Chapter 15
Elowyn
My gaze moved to Abram as he came stomping from the house shirtless and his trousers slung low on his hips.
As soon as he saw who I was standing with though, his smile completely vanished and his eyes flashed to red.
Nate, stood next to me warily, but stared back at him, clenching his fists, worried that he’d get attacked.
Nyxthra purred at the sight of Abram.
“What are you doing?" he asked.
“I wasn’t kidding about Nate’s uncle helping me. He’s an oracle.” I answered as his body language went from tense to enraged.
“Over my dead body am I letting you go with that man.” He pointed at Nate, who looked offended. “He is looking for any way to get between us.”
Nyxthra wanted me to tell Abram that no one was getting between us, but she was out of her damn mind.
“You sound scared that I can get between you.” Nate smiled.
Abram’s death glare slid to Nate.
“Nate, shut up,” I sighed as Abram started for him.
I stepped in front of Abram and stopped him. His eyes flickered to me with a murderous glint. Gods, he was pissed.
“I have to figure out if this man can help me, Abram,” I whispered. “I don’t want to be alone forever.”
He blinked in confusion. His pretty green eyes flickered between mine, and I saw the hurt simmering in them.
“You won't. You have me,” he said.
I swallowed as the tears burned the back of my eyes.
“I have you for now.”
His shoulders fell at my words. Abram knew what I meant. I didn’t want him to be hurt by this, but he didn’t love me. Like he said at dinner, they never reject mates. The heavens knew who was best for him. He would leave me.
“No, you have me,” he reassured me, but I knew it couldn’t be the truth.
“Abram…,” I pleaded softly. “Stop.”
Disappointment filled his eyes as he looked away from me.
“Fine, but I’m going with you.” He turned to the house. “Give me just a moment, and I’ll get dressed.”
I stared after him as he disappeared into the house. I looked at Nyxthra standing off to the side, visible to only me.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Nate asked. “He looks like he loves you.”
My body twisted toward Nate. Nyxthra sneered at the words. My eyes darkened, and my voice hollowed.
“Abram does not love me. He can’t, I’m not his mate.”
Nate stared at me before his gaze moved to Abram as he came toward us.
“Maybe you aren’t his mate, but he’s in love with you.”
Nyxthra and I both stepped toward Nate with anger. His words only pissed us off. Abram didn’t love me, and he would toss me aside as soon as his mate showed up.
“I can assure you that he doesn’t.”
I couldn’t let myself believe that he loved me. This was going to come to an end, and if I couldn’t find my mate then losing Abram was going to kill me. I’d have to leave and go live somewhere else so I’d never have to see him with the woman who replaced me. A sharp pain stabbed me in the chest.
Abram grabbed my hand as soon as he was close enough.
He smiled softly at me, but his gaze flickered to where Nyxthra stood, like he could feel her presence.
I glanced up at him and prayed to anything that would listen to let the oracle tell me that I found my mate already—that Jade was wrong.
Abram’s eyes softened as I stared at him.
My eyes drifted over his black outfit, the sleeves of his tunic rolled up, and I felt it, love pumped through me.
I was in love with him, but he would never choose me over his mate. Which meant that if the oracle couldn’t tell me who my mate was, I was fucked. I wouldn’t break the curse.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes, just nervous,” I lied.
Abram nodded as he used his magic to wrap around us.
I closed my eyes as his hand tightened around mine—warm, steady, possessive in a way that made something flutter deep in my chest, no matter how much I pretended it didn’t.
When his magic disappeared, we were in a small village center crowded with people close to the Falgon castle.
Its massive greystone walls were overtaken with green vines and dark flowers. Gods, it was beautiful.
“Where does he live?” I asked Nate.
“That’s the hard part. He’s kind of elusive and paranoid. So we’ll check where he used to hang out.”
“Wonderful,” Abram sighed, scanning the area.
His eyes skipped right past the women who turned their heads sharply to admire him. Not one glance lingered on any of them; his hand only tightened on mine, magic humming against my skin. A stupid, warm pulse hit behind my ribs at the silent claim.
“She’s married.” His voice came out in a low, territorial growl.
Heat shot up my neck when I followed his gaze. A tall man with black hair and bright blue eyes stood staring at me, openly, boldly. My stomach twisted with discomfort and something sharper when he didn’t look away.
