AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It would allow us to see through her eyes. Speak to each other’s minds. The bond was a tether of sorts. Connecting one to soul to another. We’d always know where she was. There would be a permanent pull if she weren’t with us. We’d feel her pain. Sense if she were in danger.
It made sense.
“Can’t you see how lucky we are?” I said, and Kade narrowed his eyes at me, but my brother knew me—he knew I said nothing unless I had a damned good reason to.
And I did. I had considered every possible outcome before ever having suggested it. I had little—if any—experience where the Immortal Bond was concerned, or even a care to learn more about it. It wasn’t something I’d ever truly considered doing.
But that research included what could be done if Liana turned us down. The others may not have done it, but I would’ve bound myself to her, anyway.
“What do you mean?” Alaric asked, shoving away a disgruntled Kade.
I racked my brain to remember all the details. I’d read about a similar situation. Where a female had bonded herself to a male she loved, but he hadn’t returned the sentiment. The bond went only one way. It was incomplete. Within the tattered scroll contained her testimony, written into ballad.
The gist of it was that visions of her unrequited love plagued her every time she closed her eyes to sleep. And how she longed for the day he’d die so she would feel it, as she’d felt his pain before, and know her nightmare had ended.
That’s it.
“You had better start explaining,” Kade growled, his fists clenched—flames licking over his knuckles and up his forearms.
I smiled. I felt lighter than I had in what felt like an age. “He will know if she dies. He will feel it if she’s hurt.”
“But the bond—it’s incomplete,” Tiernan argued.
I shook my head at him. “It doesn’t matter. He’s tied himself to her. Whether she knows it or had reciprocated it. It can’t be undone.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Alaric barked, “I already knew I’d feel it if she died. Bond or not.”
“It’s more than that, Alaric. What you did can help us find her—save her. But first, you need to go to sleep.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Liana
The minutes have blended into hours. I’ve lost track of them in the dark. I had no way of knowing how much time was passing or if it was passing at all. It could have been hours, or it could have been days. I wasn’t sure. Had I slept? I couldn’t remember.
I spent all that time fighting against the bindstone walls surrounding me. Gently coaxing my Graces one at a time. Over and over and over again. Each time I seemed to be able to draw a little more power than before. It was working. I was building a tolerance to the bindstone, just as I’d built a tolerance to verbane all those years ago.
But each time it got harder. I became weaker. Exhausted.
Still, I couldn’t conjure the full power of my known Graces. But a small flame or a sharp shard of ice could be all I needed. I just had to wait for the right moment.
The clomping of wide soled boots preceded the sound of the lock in the door. A male stood there, and I hurried to adjust my sight to the onslaught of light. His wings shrouded me from the brunt of it. He set a metal tray on the floor and shoved it to me with his boot. More water, and what I assumed was a wrapped piece of cheese. So, it had been a full day. I couldn’t see them feeding us more than was necessary.
He stood there, his dark blue eyes alight with amusement. I knew in an instant—he was the one who’d taken me. Likely also the one responsible for nearly drowning Finn. The one who had tried to capture me before.
The Draconian beamed with pride at his prize. “Valin told me to tell you, you should make peace with the gods. The king will be back soon.”
My jaw clenched. I wondered how soon, exactly. How many more days would I spend in darkness before meeting my end? Could I take the kind gown with me?
I needed Finn. He was the one with all the good ideas. If he was here, he’d know what to do.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?” I hissed at the male, my skin bristling at the touch of his gaze.
His brows raised, “Feisty,” he said in approval, then sighed, seeming to consider something, “Such a waste.” He pursed his thin lips, moving a bit closer. Further into the cell.
I swallowed, recognizing the look in his eyes and not liking it one bit. I drew on my Graces. Shoving down the fear in favor of anger and fire.
He clasped his hands at his front, gazing down at me. His eyes roved over my curves, lingering around my breasts. “To destroy such beauty before the flower has even been plucked.”
