Tears prick my eyes, and Sera throws her arms around me, rubbing soothing circles on my back. “You’re okay. You’re all right. I promise.”
“But am I?” I squeak out.
She pulls back, smoothing my hair out of my face in an almost maternal way. “Raelyn, you are safe. I stopped him before he was able to truly harm you.”
I heave a shuddering breath. To lose my memory is one thing, but the unknown of what happened or could have happened haunts me, and I try to continue breathing deeply to calm myself. Sera pulls me back into her arms, and I wrap mine around her neck, letting the comforting familiarity bring me back to myself . . . WhatcanI last remember?
A glint of gold catches my eye, and I look at my forearm. What in the realms? Is that a—no, it can’t be.
I shriek, causing a heart-stoppingly handsome man to burst in through the door. “Raelyn! You’re awake!”
Awareness hits me that I’m in a light sleeping shift, so I scramble backward to hide under the covers from this man who acts like he knows me.
He freezes, a look of heartbreak in his eyes. “Sera?” he asks, turning toward her.
She shakes her head. “I’ll give you two a moment.”
When she turns to leave, I call out, “No, wait. Please don’t leave me alone in here.”
Her eyes look pained as she hesitates, her gaze flying between me and the handsome and somehow familiar stranger. “I promise you’re safe with him. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Okay,” I say meekly, pulling the covers up to my chin, hating that she is leaving me alone.
The dark-haired man comes and sits on the edge of the bed, and my heart starts thundering in my chest. “I won’t hurt you,” he says, like he’s trying to reassure a skittish animal.
“Who are you?” I blurt out.
He swallows, almost as if he’s debating what to tell me, which makes me feel even worse. “I’m Kian—your husband.”
He holds up his left forearm, and there’s a matching band of gold woven around it. Shit. I’m bound and I don’t even remember it. I want to curl up into a ball and cry.
“I don’t understand,” I whisper. “How much time have I lost?”
“You’ve been asleep for almost a week. We’ve been so worried.” He runs a hand through his unkempt hair, and I note the dark circles beneath his eyes. “What is the last thing you remember?” he asks cautiously.
When I try to dig through my memories, everything feels like a dense fog. I’m completely lost, and I have no idea what to do.
“I don’t know . . . Everything is so murky. I know my name . . . I recognize Sera . . . but—” I throw my hands up, dropping the blanket. “I just don’t know. It’s all a blur.”
Kian pinches his brow and sighs. “I’m so sorry, Rae. This never should have happened.”
“We’re really bound?” I ask, my eyes dropping to the matching band around my right forearm and the sparkling ring on my forefinger.
Kian scoots closer on the bed. “May I?” he asks, his hand hovering near mine.
I hesitate but nod, and he grasps my hand, a zing of energy racing through me at the contact.
“You know . . . this isn’t the first time you’ve forgotten me,” he says, his thumb gently rubbing my hand.
“What?”
He laughs, almost bitterly. “I’m starting to think the gods don’t want us together.”
I twist my arm, and the golden bond glimmers in the light. “Wouldn’t this suggest the opposite?” I ask.
“Sothatyou remember?” He smirks, and his smile makes something flutter in my stomach.
I suppose if I have to be bound, at least he’s not bad to look at.