Abram lifted my hand, showing off the ring like a warning. “She’s married,” he repeated, darker this time.
The man backed off immediately but his cold gaze was unsettling.
“For fuck’s sake, Abe.” I laughed, though my cheeks were hot and my heart was doing entirely too much.
Nate began to head up the street, and we followed silently.
The air was humid with the smell of street food and drifting smoke, and my gaze kept flickering through the crowd like I might somehow see my mate standing there waiting for me.
The hope was stupid, but it clung to me anyway.
Abram’s eyes stayed fixed on Nate, but his brows were lowered, his expression distant, like his thoughts were spiraling somewhere I could not reach.
After a few minutes, he looked at me oddly.
“What if the oracle tells you the name of your mate?”
I looked up at him, and my stomach dropped at the worry etched across his face.
“Then I will find him.”
“What if you didn’t?” he whispered. “What if you stayed with me?”
I looked away from him and toward Nate, who was waving enthusiastically at some pretty woman at a food vendor cart. The normalcy of it irritated something fragile inside me. Everyone else got to make simple choices. Mine felt like they were carved in stone.
“You will leave me when your mate comes,” I finally said after a moment.
Abram didn’t say anything, so I looked up at him again. His jaw was clenched, tight enough that a muscle ticked, and his eyes swirled with deep red like storm clouds filling with heat.
“Maybe you’re my mate,” he said, more to himself than to me.
The words hit hard. This was the first time he had said it, and the echo of it rippled through my chest with painful hope.
“And if I’m not?” I asked.
He looked at me.
“Then we’ll figure it out.”
I had no idea what that meant. If it was a promise, or a threat, or simply something he wished could be true.
The uncertainty sat heavy in my stomach.
We both fell silent as Nate walked quicker, weaving through the crowd.
The mix of roasted meat, fried dough, and spiced air from the vendors made my stomach twist with nausea.
I felt sick at the idea that Abram and I were likely not mated.
Sick at the thought of someone else ever touching me.
How was I ever supposed to like someone else beside him?
“He likes this tavern up here,” Nate said as he turned toward us.
We nodded but didn’t say anything. Maybe we both knew this was going to be the end of the hope that we were mated.
The street narrowed, darkening as tall stone buildings leaned inward.
We stopped in front of a shambled tavern with blackened windows and wood planks so rotted they bowed inward.
The sign above the door was rusted beyond recognition, hanging crooked on one hinge.
Nate headed in and we followed. The air inside was thick with smoke, sweat, and spilled ale.
As soon as we stepped through the door, every person in the room turned to stare at us like we had intruded somewhere we did not belong.
I immediately shrank into myself, instinctive and sharp, but Abram pulled me into his side with firm, steady hands as he glared everyone down.
The room shifted away from us instantly, unease rippling through it.
“I’m looking for Thomas, the oracle shade?” Nate called out.
“He’s not here. He left about ten minutes ago. Try the tavern up the street. The one with the red sign,” one of the men behind the bar yelled.
“Thanks.” Nate smiled, though his expression shifted the moment he glanced at me, unimpressed and already irritated by this search. He turned and left the tavern first.
We stepped back into the crowded street.
Bodies pressed past us from every direction, and the air felt heavy with noise and movement.
Above us, the sky darkened with thick storm clouds.
The weight of them hung low, and it felt like an omen.
It felt like the heavens wanted to warn us about whatever we were walking toward.
The next tavern was not far. The large red sign was crooked and faded, but impossible to miss.
“Uncle Thomas!” Nate yelled.
An old scraggly man spun toward us. He had wiry white hair that stood out in wild tufts, as if lightning had struck him, and blue eyes that darted around like he expected someone to chase him at any moment.
His clothes were worn thin and stained, hanging off his body like he had not slept indoors for longer than he could remember.
Abram and I looked at each other. Both of us wondered if this really was the man we needed.
The old man began stumbling toward Nate.
“He’s drunk,” Abram sighed. “Great.”
Nate was already speaking with him as we approached.
“I don’t have a nephew,” the old man hissed. His breath was sharp with alcohol.
Nate gave us a look that said he anticipated this and sighed heavily.
“Yes you do, you old fucking drunk.” Nate grabbed the man and stared him down. “I’m Natalia’s son.”