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She could do it. I knew she could.
I worked late into the night, helping gather and disperse supplies to the survivors and planning for further fallout from the Glaev, before I went to my rooms on the top level of the palace. My mate haunted my mind along with everything else. But a hint of the bond tugged at my soul for her, clouding my thoughts of anything else.
I ran a cold bath to clear my head and shock the hardness from my cock—not that it helped much. Even realms away, the bond enacted my primal drive to be with her and claim her.
Sleeping was a troublesome task. I couldn’t help but think of those pine green eyes looking up at me with those plump lips wrapped around me. Wondering what my name from those lips would sound like, with my face buried in her, ravaging and ruining her.
Fuck this is wrong.
But I couldn’t help it. I closed my eyes and pulled on myself as I imagined her head bobbing up and down between my legs.I imagined the feel of her hair between my fingers as I held the back of her head and pushed her down to take me to the back of her throat until I came.
I cleaned myself up and lay back down with my arms behind my head. Staring at the ceiling, I wondered what my mate was like. I wanted to know everything about her, besides what I already did. My thoughts drifted aimlessly, but eventually I drifted off into a fitful slumber.
Mine.
I woke instantly, my heart beating heavily in my chest and a burn from the newly formed bond searing inside of me. Father had said that the sensation was unmistakable and he was right. The feeling was embedded in my soul.
I didn’t need a mirror to know that the usually muted silver of my eyes was now glowing, and tendrils of my shadows drifted across the floor. The smell of char filled my nose. I released my grip from the sheets to find them scorched where I tightly held them.
I shook my head and internally scowled at myself. I refused to become like the other mated males and turn into some feral animal. That wasn’t what I wanted. That wasn’t what she deserved.
Inconveniently timed, there was a knock at my bedroom door. I took a few deep breaths, composing myself so that my eyes would dim back to their original state, just before Mavris opened the door. He paused as he made to enter, looking at the shadowsblanketing the floor. He glanced at me, his eyes eyebrows raised in question.
I withdrew them. “What is it, Mav?” My words were clipped and my tone irritated.
“I was only coming to tell you that the Vaavi have been dispatched. Arra is personally overseeing the unit,” Mavris said as he walked to the end of the bed. I threw off the covers and swung my legs over the edge before walking over to my wardrobe. “Ryk, what’s going on? Your sheets… Your shadows.”
I pulled my arms through the sleeves of my shirt and sighed as I began working the buttons. “My mate has just returned from Hylithria. She’s a Worthy.”
“Oh shit,” he breathed. He paused for a moment. “When did the bond enact?”
I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. “Yesterday. Before Theron brought me back.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you say anything last night?”
I turned to face him. “Because I was dealing with the Mirren survivors. It was more pressing at the time.” I had wanted to tell him last night—I told him nearly everything about my life.
“You don’t think that yourmateis pressing?” His mouth fell open in shock.
“Donotspeak of her,” I snarled at him for mentioning her and insinuating that she wasn’t already important to me. I cringed at myself for getting so furious. I knew that it was the unsealed-bond causing me to be temperamental and possessive, just due to the fact that Mavris was a male.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “Of course she is. But she was not in our realm when I first felt the bond. And there is still no guarantee that she will pass the challenge—if she’s challenged. I didn’t see the purpose in mentioning her until I was certain.”
He gave me a mocking smirk. “She’s on the other side of the continent and you’re already losing it.” He paused and tilted his head to the side. “How do you know who she is?”
“I saw her,” I said softly.
I recalled the events of my time at the Temple of Odes. About how I had a feeling about the female but didn’t understand it at first.
“Why didn’t the bond snap into place when you first saw her?”
“She hadn’t yet passed the Test of Fate.” It was undecided by the Gods until Galadynia had seen into her soul, until her fate had been sealed.
Does she understand what is happening? Did she feel it just as intensely as I had? Does she even want this…
Mavris watched as my mind started to spiral and his smile fell. “You’re going to have to find her before the bond takes over and you have no control left. From the looks of it, sooner rather than later.”
I shook my head. “I need to be here. I need to help my people to get through this tragedy.” Gods, this couldn’t have come at a worse time.
