Bonds of the Forsaken: A Reverse Harem Romantasy (Her Forsaken Mates Book 1)

60. Rien

Silence.

I missed my silence.

My forest was full of humans, with their noise and chaos, and unnatural materials. It was too much.

Over the past few cycles, more and more humans had ventured into my forest, intent on gods knew what. And every time, I had to drive them off.

We just wanted to be left in peace.

I stared at the bedraggled humans fighting their way through the forest, tearing and stabbing at anything that came near. There were only a few left now, one with metal skin, two with strange collars, a few in wolf forms, and another with pale hair and delicate features.

A woman, perhaps?

She was the only one who didn”t feel like she wanted to hurt my forest. Not that it would let her live, but at least she didn”t seem as bad as the others …

Looking down, I patted the side of my mielpaed and let out a breath.

Only a while longer before we could have our silence again.

A feminine scream drew my attention, and I looked back to see the bald shifter slap the woman two more times.

My chest tightened.

Why did he keep hitting her?

As the third strike came, she blocked it, and slammed her fist into his nose.

A chuckle escaped my lips as blood poured down his chin, but I quickly shushed it. I was supposed to be directing the creatures. Instead, this new body was getting distracted like young bodies always did.

I couldn”t wait to be old again.

I looked back once more to see the woman gesturing toward me, and the group moved in my direction, the lead shifter tugging her along.

Gods, she really could sense me.

Just what kind of mage was she?

Stomping on the bald man”s foot, she ran ahead, leading the group.

Once more, my lips curled into a pleased grin. What was it about this scene that amused me so much?

I reached out to a nest of frensil nearby, and the creatures answered, running as a group toward the intruders.

They surrounded them and charged before anyone could respond, attacking the metal man first, quickly tearing him to pieces. Then they hit the collared ones. The wolves were smarter, of course, and tried to run, but they were no match for my frensil.

Now it was just the woman and the man who”d slapped her.

I didn”t like him.

The frensil closed in, but I called them off. Something about the woman felt different. Almost familiar.

Each time I was born, I forgot so much. Maybe it would help jog my memory if I could see her up close …

I urged my mielpaed forward.

The man screamed and stumbled back with a whimper as we broke into the clearing.

But the woman had felt me coming. I could see it in her eyes. Still, her jaw dropped, and she stumbled backward when the moonlight hit the carapace of my ride.

The man turned and tried to run, but I captured him with nearby vines, lifting him into the air. Something in me wanted to make him suffer a bit, but I refrained.

Torture was not something we did. So, instead, I bound him tightly.

”What — what are you?” The soft feminine voice broke my attention on the shifter, and I turned to see the female staring at me, eyes the color of feather moss. She”d moved toward me as she spoke, despite my being on the mielpaed, and I couldn”t help but be impressed.

Humans were always intimidated by these creatures.

Her expression was fierce and stubborn, yet her nose was small and delicate like the petals of a lunaier. And her hair was fluffy like the grass of the plains. For some reason, I wanted to bury my nose in it …

What a strange urge.

Was this how I thought at each beginning? I didn”t remember it being like that, but maybe I”d just forgotten …

”You are safe,” I said, voice raspy after so many months of disuse.

Her brows knit together, forming a small wrinkle in the middle, and I had to force myself not to reach out and smooth it.

Was it soft?It seemed like it would be soft.

The forest had told me about women. But I had never been so close to one before — at least not in this life.

Something low in my belly ached as I traced her body with my eyes, her curves soft enough to rest my head on.

Would they feel as soft as they looked?

Wait.She”d asked me a question. What had it been again?

”Look —” she tried again, sending a strange glance over her shoulder at the man in the vines. ”I”m really hoping you understand me. I”m searching for some kind of powerful relic in this forest. Do you know where it is?”

The man behind her grunted and struggled in the vines, so I squeezed him tighter.

I slid off the mielpaed and held my hand out in the way I”d seen humans do before. ”I am Rien.”

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, studying me. Then she shrugged and rested her palm in mine. ”Uh — I”m Kaiya.”

My eyes dropped to her hand. Her skin was so soft, and her bones so delicate.

How could that shifter have let her out among all this danger, let alone hit her?

My chest tightened.

If she”d died …

No. I froze. What was I doing?

She was an intruder! I had to keep us safe. Safe from the Fae, the humans, and now the corruption.

Everything not of the forest was a threat.

And I could not tolerate threats to the forest.

Releasing her hand, I stepped back and began to apologize for what was about to happen to her …

The words ”Why are you here?” escaped from my lips instead, though.

Kaiya”s lips formed a little ”O,” and her eyes widened, sending my pulse skittering.

Could she truly be a threat to the forest?

She was strange … and beautiful, in the way a brook kissed the forest the morning after a rainstorm.

”I”m here to capture a powerful relic,” she said.

A relic?I vaguely remembered learning in a previous life that was what they called tamable, magical creatures … but why would she do such a thing?

No, she didn”t feel dangerous in that way.

”Wrong. Why are you here?”

Her mossy eyes widened, and she stared at me for several heartbeats.

”I — I”m here because someone I care about was captured, and I don”t want him to die,” she finally replied.

My eyes flew to the captured man.

”Gods no! Not him!” she said quickly. ”He”s one of the ones who will kill the person I”m trying to save.”

That was madness. Human attachment was selfish and hollow. I”d always felt bad for those who succumbed to it.

”I will help you.”

Who — what?

It took me a moment to realize the words had come from my own lips.

What was I doing?! But once words were born they could not be taken back.

She looked up at me with surprise.

”Thank you!” she said, voice warm and melodic. ”I — I don”t want to offend you, but your korra is unlike anything I”ve ever seen before. What are you?”

”I am Rien.”

She chuckled and began to speak again, but her stomach rumbled softly.

”What was that?” I asked, tilting my head.

”I am wondering if you are human or —” she said.

”No, not that.” I shook my head. ”You are hungry? I will help your stomach. Then, I will help you.”

She smiled again, and I felt taller, somehow.

My body must be in its twenties … did they still grow at that age?

Brushing the thoughts away, I reached out to the forest, and vines emerged from the darkness carrying fruits and nuts to … Kaiya.

Her scream made my spine straighten, and I prepared myself to throw the fruit and nuts at whatever was about to attack.

I felt around, but there were no threats.

”Are you scared of fruit?” I asked, holding up the items.

Frozen, she stared at them, then at the fruit and nuts my vines held and let out a soft laugh, shoulders dropping.

Cocking my head to the side, I slid back my hood and reached for a polear. ”See? They”re safe.”

The woman just watched me, though. Those pale brows lifted, and her bright mossy eyes went wide as they met mine.

Even her cheeks turned a pretty pink.

”I — thank you,” she said, voice husky. ”I”m sorry for screaming. It was just — a bit surprising. And you look — you”re beaut — handso — er —” The pink in her cheeks deepened as she searched for the words. ”I mean not old.”

”Oh, no,” I reassured her. ”I am very, very old.”

She stared at me for a minute, then shook her head and said something beneath her breath.

I grabbed another polear from the vine and passed it to her.

She looked from it to me, then up at the sky. ”Thank you,” she said, pressing her hand to my arm. ”But you need to get away from here. Frexin —”

But I wasn”t listening as heat spread across my skin where our skin met, and my breath caught.

What. Was. This?