Chapter 9
MALAKAI
She’s cold, scared, her teeth chattering, her clothes are ruined with soil and forest muck—and still she managed to light up an entire flock of Seelie abominations.
I’ve never been prouder in any of my lifetimes.
“You did well, Aveline.” I pat her back, and she stares up at me with wide, terrified eyes.
“What were those things?”
“They are the reason we must wed,” I tell her, my satisfaction draining, replaced with grimness. “That is the reason I am here again. And why you are at my side.”
She wriggles slightly. “I’m not at your side if you’re holding me.” Each breath sounds slightly difficult, and I readjust my grip to give her more room to get air.
“I can move more freely in my battle—”
“Ceremonial lingerie, yes, I see that.” Her voice is slightly pained, and I hold her more gingerly as I run.
“Am I hurting you?”
“Nope.”
“You seem uncomfortable.”
“I have an acre of muscled flesh pressed up against me for the first time in my life.”
“But only in this life.” Does my bare chest truly bother her so much? I’ll have to have the castle wardrobe give me something more… chaste.
“You keep saying that,” she says, and I glance down to see her inspecting her dirt-streaked hand. “But I don’t… I don’t remember anything.”
“You usually don’t. My own memories are scattered.”
My gaze flits down at where I hold her, and her blue eyes pierce mine, her forehead creased with troubled thoughts. Even like this, dirty, annoyed—she is spectacular.
“I wanted to choose,” she starts to say, but her voice breaks on the word.
“Choose?” My brow furrows, and I brush off a bramble trying to attach itself to my thigh as I keep moving, further from the Seelie creatures who should not be in the Elder Forest. “A spouse, you mean?”
She sighs, and I can tell from the set of her jaw, from the muscle ticking in her temple, that she doesn’t want to answer. “I always knew I wouldn’t pick, but…” her voice trails off.
“But?” My voice comes out hoarse.
“But I thought I could pick who I loved. If what you’ve said is true, if we’re… two souls that keep finding each other again, then how do I know it’s real?”
I stare at her, nearly stumbling in my surprise. “You’re saying if we’re fated mates, then your love for me wouldn’t be real?” Pain knifes through my chest, and I’m so… overcome with what she’s said that I don’t notice the male standing in front of us until it’s too late.