29. Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
“And where, exactly, are you from?”
I turned my head back and found him staring at me with a small smile. I gave him a deadpan stare.
“You’re not getting out of this so easily.” I crossed my arms. “Why did you leave? Why did you come back?”
“Will you walk with me?” He turned to the side and extended his hand out in front of him.
I gave him a curt nod, and we fell into step with each other across the grassy clearing.
He held his arms beside him with a straight posture, the very essence of a Lord.
I took him in from the corner of my eye.
In the light of day, his broad shoulders were more defined and his face was hardened, with those silver eyes taking in every detail around us without effort.
He was the epitome of every description I had read of the Lord of Oryn, but I had never imagined that he would also be as attractive as he was.
“I’m sorry for leaving you last night. The way you were speaking to me was making me lose control, and I was seconds away from fucking you against a tree,” he said as we continued to walk.
The thought of us standing in the forest last night flashed through my mind and my skin began to heat. I didn’t miss his visible erection either, which only made my skin feel hotter.
He cleared his throat then continued. “I can’t seal the bond with you. Not yet at least. I returned to Oryn last night to speak with my advisor about it.”
That’s…weird.
“You flew back to Oryn to speak to your advisor about having sex with me?” I gave him a questioning look as we crested over a hill, the grass swaying through the breeze tickled my feet.
“Well, sort of, I suppose. But not like you think.” He sighed deeply. “I was approached by a Sage after the Trial and was warned to deny the bond with you, otherwise Oryn would suffer. As would we.” His voice trailed off.
“What do you mean?”
“The Sages have convened a panel with the other Worthy to decide if our mating is forbidden.”
“Forbidden? They can do that?” I gaped.
“Evidently.” Ryker shrugged.
“Wha—” I didn’t even know what to say. Not only did the Sages and other Worthy know about my mating bond before I did, but they also had already called for a panel to decide if it was allowed.
Which was completely unheard of. Not to mention, not a single one of them told me about it. “So, when is it?”
“Our mating trial will happen one month after Nailu. That is if we will not deny the bond or agree to the Raith, stripping both of us of all our bonds and magic.” His jaw clenched.
“You agreed to this?” I asked, completely perplexed.
“No,” he answered quickly. “Seriously? I was pissed. I didn’t agree to anything but they didn’t exactly take my opinion into consideration.”
“And what will happen if we tell them to shove their panel up their asses and go pound sand then just complete the bond anyway? ”
He blew out a heavy breath. “We can’t complete the mating or risk them ordering the Nex. But I would never let that happen to you.”
Great. Just another death sentence hanging over my head.
I stopped breathing momentarily. The bond I had hoped and dreamed for had already been threatened. I shook my head.
“But what does this have to do with your Nation?”
“The Glaev,” he grumbled. “That Sage, Vicria, she told me that my Nation would suffer more than it already was. I returned to Oryn to find that her threat was valid. The Glaev had destroyed an entire village—few survived.”
“I’m sorry.”
Instinctively, and foolishly, I placed my hand on his sleeved arm. We both tensed, fighting the urges to increase that touch. I reluctantly removed my hand.
She…
I wondered if it was the same female who had warned me to stay away from the other Worthy.
“But wait, how would she know the Glaev—” I stopped abruptly.
…is not what it seems…
Kleios words rang through my head. This must have been what she was talking about and it had something to do with the Sage. But I still didn’t understand what it meant. Was the Sage controlling the Glaev somehow? Was she causing it? Or did she only know of when and where it would affect?
“Kya?” Ryker’s voice interrupted my thoughts. My name on his lips nearly made my eyes roll back. I shook my head to get back to the topic.
“Ryker, do you know how she knew about the Glaev in your land?”
“No. I have people working to find that out right now. Until her prediction, we had always thought it was a disease just like everyone else. But if she knew about it as it happened from across the continent, it has to be something else.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Kleio told me that the Glaev is not what it seems. I think she wants me to figure out what it is and stop it, restore the balance. That’s what we’re doing here.” I gestured around us. “We’re looking for something that could help us find out what it is exactly.”
“Let me help you. I can check back in at Voara from time to time until we get it figured out. I can’t stay away from you too long, though. The bond will drive us both crazy if we’re apart for extended periods of time.”
