Chapter 16
sixteen
Kaiden
The constant, steady beat of my heart merged with the thrum in my chest until I couldn’t tell if it was my heart that matched Eryn’s or hers that was in sync with mine.
One of her legs was thrown over my waist. I’d woken with my palm against her bare thigh, and the supple feel of the smooth skin was all I’d thought about for the last hour.
An entire hour that I’d laid here, awake, while she slept soundly against me.
There should be a rule against this. Technically, it was unavoidable.
Pillows were shoved between us each night.
We slept under separate blankets. Yet somehow, our bodies found one another.
The past two mornings, I woke before the sun to the addictive feel of her touch.
I left before she noticed—knowing our position would only stress her more—but I wanted to spend the day here, wrapped in her delicious scent.
Extracting myself was a delicate process, but once again, she slept through the dip of the mattress and rustling of the soft sheets.
I crept out of the bedroom and down the stairs without turning on a light until I reached the kitchen.
French toast was on the menu for this morning, and I got to work gathering my ingredients.
My body on autopilot, I thought over the past two days and the strained truce my bond and I seemed to have settled into.
Basically, it involved not speaking. Aside from a quiet ‘thank you’ after Ezra acquired some clothes for her, we hadn’t exchanged anything other than awkward silence.
I added milk and cinnamon to the eggs, whisked them, and then mixed in a splash of vanilla. She needed time. That’s what I told myself and why I hadn’t stalked her around this small apartment for an answer. She hadn’t attempted another escape, so I knew we’d made some progress, but was it enough?
“Oh, good morning.”
I spun at the sound of her voice, the loaf of bread swinging in my hand. Her little bare feet tried to burrow into the hardwood as I stared. Snapping out of it, I gave her a soft smile and gestured at the chairs.
“Morning. Breakfast will be ready soon if you’re hungry.”
Instead of taking a seat, she carefully slid around me to the cabinet beside the fridge and reached for a mug.
I carried the gallon of milk over, knowing it was her preferred drink of choice in the morning, and our skin brushed at the handle.
The tips of my fingers tingled, but she pulled away before the feeling could spread.
I wanted more of it. I waited until she perched on the other side of the island to put her plate down. Then, I held out a fork and smirked as she eyed it, and me, with suspicion. She knew my game, but I didn’t care.
“Be brave,” I dared her.
With a huff, she snatched the fork from my grasp, managing only slight contact.
The small touches were innocent, but I loved how flustered they made her.
Her cheeks were flushed with color, and I felt her interest down the bond, along with a healthy dose of confusion.
The reaction to my touch made her worry, and I wished I could alleviate that.
Only time and trust would fix it. Again, I feared what that meant for the end of this week.
She had a few more days to make a decision, and I promised myself that I’d respect it.
It would be a million times harder to protect her if she wasn’t here with me.
Her dorm was warded, but also too far for me to get to swiftly if something went wrong, as it always seemed to lately.
“I can feel your anticipation, you know.”
Surprised, I met her steady gaze. It was the most I’d heard her voice in days. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it.
“You’re projecting down the bond,” she added. “I thought you were good at blocking your emotions?”
Talking to me and acknowledging the bond. Progress.
I cleared my throat. “Sorry, I didn’t realize. Stronger emotions are harder to keep locked down sometimes.”
She nodded, and the conversation died. Silently, we rinsed our plates and set them in the dishwasher, and I held in my shock when she stepped alongside me to clean the rest of the kitchen.
Elbows brushed and hips grazed as we danced around one another in close quarters.
She didn’t recoil this time, and a part of me preened at the show of trust.
When there was nothing left to keep us occupied, she leaned against the counter with her arms crossed.
“How would we change things?” Her bottom lip was nervously trapped between her teeth, but she didn’t shy away as I watched her gather her thoughts.
“I know I’m not cut out for this life. I won’t fit in.
