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“Do you remember when we ran from the ball and you hid us in the human club?” Tegan said softly as she felt his warm breath against her neck. “You slept on my shoulder, your head as it is now, you felt safe with me then.”
“I remember I had just killed seven Akrhyn,” Cord mumbled quietly.
“And saved so many others,” Tegan said as she moved, freeing her arms. Cautiously, she slid her hands slowly up his arms before clasping them lightly behind Cord’s neck. “Youtrustme, Castor. I think you may actually like me too,” she taunted lightly. “And if we arethisbecause of a bond, so be it. I think we were always bound to be together, the bond may just be a jump start.”
“You’ve said something similar before,” Cord reminded her as he drew his head back and looked at her.
“Which proves you do not listen to me,” Tegan said with a smile.
“I am forgiven?” he asked her as his eyes roamed over her face. She was so breathtakingly beautiful.
“Forgiven? I may need persuading. Do I understand? I think so.”
Cord kissed her gently, his lips warm and soft, and Tegan’s hands tightened slightly around his neck as she returned his kiss. She felt the binding more this time. The first time, she had been overwhelmed in the moment; this time, she was more comfortable and prepared for his kiss. The bond warmed her chest, and she felt the connection to him. It was not scary, it was exhilarating, and as Cord deepened the kiss, tilting her head slightly to suit him better, she felt the binding tighten more until it settled and seemed to pulse gently in rhythm with her heart. Cord continued to kiss her, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his body, and she let him. Her hands were tangled in his too-long hair, and she wanted to be closer to him.
Mutually they broke apart, with Cord placing delicate kisses along her jaw before he looked down at her and smiled. “It’s complete,” he whispered.
“It is.” Tegan smiled. “I can feel you,” she said as her eyes widened in wonder. “Cord, I canfeelyou.”
Cord rubbed his chest and gave a light laugh. “And I can feel your joy at that,” he said as he frowned with curiosity. “I did not know it would be like this.”
“It’s amazing,” Tegan said as she traced her fingers over her heart. “Do you think it will work when we are apart?”
“I think it will, I think that is probably the point, to be able to keep the connection at all times.”
“You won’t need to worry about me,” Tegan declared with a brilliant smile.
Cord laughed as he stepped out of her reach, marvelling as she did over their bond. “And do you not worry about me, little tiger?”
“I do,” Tegan admitted as she lost her smile. “I worry you are too conceited to think you can be hurt.”
Cord laughed loudly in the empty room, her frank honesty so refreshing. “I do not think I cannot be harmed, but this”—he pointed to Tegan’s chest and his own—“this will help us both.” Cord extended his hand to Tegan. “Come, little tiger, I’ll walk you to your room. You should be asleep, and I have to prepare to question my stepfather in the morning,” he said, losing his smile.
Tegan took his hand and watched as he deftly intertwined their fingers. Hand in hand, they left the training room. “You are apprehensive?” she asked as they walked along the hall slowly.
“I think I am,” Cord confided tiredly. “My distaste for the male is well-known, and I am anxious that my dislike for him makes me careless.”
“The Mark will guide you?” Tegan queried gravely.
“Another concern,” Cord confessed. “It grows, it colours, it pulsates whenHeis trying to talk to me.” Cord’s free hand fingered his dagger at his side. “There are times when I am not sure who is acting, me or the Mark.”
“You lose control?” Tegan asked worriedly.
“Not yet, but the climb to get to Leonid, the pain.” He cut off as he looked away from her. “I think had it not been on my back, I would not have endured. I worry I would not have even found him without it.” Cord grimaced as he looked at her. “Who am I without it?”
Tegan tugged his hand and turned the Castor to face her. “You are Cord Lebedev,” she said fiercely. “You were gifted before that Mark ever made its first stroke on your back. Your power, your Flare, isyours. The Mark is you, but you are more thanit.”
Cord felt the Mark heat on his back and chose not to correct his fierce mate. “I am sure you are right,” he said instead as he dropped a kiss on her lips. “Come, bed for you. I need to see Sloane before tomorrow.”
“He will be sleeping.”
Cord shook his head in disagreement. “He just became the Elder of his House with Cornelius’s incarceration. I think sleep is beyond my brother for many more nights to come.”
“He hasn’t passed his final Trial,” Tegan said with concern. “He can be challenged, can he not?”
“He could.” Cord nodded as they reached her door. “But lucky for him, there is a war coming with the Drakhyn, and not forgetting, I am his brother.” He gave her the cocky smirk she was used to, and Tegan rolled her eyes at his arrogance. “Go to sleep,” he told her with a soft smile. Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss on her lips once more. “Michael is waiting for you inside,” he said as he drew back.
“You will be careful?” Tegan said as she reached for her door handle.