I hid my frown at the thought of being separated from him.
I felt foolish for it, I shouldn’t have felt that way having just met him.
But it was the most logical thing to do.
Then, excitement coursed through me at the thought of him being with me as we traveled back to Morah and then to Dusan.
My mind wandered to imaginings of huddling close on cold nights and riding together on horseback.
My stomach tingled with anticipation and my core heated.
Ryker’s nostrils flared. His eyes darkened, and he leaned into me, almost pressing his body against mine.
“And when we do figure this out, together, I’ll give you exactly what you begged of me last night.
” His lips nearly grazed my ear and his breath was hot on my neck.
I wanted to melt at the sound of his sultry voice.
“I’ve waited a very long time for my mate, and you can bet that I won’t let them take you from me now that I have you.
We will get past this, show them we are no threat.
Then, I will take you. I will claim what is mine.
Because you are mine , Kya. I will seal the bond with you and be marked by our mating. ”
Shivers ran down my spine when he trailed his eyes down my left arm—the arm that would one day bear the mark of our mating bond.
“But until then,” he continued. “I can’t claim you. I can’t risk the people that I have been deemed Worthy to protect.”
I swallowed through my panting breaths. “How would they know? What if we just don’t tell them and hide our marks? I’ve done it with my Trial mark.” Was I that desperate? Apparently. It was almost pathetic, but I couldn’t help it.
“The Sages are spiritually enhanced. Now that they know of our bond, they would sense the shift in the Spirits of two powerful Worthy being mated.”
“You think I’m powerful?”
He leaned back and stared into my eyes. “Very.”
He stepped away, and I noticed only then that he had surrounded us with his shadows, sheltering our bodies away from the rest of the world so that these moments were just for us. My heart swelled when he smiled at me.
I smiled back, and his eyes seemed to flicker with a faint glow for a fleeting moment.
“We’re going to have to find a way to repress our physical temptations in the mean time. And I’d like to get to know a bit more about the one I’m bound to,” he said.
“Agreed.” I nodded. Though I knew much more about him than he did me. I’d have to be careful with my words if he started asking about my past.
Ryker drew his shadows back as we began to walk through the trees back to camp. It took a significant effort to not touch him, reach for him.
When we made it back to camp, Nikan glared at Ryker with distrust—I understood his apprehension. Nikan didn’t speak once as he pushed down our tent and readied the horses.
Odarum was gone and I reached out to him.
“Where are you? We are leaving for Ilrek.”
“I will find you.” Was all he supplied.
I made a sound of frustration.
Of course.
Two horses, four people. There was no way that Nikan and Ryker would ride together, and there was no chance I’d allow another female, even my sister, to ride with my mate. Without saying anything, Nikan mounted his horse and Malina followed, biting back a smile with a wink towards me.
“If our skin touches again…” he said, shaking his head.
I nodded, understanding, though unhappy with it. “As much as I’d like to essentially sit in your lap all the way back to Ilrek, it’s probably best if we don’t.”
Part of me wanted him with me while the other part still didn’t trust him fully. Nikan wasn’t wrong. And now I knew that his entire Nation was at risk. If I could have saved Atara by denying a mating bond, I would have.
“Yeah… Besides, I’ve been gone from Oryn too long. As much as I’d like for you to sit in my lap for the next few days,” he said with a wink. “I need to return. I still have a Nation to run.” He remained silent for several moments, staring at me with confliction in his eyes.
“I’ll meet you in Ilrek then,” he sighed. He stepped away from me and I mounted the horse.
Settled in the saddle, I watched as he manifested his wings and took to the skies without another word, and tracked him until I couldn’t see him anymore. The bond began to burn as he left. I was torn between what I desired and what was right—whatever that was.
I’d be bound to him for an eternity. The Gods demanded it.
They wanted two Worthy mated. Between the mating panel and the Glaev, and the fact that the Gods deemed Ryker Worthy of protecting his Nation…
Also, if we mated, perhaps I could convince him to open his borders to the Ataran people and finally give them a home.
Granting one demand meant denying the other .
“What do you want from us?” I whispered to the Gods, before I followed Nikan and Malina into the forest, heading back to Ilrek.