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I thought for a moment.“You and I are bonded. If I died, you would feel that pain of loss like the Gods feel if the Spirits die. But what would happen if you died? Would I die?”
He was silent for several moments, and I almost didn’t think he was going to answer me.“I do not know. No Fylgjur has ever died before their Worthy.”
I still couldn’t pronounce that damn word. And I had no interest in finding out the answer to my question first hand.
Mentally drained, we made camp that night with another two days’ ride ahead of us to Morah. I wanted to practice with my magic but decided against it, not wanting to overdo it and be unconscious for nearly two days again. I felt fully rested and energized and I couldn’t sleep. I stayed awake, leaving Malina and Nikan in the tent while I remained outside. It was a warm night and didn’t require a fire. Malina created a small orb of light above me so that I could read, now that I finally had some time to do so peacefully, and I was glad for the escape.
It had been a few hours, and I was well into a wonderfully descriptive love scene that made more than just my cheeks heat when I felt a familiar distant thump through my terbis. One that was large and heavy—the same one as that night in Torx. And just like that night, the shadows in that direction were darker than the rest.
Shadows…
My heart plummeted, and my eyes widened with both excitement and dread. The swirls inside of me tugged and I gasped a breath.
My mate has been following me.
The pieces fell into place, and it all made sense. The burning and swirling, that was the bond. If he had been following me, then he wasn’t rejecting the bond. But then why would he have told me to run? And the shadows…he was a shadow wielder. It dawned on me then that the calming swirls inside of me were like that of his shadows—the bonds representation of him.
I thought about reaching for it. Reaching for him. But I was…apprehensive. I didn’t know if this tug was the bond urging me or if it was him trying to connect with me. Either way, I wasn’t ready. But at the same time, I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything.
Driven by instinct and desire, I stood, facing my mate where he hid in the shadows. Just as I took a step to go to him, I felt him disappear once again.
I waited throughout the night with my palms flat on the ground. Waited to feel him on the terra again. I knew he was near, the shadows inside of me were calm and soothing—comforting. I concentrated my terbis to feel everything around me, searching for him.
I could feel the horses standing behind the stone tent. I felt Nikan and Malina laying on the furs, their breathing and heartbeats steady as they slept. I felt animals slumbering or walking in the distance and I even felt every tree, every rock, everything. But I didn’t feel him. Anticipation coursed through me, keeping me awake and alert. But as the night bled into dawn, that anticipation turned to irritation. Irritation at him rejecting me, following me, then vanishing—not to mention bewildered at how he could seemingly appear and disappear.
I was down right aggravated by morning. My past feelings of hurt and disappointment transformed to hot rage at my mate’s evasion. I was done waiting for him to appear. Disregarding any politeness, I woke up Nikan and Malina, roughly nudging them with my boot.
“It’s daybreak. Let’s go,” I clipped out, before leaving the tent and gathering the horses. Odarum had kept himself out of sight until now, and followed as we left toward Morah without saying a word.
Nikan sat behind me as we rode and I refused to let him take the reins. I fumed with anger all day, snapping at anyone who spoke to me or ignoring them completely. A few hours before dusk, Nikan’s patience wore out.
“That’s it. I’ve had enough of your shit.” He ripped the reins from me and kicked the horse into a canter through the trees. I jabbed my elbow into his side and cursed as twigs and leaves smacked me in the face, cutting into my skin. He grunted when I kicked him in the shin, which only caused the horse to run faster.
Once we entered a clearing, Nikan pulled on the reins and the horse stiffened his back legs, sliding to a stop, causing dirt to spew into the air around us as we lurched in the saddle. He jumped off the horse, bending at the knees when he landed. I glared at him.
Malina emerged from the clearing behind us, ducking under a low branch, and slowed her horse to a trot.
“Get off the horse, Kya,” Nikan demanded as he removed his sword from its holster on his back.
“Fuck you,” I spat through gritted teeth. I was being irrational and I knew it, yet I couldn’t help it at the same time.
What in the After is wrong with me?
“Either get down or talk about whatever has you in such a pissy mood.” He crossed his arms over his chest and squared his shoulders.
I dismounted. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about anything. My breath shook as adrenaline coursed through my body. Nikan’s flicked his eyes to Malina behind me and he nodded his head once. I knew what they were planning. This was what we did with each other. Nikan understood that I needed an outlet for my pent-up frustration and was willing to take the brunt of it.
Malina threw something at me and I caught it before bending down to remove my boots. Stepping my bare feet into the grass toward Nikan, I tied the length of cloth Malina had tossed to me around my eyes and removed each of my daggers from my thighs. I took a deep breath and concentrated on the vibrationsthrough the terra. Through the combination of listening and my terbis, I could detect exactly where they were and their movements—even before they made them, feeling their muscles tensing just before they moved. The blindfold forced me to narrow my focus.
I felt Nikan shift his weight before lunging for me. I side stepped and jutted my dagger out to catch his torso but he blocked, throwing up a rock at the last second. He countered, kicking a stream of dirt through the air straight at me. I jumped then dive-rolled out of the way, bringing my daggers up crossed above my head to catch the blow of his sword.
I pushed him off, feeling Malina coming up behind me, and spun to throw one of my daggers, which she deflected with her own. I could feel her pushing energy outwards and was thankful for the blindfold knowing that she was wielding her light—more for her own practice than for me—to blind her attacker as she came through it.
Nikan had thrown up a rock dome to shield himself from the light. I took the opportunity to sheathe my dagger and quickly drew an arrow, aiming right for her. I released it, and spun to run at Nikan’s dome, hoping for the element of surprise when he deconstructed it.
I felt Malina behind me strike the arrow from the air, hearing the crack of the wood as it snapped in half.
“Wrong tip!” she yelled.