You say you want me for more than just the bond, and maybe that’s true, but help me understand why throwing away a quiet, useful life among the humans is worth it. ”
“First,” I held up a finger. “I have to correct you on one thing; you do fit in. You’re cut out for this life because it’s where I am, and together, we just make sense.
” I braced my hands on the granite behind me.
“As to the changes, you’ve experienced firsthand the consequences of the age-old prejudices our people cling to.
My family has fought for many generations to change these beliefs.
If you go back far enough in the tribunal records, you’ll find my family actually voted against the bounty on nightmares. ”
I both saw and felt her shock. Good. It was time she knew the truth about my family’s involvement with hers.
“What about your current relatives?” she asked. “Would they still feel that way if you weren’t fated to be with one?”
“Yes,” I swore. “And if not, they wouldn’t be part of my family for long.
As a faction, we’ve been fighting for a while to change things.
I know that’s not enough, and I haven’t personally done much to protect your kind.
More recently, other plights have taken our resources.
The siren faction, due to their low numbers and ability to mesmerize, have come under fire.
Some of the other heirs and I have been meeting in secret these past couple of years in an attempt to organize ourselves in preparation for our time to make decisions. We want to hit the ground running.”
“You all willingly met behind the tribunal’s back? That’s treason.”
“Not all of us,” I admitted. “And yes, if caught, it’s treason. We’d lose our status as heir and any chance at a tribunal seat at best. Death or exile at worst.”
“Who isn’t a part of these meetings?”
More than I was comfortable with, but only one faction worried me the most right now.
“The djinn for one,” I told her and allowed for the implications of that to set in. “They like being in power, so subjecting the lesser factions to laws and limitations is their favorite pastime.”
“That’s why they want me dead.” She paled.
I nodded. “Our bond pushes them out of power, but ultimately, I think the danger is worth it.”
“Because we’d be strong enough to challenge them?”
Now she was getting it.
“And because with our help, your parents, the sirens, and others marginalized by the tribunal won’t have to live their lives in fear, fighting every day to carve out a reasonable life for their families.”
It sounded like a fairytale—too simple a solution for a problem that’s spanned generations. Our lives would always be in some type of danger, especially after we had children, but the only other option was to do nothing. That wasn’t who I was, and I didn’t think that was who she was either.
I left my side of the bond wide open. She needed to feel my sincerity and the very real fear that came with living this life. She needed the whole picture.
“I’ll continue to stay here after spring break.”
I couldn’t have heard her right. Did she just…?
“I’m not saying I’ll complete the bond,” she quickly added before I had a chance to slip too far into my fantasies. “I’m still not sure what kind of life I want. The power to change the laws for others, like my parents, is something I’ve always wished I had, but it comes at a cost.”
“Giving in to the bond.”
Her chin dipped. “And the danger that comes with it.”
I had a feeling she wasn’t just talking about the danger from the djinn.
She feared me and the threat I posed to her heart—to everything she had ever known about how her future would turn out.
All it would take was one slip. Just a small crack in her walls and they would crumble.
I’d make sure of it. But I’d also be there to protect her from the fallout.
I only needed a chance to show her how good we could be. A plan took shape, one where she could learn to trust me. It involved some touching and a little coaxing on my part, but maybe we had a chance to turn dreams into reality. A man could hope.
Spring break was over. Tomorrow was Sunday, the official last day, but we had a lot of prep still to do before Eryn could comfortably move in.
For one thing, all her clothes were still in her dorm.
I could buy her whatever the fuck she wanted, but she refused everything but the basics she was forced to accept this week—and she had the audacity to say she’d pay me back for those.
As if I couldn’t take care of my bond. Besides needing to retrieve her personal belongings and supplies for class, she had promised Rani they could have dinner together the last night before classes resumed.
Not a care in the world that she could be poisoned again.
No. This brave but careless girl thought she could flounce off to the Commons as if everything hadn’t completely changed.
Ez and I weren’t even allowed to sit with them.