Chapter 46
The gentle feeling of fingers grazing along her bare hip roused her from sleep and the light coming from the window brightened the inside of her eyelids.
She let her body surrender to his touch and rolled back into him slightly, letting out a sleepy breath. His body adjusted next to her and she felt his lips press against her bare neck.
“Morning,” he whispered next to her ear.
“Morning,” she said in a sleepy voice, her eyes trying to focus on his face now above her.
“No nightmares?” he asked calmly, his fingers still tracing her hip bone softly.
“None.” she smiled and raised her hand to his face, her thumb grazing against the familiar shadow of facial hair she had come to enjoy in the mornings.
His hand stopped grazing her skin and she felt it cup the side of her face as she kept staring up at him. Their eyes never broke contact, the brightness in his intriguing her and she leaned into his touch letting out a long breath.
Leaning down, his lips pressed against hers and she instantly felt her power spark again around her. This time she was barely able to extinguish it before he started to press into her more, the need radiating off him set her nerves on fire and she let out a small whimper in response.
His hand gripped her harder around her face, pulling her into him and she could hear a predatory rumble from his chest.
“Mine,” he mumbled against her lips, his tone dark and she could tell he was struggling to keep himself from devouring her fully.
“Yours,” she whispered back and grabbed the back of his neck to pull him back down to her.
He had to catch himself, removing his hand from her face and holding himself above her for another few minutes while they fought their need to consume each other.
“We should get ready to train,” she said between kisses reluctantly.
“We should do a lot of things.” He groaned.
Pounding on the door made them both jump, his face instantly going cold and he shot an angry glance at the door.
“No fucking peace here I swear.” He snarled and stood, having to adjust himself below his waist band slightly before walking to the door.
She chuckled at his inconvenience but she was able to see a faint outline and she liked what she saw.
He unlocked the door and cracked it open, a low growl could be heard and she could tell it wasn’t one of their group members outside the door.
Something was handed to him, her eyes seeing a white piece of paper and he shut the door with a loud thud before sitting on the edge of bed facing her.
“It’s for you.” His voice was uneasy.
She sat up and grabbed the folded paper, her fingers grazing his palm and she looked at the handwriting on the front. It was Silas’s handwriting, and she sighed in annoyance.
“Can’t he just leave me alone?” she mumbled.
“Want me to open it?” he asked quietly.
“Sure.”
She handed the letter back and he opened it quickly, her eyes watching him read the parchment without his face changing expressions. When his face drained slightly of color, she felt her heart start to race in fear of what it might say.
“Does Helen mean anything to you?” His voice was deadly calm and it was her turn to lose color in her face.
She nodded and grabbed the paper from him, her eyes trying to read the words as quickly as possible.
Alyra,
I hope you actually read this letter and you traveled well to Bromel. There have been attacks on small villages all throughout Ambros, it seems Mavros is trying to build his army quickly and I saw the list of known villages hit. Helen was on one of them.
We have sent Thron back to investigate and see if there are any survivors but I wanted you to know. I know you hate me but when you come back, I want to try and fix us.
I still love you.
-Silas
The paper fell from her hand as she felt her entire body go numb from shock. She knew it was a possibility that her old home would get attacked, but the reality that it actually happened slammed into her so hard she couldn’t breath.
Kaden moved quickly and settled himself behind her, his back against the headboard and she felt her entire body shake in his hold.
“Alyra?” he whispered.
“Helen was my home.” Her throat clenched.
He didn’t say anything but held her against him, his head leaning down next to hers and nuzzled her softly.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled and she felt the ache in her chest become more painful.
“I couldn’t save them.”
“Don’t do that, don’t start blaming yourself for things that are out of your control,” he said against her cheek and she felt anger start to flicker inside her.
She shoved herself out of his arms and jumped onto her feet with her fist clenched.
“If I could have gotten my full power back by now, none of this would have happened.” she started to yell. “If I hadn’t hid myself away like a coward then maybe Mavros wouldn’t even be an issue right now.”
She felt her power rise in her, that new large crack from the night before flooding her with skin with flames. Kaden tried to grab her as he stood next to her but she jumped back glaring at him.
“No, don’t try to tell me otherwise because I know better.” she snarled and she watched his eyes get dark with his own anger.
“You can’t dwell on things that might have happened when bad things come to light.” he barked at her.
“I’m useless without my power, Kaden!” she screamed. “Maybe I should just surrender myself to Mavros and he will stop the war and no one else will have to die because of me.”
Darkness exploded in the room, Kaden suddenly upon her and shoved her against the wall with his hand gently pressing at her throat. Not in the way to harm her, but to make her give him her full attention as his eyes turned pitch black.
“You are my mate and I will not let him ever fucking touch you again.” he snarled. “If anyone surrenders to Mavros it will be me, not you.”
She balked in surprise at his words, her mind racing and she realized he had known about the bond before she did. The room vibrated as his flames engulfed them both into almost total darkness.
“I will happily let him drain every drop of blood from my body and welcome death itself if it means keeping you safe.” His voice started to soften and she could see his power fade around them. “Then I would wait an eternity in the next life until I could hold you again.”
His hand left her throat and slid up to the nape of her neck, her breathing shuddering as he leaned in closer.
“You knew?” she whispered.
“That we are mates?” he asked calmly.
She nodded.
“I figured it out the day you were taken from me on the road.” he pressed his forehead against hers. “The void in my soul when I couldn’t feel that connection between us made me realize what it meant and I knew right then I would forever be yours.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him against her and she let out a long breath trying to calm her heartbeat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted you to want me without feeling obligated to,” he whispered. “You chose me to accompany you because you trusted me and I wanted your heart to choose me for the same reason.”
“Kaden,” she whispered and lifted herself up to meet his lips softly before pulling away. “I will always choose you, from now until death defeats us and into the eternity after.”