spell. My fears are haunting me still.

Does Merlara truly resent taking care of me all those years? My keeper told me lies and kept secrets from me that whole time. Would she have also lied about how she felt toward a human servant?

In the last few days, I have questioned almost everything I thought was true.

At least my mating bonds are back in place. The debilitating pain of losing our connection was almost too much to bear. Thank the stars we were able to re-establish our bonds so quickly.

Or at all.

During the quiet ride toward the mortal king’s castle to confront my father, another fear from my nightmare spell surfaces again. How genuine is my mates’ love for me?

If Eldrin can shut down our mate bond completely and hide his intentions to deceive Turgon, can all my mates send me false feelings of love through our bond?

In my peripheral vision, I see Oakes quickly turn to look at me as he rides his horse alongside me.

When I glance over at him, he shoots me a questioning look.

Then, through our unique telepathic link, he asks, “What’s wrong, my treasure?”

“I’m fine.”

“Wyn, don’t push me away. Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he coaxes.

“I don’t like how Eldrin is blocking his emotions from me. And now, I wonder…”

“You are worried elves can deceive our mates. You doubt our feelings for you,” Oakes surmises.

“Yes.” I hang my head to hide my troubled expression, my eyes and heart stinging with emotion.

“I suppose even with a bond such as ours, you will never truly know what is real. Although I cannot say that I enjoyed worrying that he had turned on us, Eldrin’s deception was for our benefit. But blocking is something we have been trained for decades to do—preventing others from psychically invading our minds and hearts.”

“You can manipulate what comes through a mate bond to such a degree?” I ask.

“I am surprised by Eldrin’s aptitude,” Oakes acknowledges. “I didn’t think he had it in him to shield so efficiently, especially with you. With your arrival in our lives, his heart finally opened. However, it seems blocking is one of his newly acquired magical powers. But blocking intentions and distorting emotions are very different things.”

“Hmm.” I glance over and lock eyes with Oakes’ amber ones. I know my doubts about our love are written on my face.

“I love you. Jaden loves you. And Eldrin loves you. Please, do not doubt that. We could not fake our love every moment, and don’t you feel our love all the time?”

I thought I did, but I hadn’t been looking for deception. Not until now.

Oakes continues when I don’t respond. “Does your doubt also stem from the nightmare you were trapped in?”

“Perhaps.” I shrug and grimace. “I think I’m overwhelmed by all the chaos.”

“You and me both,” Oakes agrees.

Soon after, I feel my head fall forward, and the sensation jerks me awake.

The last few days have been demanding, heartbreaking, and almost non-stop action. After all that has happened: my stressful debut party as a new ambassador, falling under a nightmare spell, my father imprisoning my mates, our harrowing escape, losing our mating bond, re-establishing our bond, being captured, and then finally getting away from Commander Turgon, I am utterly spent.

The idea of confronting my father, encountering the ghouls, or battling mind-controlled elves is too much to think about. But all of those things are just over the next hill.

My eyes drift shut again, and I let my head swing with the sway of the horse.

“Wyn?” Jaden calls to me softly while pulling on the reins of his horse to stop. He positions his steed in front of Eldrin and my horse, effectively blocking us. “Wyn is exhausted.”

Sensing Eldrin’s need to plow right through Jaden to get to his destination, I sigh. “It feels like I haven’t had a moment to breathe since you announced my appointment as an ambassador.”

“We should rest,” Jaden says in a firm voice directed at Eldrin.

Eldrin grips his reins tighter, glares at his advisor, and counters, “ I am in command. You forget your place.”

Jaden’s piercing violet eyes look as if they might burn in a hole in his prince. “I would never forget that, Your Highness. But it seems you’ve forgotten a human can’t go days without a break.”

Eldrin releases the tension in his shoulders and squeezes my arm gently. “I’m sorry, my princess. I just need to resolve all of this. I must do what I can before we have a fully realized war on our hands.”

Oakes cuts in. “It’s already been going on for over a day. I doubt resting for a few hours will change much.”

I sense Eldrin is not in the mood to argue with subordinates about waiting.

I want to be stronger and not need to rest, but I can’t find the energy to say that I don’t need it.

Tension fills the air—anger stirring in the wind. Is Eldrin using his influencer magic on us and persuading us into continuing onward?

Will he manipulate us?

We all wait for the prince’s reaction with bated breath.