17. Willow
Willow
I stare at the spot Dravik disappeared, watching the door covering swish back and forth from the force with which he left.
What was it that he and Rhune were arguing about? A… mate bond? I’m not sure exactly what it means, but Dravik seemed fairly certain that whatever happened between us, it means I can’t go home.
Dread settles in the pit of my stomach like a stone. I had been so caught up in the pleasure, in all my desires, I never stopped to question what would happen if I gave in.
Oh God… am I going to be trapped in this frozen hellhole forever?
“Willow? Is everything okay?” Rhune slides his hand up and down my arm, soft and questioning.
My skin tingles with his touch, and a surge of heat floods my core.
Even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I force myself to wiggle out of Rhune’s hold.
I need a clear head right now, and if he’s touching me, I won’t be able to focus.
Pulling the blanket up to my chin, I back up against the far wall, feeling like a lost little lamb as Rhune and Nyx’s hungry gazes trail my every move.
“Um…” I clear my throat, wondering why this is so damn hard. “So… I need to know what the hell just happened.”
Rhune perks up, his lips tipping into a bright smile as if this isn’t the worst thing to ever happen.
“We’re bonded!” he says. “Soul bonded. The fates picked you just for me, and me for you.” With a deep purr, he begins crawling closer, his eyes filling with the same desperate hunger from earlier.
“It is a gift, pup. The most wondrous thing to ever happen.”
“But… what does that mean?” My hand reaches up to press against my heart. Even now, that thread is tugging, demanding I take my rightful place in Rhune’s lap.
“It means that you and Rhune were fated to be together.” Nyx’s gaze is intent.
“Your souls are tied, forever. If you spend too much time apart, it will affect your body physically.” His eyes spark with a mischievous glint.
“You’ve already seen one way your body reacts to the bond.
Picture the intensity of that, only… horribly painful.
You physically cannot be parted from Rhune now. ”
“Is there… Is there any way to get rid of the bond?”
As soon as the question is out of my mouth, I regret it. The thread curling around my heart squeezes, sending ice and agony flooding through my system. At the same time, Rhune lets out a pitiful whine—one that shudders beneath my skin and shoves an iron poker straight through my heart.
“You can’t get rid of it.” Nyx’s mouth twists in sympathy. “Not unless one of you dies.”
My breath seizes. Death is the only thing that will break it? How could this be?
Sure, I like Rhune—maybe a little more than I should—but I’m not ready to be bound to him forever. It’s all so… final. And the worst part is, I feel like I didn’t get any choice in the matter.
“Did you know?” I’m unable to look at Rhune as my pulse pounds in my ears. “Did you know this could happen?”
He whines, reaching for me, but I jerk out of reach. “Willow…”
“Did you know?” I repeat. “Did you know that there was a possibility for us to bond?”
“I… I hoped,” he says. “I did not expect it to ever happen. You’re a human, after all.”
Nyx’s gaze turns inquisitive. “Rhune did mention he felt his soul call for you in the forest. I just thought it was infatuation…” He shakes his head, incredulous. “If you have demon ancestry, then I guess it’s possible… though, there were no signs…”
“So what you’re telling me is that you knew there was a possibility—no matter how unlikely—that this could happen, yet you didn’t tell me.
Didn’t bother to prepare me for something that could change my whole life.
” I shake my head, my face heating from the anger and betrayal pulsing through my veins.
“Are these feelings… Are they even mine? Or is it the bond that’s making me feel this way for you? That made me… want you both so much?”
“I… I don’t…” Rhune gazes at Nyx hopelessly, his expression crumbling. “Nyx?”
“It’s a combination of both. The fates wanted you together for a reason, and will pull you two together by any means necessary. If the bond needs to speed things along… It can heighten your feelings.”
I drop my gaze, my body shuddering with horror. “So, no, they’re not my feelings. Not really. This… thing between the three of us happened because of some mystical bond, not because I really wanted it.”
“That’s not true!” Rhune cries. “It’s not true, right, Nyx?”
Nyx swallows hard, looking incredibly uncomfortable. “The mate bond is very powerful,” he says. “No one truly knows how it works...”
“So I’m stuck here. With no options. No choice in how I want to live my life.” My voice is a deadpan. “My life is basically over, is what you’re saying.”
“That’s not true! You do have choices!” Rhune’s voice quakes with desperation. “You’ll like it here, Willow. You’ll see.”
