Faylinn.
One gaze down at the woman in my arms told me that itwasher. And, for some reason, she sought me out. After the run-in tonight and my caustic attitude toward her all these months,shecame tome.
I couldn’t help my reaction if my life depended on it. My arms instantly swirled around her, pulling her tight against my chest.
She let out a little “oh!” as I drew her in closer, pressing my face into her hair in the same movement.
“Faylinn,” I growled.
“Uh, yeah. That’s me,” she mumbled into my chest with a pat against my arm.
The clearing of a throat pulled me from my uncharacteristic show of affection, my brain finally registering that my door was still open and there was a Mage standing a few feet away, watching the entire interaction.
Without releasing Faylinn, I pinned a cold gaze on the Mage.
“Speak of this to no one,” I commanded, and watched as Wache dipped his head in assent.
“Yes, of course, General. Of course. I’ll just . . . I’ll just go back to my post.” He thumbed sheepishly over his shoulder with a nod.
“You do that,” I called to him. “Oh, and Wache?” He turned to face me. “Please make sure there are no more . . . disturbances tonight.”
Wache’s cheeks resembled the sunrise over the eastern part of Vespera. He stuttered something before turning his back to stand vigilant outside my door again.
Let him think what he wants. He wouldn’t talk, I was sure of it. While he may have been incompetent at keeping Faylinn from my rooms, I knew the woman in question possessed a unique form of wiles and, inevitably, she would have found a way into my rooms regardless.
I shut the door with my foot, arms still holding Faylinn to me, with a resoundingbang.
“I was just coming to find you,” I said, and felt Faylinn stiffen against my chest. “To apologize. For almost killing you. And other things.”
Faylinn pushed against my chest, and I reluctantly let her go. She took a giant step away from me,
“That’s interesting, because I was just coming to apologize to you.”
I blanched, but Faylinn ignored my expression. Her hands twisted together, and her eyes closed as she took a deep breath.
“I owe you an apology for what occurred before and after forcing the Life Bond on Ben,” she said, her voice steady but subdued, her eyes now unwaveringly focused on mine. “It was not my intention to do something that made you so uncomfortable, especially after everything that you admitted to me just hours previous.”
I remembered that moment well—Faylinn was only the second person I’d ever opened up to regarding my convictions about Bonds.
“It wasn’t meant as a betrayal. I simply didn’t think, just acted. I . . . knowledge excites me. Especially whenit’s something that’s been hidden for centuries. And, when I discovered the Life Bond mark and found a way to save my . . . friend, it was like nothing else mattered. I didn’t think of the repercussions or ramifications. Which, in hindsight, I should have,” she whispered with a shrug. Her knuckles were white as she continually twisted her fingers together.
“It, uhm, I’m not sure if I should be telling you this, but I’m going to trust you like I did before . . . well, everything.” She laughed self-deprecatingly before muttering her confession. “These Life Bonds. They’ve gottenwayout of hand. Turned into something that is a twisted and deformed version of Ben’s Bond. They don’t feel right. Performing the marks? It makes me sick to my stomach—completely drains me. I feel weak after just one Bond, even though there’s no advanced Mage Sickness that I can detect in any of the Mages.”
Silence hung between us at her confession, and I nearly physically recoiled in shock over both her apology and her admission.
I’d had my suspicions about the Life Bonds, but being sequestered in Hestin for the last six months, I couldn’t do my own investigation. It was also something I couldn’t ask Lex to do, though I needed to ask him if he’s noticed anything off about the newly Bonded pairs.
Especially after Faylinn’s observations.
“I have a whole journal”—Faylinn reached into her belt—“with all of my observations and thoughts. They’re different, I know they are, I just can’t figure outwhy. I mean, I have guesses, but nothing concrete. I think I need to visit the Academy library, but I’m not even sure where it is. And I wouldn’t even know where to start once I got there.”
I stared at her as she rambled, her eyes unfocused, a small crease in her brow as she tried to solve the puzzle only she couldsee. It was refreshing to see her like this again, like I could finally take a full breath.
I was right. It was such a relief to know that my initial thoughts and feelings for Faylinn were correct—she just wanted to help people, however that happened. There was no malicious intent, no thought for personal gain. Only concern for those she treated and, apparently, concern for my thoughts and feelings.
A warmth grew in my chest as I stared at her lips as they moved to form words that I couldn’t hear.
“. . . and I would like to access some of the records in the Academy, see if there’s anything recorded about the effects I’m seeing. And dig into some of the annals as well . . .” Faylinn trailed off as she noticed my intense gaze. I took a purposeful stride toward her, intending to take her beautiful, intelligent head in my hands and kiss the words right off her lips.
