Chapter Forty-Eight Riela
Chapter Forty-Eight
Riela
Vastien was objectively gorgeous, but I’d thought I was immune to his charms, right up until he asked me to marry him. I knew it was fake, that it didn’t mean anything at all, but my heart still fluttered in my chest.
I eyed him consideringly. “What would you say you bring to this marriage?”
He grinned. “You mean beyond my charming personality and stunning good looks?” When I snorted, he held up my hand. “How about
the ability to move around without me as an anchor?”
“That is tempting,” I murmured.
Vastien’s magic rose, and the rest of the room disappeared, cut off with a silver curtain of power. “You don’t have to agree to a betrothal bond with either of us,” he said, suddenly serious. “But if you are more comfortable bonding with
me than Garrick, then I am willing.”
“Do you regret your blood bond with Garrick?” I asked bluntly.
Vastien shook his head. “It saved his life, so I’ll never regret it. But I do think Garrick is right in this case and a blood bond is the wrong answer for you. I love Garrick like a brother, and I trust
him not to abuse his power—and he never has. You don’t have that kind of trust with either of us. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Are you okay entering into a betrothal with someone you don’t trust?”
“Yes.” When I stared at him, waiting for more, he added, “The bond was invented to foster closeness between two people who
might not trust each other. Once we are bonded, I will know immediately if you are secretly betraying us.” His eyebrows rose
over sharp eyes. “Still interested?”
“How could I refuse such a romantic offer?” I asked drily. “It’s every girl’s dream to get betrothed to allay suspicion.”
Vastien grinned. “I’ll have you know, I can be very romantic.”
When I gave him the skeptical look that statement deserved, his magic rose and he summoned a pretty silver ring that glowed
with magic. “It was my grandmother’s,” he murmured.
His voice was soft with fondness and loss, but he tucked away those emotions and sent me a look of such smoldering intensity
that I sucked in a surprised breath. Vastien had always been gorgeous, but with all of his attention focused on me, he was
overwhelming.
“I promise I will not take advantage of you or the bond, and I am trusting you to do the same.”
“So you do trust me, just a little,” I said in an attempt to break the new tension tightening my belly.
He huffed. “Now who’s ruining the romance?”
“Hey, trust is romantic!”
He smiled and held the ring out to me. “Lady Riela, it would be my honor—”
Moonlit magic sliced through the wall shielding us from view, revealing Garrick’s furious face. He took one look at me, Vastien,
and the ring, then wrapped a hand around my wrist with a curse.
The world vanished to the sound of Bria’s laughter, and a blink later, Garrick steadied me as we stepped into his bedroom.
It was a perfect mirror of the room in Edea, complete with a huge bed that I steadfastly ignored. A silver fire was burning
in the fireplace and the room was comfortably warm.
I raised my eyebrows after I returned my gaze to his face. “What are you doing?”
“Saving you from yourself.”
I carefully flapped the arm he still clutched. “This is annoying. If there’s a way around it, why shouldn’t we use it? You
don’t even have to be involved. Vastien has already offered to help. He was going to loan me his grandmother’s ring and everything.”
Garrick’s eyes darkened. “Bria left out a few important details.”
I huffed out a half laugh. “Of course she did.”
“The bond isn’t dangerous, per se,” Garrick said, “but it is intimate. It was used by couples who were already committed but couldn’t marry yet for whatever reason, but it was also used to force that intimacy and trust onto undecided couples facing arranged marriages.”
“Vastien already explained that part.” Kind of. It sounded a little worse the way Garrick had put it, but the result was the
same. “He’s very excited to learn if I’ve been planning to betray you this whole time.”
Garrick scowled. “That’s not all.”
“Of course not,” I said with a sigh.
“Because it’s an emotional bond as well as a magical one, the magic requires high emotion to lock onto. Love would do it for
a happy couple, as would pleasure.”
The glint in his eye told me exactly what he meant and heat climbed my cheeks.
“Pain and terror also work,” he said, “but since I’ve vowed to protect you, it would have to be love or pleasure.” His voice
dropped to a low, dangerous rumble. “Are you prepared to let Vastien pleasure you?”
I couldn’t help the grimace. Vastien wouldn’t be my first choice, no. But since my first choice wasn’t offering . . . I considered
it. Going to bed with Vastien wouldn’t exactly be a hardship, but it might make our relationship awkward afterward. Some people
handled friendly, casual intimacy better than others.
Perhaps there was another way. I peeked up at Garrick, but his face was set in granite lines. “Could I, ah, do it myself?”