“I doubt it.” My mouth thins into a tight line as I stand from the bed of furs. “I don’t want to see anything right now. And I certainly don’t want to see either of you.”
With a huff, I turn and storm out of the room, much like Dravik did just a bit ago. If I was in a better mood, I might laugh at the irony, but right now, all I want to do is scream.
“Willow! Wait!”
“Don’t fucking follow me!” I turn to shoot a glare at Rhune. “I need to be alone. Just, please, if you really care about me… you’ll respect that.”
With a whine, Rhune lowers back to the furs, his eyes shining desperately. “Willow…”
The string attached to my heart yanks painfully, urging me to go back to my mate, to forgive him. But right now, I just can’t. I don’t want to.
“I can’t fucking be here,” I whisper, tearing out of the room as my heart splits in two.
Rhune’s tragic cries follow me as I race down the tunnel, and no matter how I try to ignore them, to ignore him, I can’t.
The bond won’t let me. I run and run, not caring where I’m going or if I get lost. All I know is that I need to put some distance between me and the sound of Rhune’s soul breaking.
A familiar blue glow catches my eye farther down the passage, and I pick up my pace. I don’t know why, but I feel like that is exactly where I should go right now.
A few moments later, I stop in front of Cin’s workshop, my lungs screaming as I stare hard at that strange painted symbol in the center of the hide covering. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I push it aside and step into the workshop.
My eyes immediately snap toward the glowing wall of roots at the back, and I walk deeper inside, keeping my steps silent as I listen for any sign of Cin. He’s most likely in his bedroom, but I can’t be too cautious.
Forcing my gaze away from the wall of roots, I notice that there are hundreds of sculptures littered throughout the room—large and small, all intricately carved to represent a different species from this world.
They’re beautiful, made from that shimmering blue ice-rock that makes up the ground.
Not ice or stone, but something in-between. Something extraordinary.
In addition to the sculptures, hundreds of hides are laid out across the workshop.
Some are nailed to the walls, others are hanging over hand-carved furniture, and the rest are lying in dense piles in the corners of the room.
It seems Cin has been using them as canvases—staining the hide in beautiful colors to resemble landscapes and places I’ve only seen in my dreams.
I step closer to one of the paintings, reaching a finger out to brush the intricate swirls of color.
“Hello, serafyn.”
I rip my hand back, my head whipping to meet Cin’s reptilian gaze. Those predatory slits blink at me through the shadows, cold and gray like the sky moments before it rains. Just like the first time I met him, there is a mask strapped to the lower half of his face, concealing his mouth and jaw.
With the light emanating from the living wall, I can make out a deep, puckered scar running up to the corner of his right eye, tugging awkwardly at the skin. I cringe, imagining what he must have gone through to get such a gnarly scar.
“You are not supposed to be here, serafyn,” he says, taking a small step closer.
“Why not?” I match his movement with a step back. “Are the sculptures going to come alive and bite me?”
His eyes squint—almost as if he’s smiling—but there’s no way to tell with the mask. “The sculptures will not. But I might.”
His words hold an edge of hunger that sends a shiver down my spine and heats my blood, but I do my best to keep my expression neutral. “Are you going to bite me?”
A sound that vaguely resembles a laugh shudders through the air, low and growl-like with a touch of something otherworldly. Demonic.
“Not unless you ask me to.”
For some reason, I don’t feel afraid by his words. I probably should, but instead, I’m filled with a certainty that this creature would never harm me. Could never harm me.
“In that case… Do you mind if I hide out here for a bit?” I ask. “I just need to be away from Nyx and Rhune for a bit…”
Cin’s eyes narrow, a question swirling in those reptilian eyes—but for some reason, I know he won’t ask. “Be my guest. Just watch out for the ones with teeth,” he adds cryptically.
Without another word, he turns and stalks to the opposite side of the room where a large work table sits. I watch him for a moment, mesmerized by his massive wings, by the way his muscles shift with every slight movement. The ultimate predator.
Forcing my gaze away, I turn back to the painting—only, I’m much less interested in it than I was just before. I try to tell myself it has nothing to do with the ungodly handsome creature a few feet away, but it hardly helps.
Turning away from the paintings, I walk toward one of the beautiful sculptures. It’s a little taller than me, covered with thousands of hand-carved bits of fur.
It looks like a larger, meaner version of Kevin. Except…