CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Threads can be strengthened, or even created, through bonded magic.
—Bonded Magic, 18thlevel, Living Library.
Fractured, coral light smeared in streaks across the rough cave wall as dawn broke. I glanced around the softly illuminated cave, eyeing the vines of blue flowers that ran along the stone walls. I didn’t remember seeing them last night, though perhaps this was Bayne’s new power manifesting in its own way.
I ran my fingers over Bayne’s chest as it rose and fell. His features were still a mask of deep sleep. I traced the whorls of black ink that covered his chest, hiding the eight-pointed star that marked him as a Bellator.
After sailing to Lotrennia, I’d realized quickly the center of his inked sun was the coastline of his home. And spinning out from its center, ferns and vines unfurled wildly, looking so much like the rays of the brilliant power he harnessed. The power of the sun itself.Soleia.
He stirred under my touch, grumbling sleepily. I nipped his chin in reply, his long stubble scratching against my teeth. His brilliant eyes fluttered open as he ran his fingers along my cheek. He leaned in, taking my mouth in his and planting a luxurious, sleepy kiss on me.
I melted into him, savoring the warm hardness of his smooth body and wrapping my arms around his perfect form. He pulled away, his lips tilting up in a grin of true contentment.
“I have something for you,” he said, sudden eagerness pulsing through the connection.
Pink rushed to my cheeks as he pulled out a rough gray rock, the size of my palm, wrapped in a bow of green ribbon.
I tugged the ribbon loose, and the rough rock fell open to reveal an orange and white crystal center. Inside the geode sat a folded piece of white silk. I flipped the folds over and plucked up the amber oval resting in its center.
My thumb smoothed over the hard, translucent resin, carved into an oval that connected to a thin, braided chain.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, marveling at the amber glowing in the dimness of dawn.
“Open it,” he murmured into my ear.
I flickered my eyes to his as my fingers slipped along the edge of the pendant, finding a barely perceptible clasp. I flipped it open, and the oval split, revealing flat, tightly curling spirals of what looked to be some type of shell. Fossilized remains of a creature, I realized. I marveled at the fossil that looked so much like the ferns draping the land of Lotrennia.
“We call them tendrilytes. No one has ever seen one living, but they’re all over Lotrennia, if you know where to dig for them.” The corner of his mouth tilted up as he threw me a wink.
Warmth flooded my chest as the thoughtfulness hit me. The remains inside, a little bit of me, and the likeness of the ferns, alittle bit of him. I blinked away a small drop of liquid forming in the corner of my eye.
“It’s an amplifier,” Bayne said softly.
I raised my eyes to him in question. All of the amplifiers, even the Bones of the Bellators, were destroyed when used properly.
“You won’t destroy it,” he said with an air of confidence. “I promise.”
My lips parted, the question already forming, and he shook his head.
“Trust me.”
And I did. I closed the pendant and held it against my chest. “Thank you,” I whispered as he pulled it over my head. The amber glowed against my olive skin in the early morning light.
We sat there for a few minutes before I finally took a deep breath and divulged the maelstrom of shit that had unfolded during his absence. Bayne, Aelius bless him, met it with calm confidence. Even when I confessed to the bargain with the queen, despite the alarm that soared down our connection, he simply ran his rough hands down my arm, squeezing me closer.
“Nis was right in that this was dangerous. But I agree, you didn’t have much of a choice,” he murmured. “Even if Vander had killed her,hisdeath sentence would have meant the Rising’s…”
Relief swelled in my chest at his understanding. He shifted, so he faced me. “And Antares… We’ll find a way to deal with her.”
“Your turn,” I murmured against his lips. “What did you see at the Waters of Ascendiel? Or is it a secret?” I teased.
He kissed me slowly, as if not wanting to rush this quiet, rare time we had together, before we returned to Ayla, where the weight of our burdens awaited.
He pulled away, smoothing a strand of loose hair away from my face. His face tightened, his brows narrowing slightly, as if in deliberation.
“I saw a vision of a battle, here in Lotrennia.” His eyes drifted to my forehead briefly as he paused.
