Chapter 10 #2
I do not admit that I could easily use my magic to help her better tolerate a quick, two-day journey. Nor do I admit that I intend to take my time as I travel to rejoin my people. The truth is, I want more time alone with my mate. Perhaps I’ll even stretch the journey to five or six days.
I readjust her rucksack over my shoulder and make sure my own pack is secured to my body, then I summon my wings in a quick flash of light.
Isabel’s eyes flare wide as she stands before me, her gaze on my wings. Through the bond, I sense her awe as well as her reluctant admiration. Envy, too. She wishes she could summon wings and travel the realm with as much ease as I can. She envies my freedom, but she’ll never admit it aloud.
Moving closer, I sweep her into my arms, holding her close as I cast one last glance around the forest. As thickly as ussha clings to the vegetation here, I suppose it’s only a matter of time before a fae settlement springs up nearby.
I resolve that if the people of Hollins attack such a fae settlement, I will make sure Mr. Sinclair is out of harm’s way before more violence can occur.
Isabel finally settles into my arms with a soft sigh and places her hands on my chest. Her emotions continue hitting me, waves of wonder, anticipation, worry, and fear. She’s curious about the bond between us, but she’s loath to allow herself to feel hopeful or tempted by it.
Should I tell her I can sense her thoughts? Not word for word, not yet, but her emotions and the ideas behind them keep striking me with all the force of a winter wind.
She stares up at me, her eyes growing wider. “You’re in my head,” she says. “I can feel you… sifting around. Reading my thoughts. Stop it. Get out. Please.”
I lean my forehead against hers.
“I’m not reading your thoughts, little moth, or sifting around in your mind,” I murmur quietly. “Not truly. The bond between us is beginning to strengthen. I can only sense your emotions… your fears, your hopes, and your uncertainty.”
Her breath catches.
“That is still quite unsettling,” she whispers.
“Yes, I suppose it is,” I admit, knowing how fiercely she still wishes to escape me. “What about you? Can you sense my thoughts and emotions?”
“Yes, though I’m not sifting around in your mind either. It just keeps happening, even though I wish it wouldn’t.”
For a moment, I simply hold her there, allowing the sounds of the awakening forest to settle around us. Squirrels and chipmunks scamper amid the branches, and somewhere deeper in the trees, a pair of magpies perform a cheerful duet.
I draw back to better meet Isabel’s gaze. All around us, the glimmer of ussha clings to the leaves and vines like scattered starlight, bathing her in vibrant, magic-infused rays. My heart quickens. Gods, she is a rare beauty. And she is a rare, sweet soul.
“As I searched for you, I was eventually able to sense your location,” I say. “I followed the tug of the bond, and it led me to find you in the forest. I sensed you were somewhere below, very close; then I heard your scream.”
Surprise flickers across her face, but some of the tension in her shoulders eases. She relaxes further in my arms, and her hands roam lightly over my chest, her fingers running circles over my leather shirt.
“Might I remind you that if it weren’t for the bond, I would’ve never been in the dangerous, ussha-blessed forest in the first place,” she says with a hint of reproach, though there’s also the faintest trace of a smile.
“You speak as if I’m responsible for the bond. But it’s the gods who’ve decreed that we are meant to be together. I cannot break the bond, just as you cannot sever it.” I brush my lips against her ear. “Our mating union is inevitable. Eventually, you will surrender to me.”
A little gasp leaves her, and when I pull back, I admire the fresh tinge of pink that covers her face.
“You are adorable when you blush, Isabel. I believe I shall endeavor to make you blush more.”
She narrows her eyes at me and presses her lips together, but there’s no hiding her burgeoning need and the achiness that’s growing between her thighs. I easily sense her desire through the bond. I also sense her internal struggle to tamp it down, though her efforts are unsuccessful.
I smile at her, then press a soft kiss on her forehead. Her warm breath caresses my face as I straighten.
I tighten my hold on her, keeping one arm beneath her knees, the other braced around her waist.
It’s time to leave.
Time to begin our journey.
The Winter Court army and my responsibilities as King Theron’s top commander await, yet as I hold Isabel close, the significance of every other expectation in my life begins to fade.
At this moment, nothing feels as important as she does.
Because she is my mate. And I will always revere her above all others and place her needs before all else.
I bend my knees slightly and tuck my wings back, then I launch upward. The clearing drops away beneath us in a blur of lush greenery and multicolored glimmers as my wings beat hard against the morning air, carrying us above the forest canopy and toward the distant horizon.
Holding my mate close, I fly north.