Because he knew right away.
Although, I suspected his was earth source related.
Elemental Fae were fucking complicated.
“If they know about our mating link, then they know I’m an abomination,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “They’re never going to let me back, are they?”
I immediately pulled her into my arms, needing to soothe her. She’d been so strong, fighting every step of the way, but the helplessness always weighed on her. I saw it peek at me whenever she second-guessed herself. Yet she always pushed it back.
Until now.
“Shh,” I hushed, leading her to the couch to sit.
She didn’t even try to stop me, her breaths coming in short bursts as the weight of everything seemed to crush her at once. “They shouldn’t take me back,” she admitted on an exhale, her shoulders trembling. “I’m… I’m…”
“One of the strongest females I’ve ever met,” I told her as I pulled her into my lap to hold her.
That she didn’t even object told me everything I needed to know about her current frame of mind.
She’d given up.
Just for a moment.
But that moment broke my heart.
I pressed my lips to her forehead and drew my fingers through her hair.
“Actually, I think you might be the strongest female I’ve ever met,” I corrected, smiling to myself. “It’s what drew me to you initially. That, and your altruistic nature. You put the safety of your people before your own needs and desires, just as a royal should. I admire you for it.”
She said nothing for so long that I thought perhaps I’d lost her to the sadness, only her eyes were shimmering with unshedtears when she pulled back to look up at me. Aflora hadn’t truly broken, just been on the verge of it.
“It’s my duty to protect them,” she replied softly. “To do otherwise is to fail. It’s why I need to talk to Sol, to officially relinquish my power. Because I can’t be trusted as an abomination, something I imagine you confirmed with him, Exos, and Cyrus, yes?”
I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then drew my fingertips down her neck. “Not exactly.”
“But they know we’ve exchanged a mating promise to each other.”
That must have been her definition for the third level. Seemed appropriate. “Yes. They know I’m your intended mate, and they’re aware of the complications involved with such a vow. Particularly as it’s well known that Shade has also claimed you and that I’m betrothed to another Midnight Fae.”
Her delectable mouth twisted to the side, the tears glimmering in her gaze slowly subsiding to an intelligent gleam that told me she was considering every angle of the puzzle before us. “This is why I need to break our bonds. It’s one thing to sacrifice myself. Entirely another to take you all down with me.”
I slid my palm to her nape, my thumb dancing along the pulse point at her neck. “Maybe I want to go down with you, Aflora.”Or on you, I added in my mind, my lips curling at the thought.
She snorted. “You accused me of tricking you into our mating, Kolstov. I know you don’t really want this.”
“Then why did we connect?” I countered. “From what I understand of Elemental Fae bonds, they require mutual agreement.” Very unlike Midnight Fae connections.
“We connected because we’re compatible,” she said matter-of-factly. “We’re both royals of very strong lineages, and we got carried away.”
“We did,” I agreed. “Because I knew from the moment I met you that you were a worthy female of mating potential. I tried to fight it, but I was too weak to resist you. And while the connection shocked me, thus causing me to act like a fucking idiot afterward, I don’t regret it. Which is why I won’t allow you to remove it.”
I pressed my lips to hers, silencing whatever argument brewed inside her thoughts. Because I meant it. I refused to let her break this bond.
Would it make things easier for us all? Maybe.
Would it save me from certain punishment? Absolutely.
But somehow I just knew we’d end up right back here, with my soul tied to hers and a whole hell of a lot of bad blood between us as a result.
