Page 53 of Tell Them That I’m Coming

On their own… but what someone else can have a bond? What if someone else is their fated mate? Suddenly, I understand why the price for demons is so high. If a loveless fae can convince a demon to bond with them, if they can finalize a claim, then they would feel it.

Right?

I don’t ask. I don’t get the chance. Not when Thane is still trying to explain⁠—

“She built this realm to prove she didn’t need love,” Thane goes on. “And then made sure no one else here ever could, either. Because few of the fae in Noctavara in this age left Faerie with her. Instead, we were born here, and the only way to survive her wrath and her reign is by pledging loyalty no matter how much we’d rather see her toppled from the Gilded Throne.”

The Gilded Throne…

I lick my lips, suddenly nervous now that we’re back to that. “And the prophecy?”

“It was a visiting seer who wasn’t afraid of the queen, though she should’ve been. She saw Celeste’s future, saw that an outsider made of flesh and shadow, someone forbidden to this world… they would arrive, heralded by crowned wings. And when this outsider… and the seers swore it was a female she show… when she arrived, the Gilded Throne wouldn’t survive.”

“That’s why,” I murmur. “That’s why the guards came for me. Half flesh, half shadow… that’s me.” I lift my fingers, gesturing over my head. There aren’t any monarch butterflies hovering nearby, but there have been too many to ignore. “Crowned wings. The butterflies. That’s why she thinks I’m the outsider in the prophecy. Somehow she found out⁠—”

“Seers,” Thane confirms. “She had the one who saw the prophecy executed, but she’s kept countless more since.”

Great. So she definitely knows I’m coming.

“That’s why she’s using her magic to keep me here. It’s close enough to mine to control it,” I say, musing out loud.

“She’ll do anything to keep her throne. If you’re the one who is destined to take it from her, she’ll stop you before you can try.”

My stomach ties itself into a knot. “I don’t want her crown, Thane! I just want to rescue Rafe!”

His expression closes over again at the mention of my friend.

“There’s another reason she wants you,” he adds. “And why the slavers would bring Rafe to the Gilded Court to fetch the highest price from the nobles.”

Deep down, I already know the answer. Still, I demand: “Say it.”

“Because demons still bond, and she can’t stop that. Neither can the curse. It’s a loophole, and proof that Fate will still has it’s say in Noctavara. Of course, the nobles twist that, too. A little glamour, a little charm… and the demons will bond to any fae that buys them.”

Anger flares hot in my chest. For the first time in days, my shadows surge around my feet. “So the slavers steal us.”

“Yes.”

“All so they can have something that should be given freely. Bonds are… they’re⁠—”

“I don’t know what it’s like to feel a bond,” Thane admits. “Wouldn’t recognize it if I could, and have spent my whole existence avoiding love when it would only end in tragedy. I don’t think the fae can love in this realm. That’s the point of the curse, Alana. To make you stop looking for something you’re never allowed to have.”

The underlying sorrow in his tone is like pouring water on a flame. It disappears with a whoosh and, suddenly, I’m staring at him. And, okay, I’m usually staring at him, but now I’m seeing him. I’m not looking at the fae bandit, the impressive swordsman, the charming thief… no. I’m paying attention to Thane Aurex, my mate.

The male who hid in trees so he could lookout for danger while I slept. The one who earned the trust of my soul-pet. The one who kissed me, then kissed me once again.

The one who has saved me countless times…

“I see,” I say quietly, because I do. “In that case, I know I’m not supposed to thank the fae, but I appreciate you telling me all this. To make it fair, I think there’s something you should know, too.”

He waits.

“I do have a fated mate,” I say. And then, in case it isn’t obvious, I give him a half-shrug. “It’s, um, you.”

The silence that follows makes it absolutely clear that it wasn’t obvious. Not to Thane. Not to a fae bandit who spent a hundred-and-fifty years believing he could never love… but then his lips quirks up, my heart jolts, and the bond between us gets that much stronger.

I only hope it’s enough.

CHAPTER 16