“You could, but he would still have to be touching you. And seeing to his own pleasure.”
I could already feel the embarrassment scorching through me. Sex with Vastien would undoubtedly be awkward, but maybe less awkward than mutual masturbation. I sighed and rubbed my chest.
Garrick’s attention snapped to me. “Are you hurting?”
“Mildly. I had some tea with lunch, so I’m okay for a while longer.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth, either. My fingers were starting to get stiff with cold.
I returned to the subject of the betrothal. “Did Vastien know everything you just told me when he offered to bond with me?”
If he was as ignorant as I’d been, then I wouldn’t hold him to it, of course. But if he wasn’t, then I supposed I’d give it
a shot. I might die of embarrassment, but being able to move freely through Lohka was worth a little temporary discomfort.
“You aren’t seriously considering him, are you?” Garrick asked, his voice razor sharp.
“Honestly, between the two of them, I’d prefer Bria. She’s gorgeous, and since I haven’t spent as much time with her, it would
be less awkward. But I’d still need an anchor, so that doesn’t really help.” I stared pointedly at him and raised my eyebrows.
“And since those are my only two options . . .”
“Neither of them is an option,” Garrick ground out.
“Vastien has already agreed, I just have to accept.” Butterflies swarmed my stomach as I quietly offered, “Unless you would like to bond with me.”
Garrick spat out a curse and ran an agitated hand through his hair. He started to turn away to pace, only to be brought up
short by his grip on my arm. Thunderclouds gathered on his brow, and I regretted pushing him.
He must have reasons for not wanting to bond with me because even Vastien, who didn’t trust me, had been more willing. Pain
knifed through my chest, but I pushed it aside. It was Garrick’s choice, and I would be furious if he tried to coerce me into
a bond I didn’t want.
“Let’s forget the bond for now and try to fix the door,” I said. “We still have a few minutes before I need to return.”
I focused on the dais in the courtyard and silently asked the castle to take us there. It obliged. Garrick’s scowl turned
into a reluctant smile. “You’re learning how to step through the ether remarkably quickly.”
“Oh, it’s not me,” I denied with a self-conscious laugh. “I ask the castle to take me where I’d like to go, and it does. Sometimes.”
He frowned, but he didn’t contradict me. I raised my magic and the ache in my chest sharpened. I sucked in a pained breath.
“What’s wrong?” Garrick demanded. His power surrounded us in a protective bubble while he looked for the threat.
I shook my head and focused. I could see the thread of magic tethering me to the door. If I snipped it, would it send us back
to Edea?
“I need to figure out how to return while we’re still touching or the first trip after I bond with Vastien is going to be
exceedingly painful for me.”
“You are not bonding with him,” Garrick denied with a snarl.
I waved a hand without looking at him. “Can you let him know that he might get yanked through the door?”
Garrick’s magic rose in a sharp spike, and a moment later, Vastien and Bria appeared on the dais. Well, that was handy.
Bria looked between us with a frown. “You’re not bonded.” Her gaze flickered around the courtyard. “Nor in danger.”
“No,” I agreed quickly, “but we may get pulled through the door, and I didn’t want to surprise Vastien.”
He dipped his head in thanks, and I waved at Bria. “If we disappear, we’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded and her magic rose in a silver cloud around her, making her even more stunning than usual. She was going to be
swamped with admirers as soon as it became clear she and Garrick had ended their betrothal—assuming they did.
I put the thought aside and focused on the thread tying me to the door before the pain overwhelmed my senses. It was strange
trying to work with my magic while three powerful Etheri watched, but I ignored them as much as I could.
If I broke the tether, would it leave me trapped on this side of the door? And if it did, would it continue to drain my magic?
Because that seemed like a very painful way to die.
“Do what you’re planning or I’m letting you go,” Garrick murmured. “Your skin is like ice.”
It took several long, frustrating minutes to figure out how to sever the tether by cutting off the flow of magic. It wasn’t
pretty, but it got the job done. As soon as the thread vanished, the world wobbled and we were dumped back into Edea.
I smiled in exhausted triumph. Garrick’s hand was still wrapped around my arm, which meant I’d brought us back on my own.
“Well done,” Garrick murmured. Vastien growled his agreement, then slunk off the dais to do whatever it was he did on this
side of the door.
“Could you make me some replenishment tea?” I asked with a shiver.
Garrick frowned. “Didn’t you have some with lunch?”
“Is that a problem?”