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He looks at me, his piercing green eyes ablaze with passion. “I love you, my magi. You may not understand it yet, but you will. Over time, you’ll come to realize you’re more precious than the very air I breathe, the earth I tread, the fire in my soul. You are everything to me, my Nadine, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life serving you.”
Exhausted, I drift off to sleep, feeling peace, because not only do I know my place in the magical world, but I have someone special to share it with.
Blane. The nature warden I was never meant to bond with loves me. And I love him.
And together, we’ll explore the world side by side.
Forever in love.
Never apart.
Epilogue
BLANE
Lying awake in bed, I think about all the ways the night could have gone differently.
There was no guarantee I was going to be paired with Nadine and even less of a possibility that she would accept me so willingly with her belief that I was meant for her friend.
Avery. The girl who loved me.
I can’t say I felt nothing for the girl. She’s pretty enough, with a wit that makes you think. I don’t regret the time I spent with her, because if you take away all the confusing feelings, we’d developed a friendship that I will continue to covet.
But there was never anything more to our relationship than friendship and the moments we’d shared practicing our crafts.
Shame needles me, because I knew she was destined for heartache, and I never said anything.
Few realized she wasn’t a good match for ether, but she resisted her true calling, going so far as to turn her nose up at the mavens when they insisted she practice the other elements. The only reason it went on for as long as it did, with her baffled at the Witching Tribunal, is that she wasn’t strong in magic to begin with.
Nadine was so full of potential she could have been anything.
I still remember seeing them for the first time. I’d just moved into their coven and I was angry because I didn’t feel like I had a place in the world. They were rushing down the stairs after a prank had gone wrong, causing one of the mavens to curse fiercely. They ran straight into me, which only soured my temper further.
But as soon as the maven caught up to them, I placed myself between her and them, hands clenched into fists. I didn’t understand why I felt the need to protect. That it was in my nature.
They didn’t escape punishment, and for my act, I was made to labor alongside them, tilling dirt to be used to plant herbs.
At first, I’d ignored them as I worked, but Avery’s chatter never ceased. Despite them being a few years younger than me, they were better conversationalists than the wardens, and thus, our friendship began.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized what our relationship could become. That being a warden wasn’t just friendship and warding.
You became their everything.
I was furious knowing that one day I’d never be allowed to take another to bed. That the person I’d eventually be tethered to was the only option I’d have for sex. At the time, I’d believed it was Avery, and I tried hard to see her as more than a friend.
But I had no such feelings for her.
Nadine was the quiet one of the two, and it had never occurred to me that it might be her I was meant for.
Her silver hair is tangled and matted to her forehead, which I like seeing because it reminds me of how it got that way. Even now, I want to take her again. To taste her essence.
I’ve heard countless bonded wardens talk about what it’s like to pair with their bonded magi, and it’s not something you can understand until you’re actually tethered.
Your feelings are no longer your own. You give and take, feeding on each other. You know without asking what the other likes because you feel it too.
You feel everything, from the quiver of their thighs to their release, which utterly destroyed Nadine’s dorm.
I’ve taken my share of women from the neighboring town as they welcome us with open arms for our strong bodies and masculine essence. But I’ve never experienced anything like this before.
