AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve heard it’s similar to the way your shifters have mates in the mortal realm. But true mates transcend everything. Time, realms, races. As long as one half of the mated couple is Fae. They used to be common back when the portals remained open—that’s how most halflings came about—but no one has seen a pair since they closed.”
“How do you know when you have a true mate?” I avoided eye contact with absolutely everyone, especially the surly man next to me, who not that long ago had his face buried between my thighs as he ate me out all night under the Mating Moon. I was definitely not going to look at him.
Finn gave me a knowing smile, his cerulean eyes glinting in the dim lighting of the cavern we stood in. “Fae are a spiritual people, deeply ingrained in the magic of our traditions that flow through our reality. It’s different for every couple. I personally have never met one. The legends are all different. Sometimes it’s an instant bond, sometimes a dream, sometimes a friendship that blossomed into a true bond. No one really knows, but the running theme in all the stories is one thing—you’ll know it when you know it. True mates are bonded from the very depths of their souls, in mind and body.”
Of course.Cryptic like everything else in my life. I don’t know why I was so disappointed by his answer. Okay, yes, maybe I had a . . . thing for Callan. Not even a thing. Just a very small, miniscule, super-duper tiny, unimportant crush. And probably only because of the feel of the touch of his tongue on my—never mind. Either way, he already had a mate, so there was no way he could be mine, true mates or not. There was someone out there for me, maybe, but it wasn’t Callan.
When I first got to the pack and learned about mates, I’d thought it was the most outrageous idea I’d ever heard. Immediately bonding with someone who you didn’t even know and being told you were just supposed to be in love now? But that was before I saw the way they lived, living life on the edge with open hearts, full of life and love. It made being part of something like that seem a lot more bearable.
It’s easy to judge when you’re always on the outside.
I swallowed hard, pushing all heated thoughts out of my head as I forced myself back to the conversation. Luckily, Oliver seemed over the true mates talk, and I briefly wondered if he’d ever found his own before the portals closed. He had silver hair, which made him an air royal just like Finn. If he and I had been politically matched up, maybe Oliver had too.
“Thank you for heeding my call and sheltering us,” Oliver said, effectively changing the subject as he got back to our task at hand. “We need your help. The Queen sent a pack of shadow beasts after us last night. Two of our pagu abandoned the mission, which leaves us on foot from here. Getting to the Primoris Temple unnoticed was already going to be a challenge by flight, but getting through the city on foot . . .” He didn’t say it, but he didn’t have to. We wouldn’t make it through.
“The second you told me . . . Rowan was with you, I would have done anything you asked,” he said, a gentleness in his eyes as he looked at me. I didn’t know how I felt about him yet, but I appreciated his willingness to use my name. “We never got married, but man, were you my best friend. Right up until the very end. I’d like my friend back.” He shook his memories off, turning to Oliver determinedly. “I know these tunnels like the back of my hand. I will get you to where you need to go. You can rest with the refugees tonight, and then we’ll set off first thing in the morning.”
“Refugees?” Nia asked. It was the first time she’d even seemed interested in the conversation we’d been having. Something told me she could not care less about mates, not when she had the fate of a whole society resting on her shoulders as their commander. I didn’t think I could ever carry that kind of responsibility.
He gestured toward a branch of the tunnel, motioning for the group to follow him through the narrow passageway. As we walked, he said, “Since Casimir took over, the realm has been in disarray. There are very few towns still able to withstand his rule. I challenged him the night you left, Rowan, but I lost. He kept my arm, but I’m lucky I escaped with my life after what we did to the Queen. He nodded toward Nia, whose lips tightened into a grim line. I heard your dad wasn’t so lucky. My condolences. Niko was a good man.”
“Thank you,” she said politely, eyes trained straight ahead.
“When I lost the challenge, my family disowned me.” His face was weary, the hurt from that banishment still striking a chord in him even after all these years. “After wandering from town to town and not being able to help anyone, I decided to do something about it. Some people run, instead of subjecting their children to the weight of his cruelty. We created hidden towns on the outskirts of the realm that we’re able to funnel people to. But it’s very secretive, and we run it through underground tunnels a group of earth royals helped me make. Took at least seventy-five years.”
“Youmadethem?” I asked incredulously, thoroughly impressed. This guy had wanted to help so much, he’d blasted tunnels underground for longer than most mortals were even alive.
He beamed at me as we rounded another branch that opened up into a much larger room, this one furnished with everything someone would need to spend the night. The tall, arching ceiling of the cave gave the room the semblance of space, and few people milled about. There were three additional branches to this one, each with a sign leading towards a different name of a town. Nia looked out around the room in awe. “This is incredible. We had no idea you were running this type of operation.”
“Then that means we’re doing something right,” he rocked back on his heels, pride blooming on his face. He turned to the group, his expression serious. “I can get you right to the temple. You’d only have to cover maybe two miles once you exit the tunnel to get there, but once you’re inside, no one can touch you. Not even Casimir can break into the Prim Temple, guarded by ancestral magic. Not until you exit.”
“That sounds easy enough,” I blurted. It sounded like nothing more than a long hike and I’d be free to get my memories back.
“By now she has to know where we’re headed,” Nia mused, a grim expression on her face. Her battle-trained mind was already working out all the ways this could go sideways.
“Then we fight our way through.” Fierce determination was etched into Callan’s face, into the rigid set of his body. It warmed my heart to know he cared enough to go on this journey with me when he could have just as easily not. This was my fight; it didn’t have to be anyone else’s. “You can’t get us any closer?”
“I will get you as close as I possibly can, but I can only take you so far. There’s a high likelihood we’re intercepted, and I need to ensure my tunnel systems are not discovered. I’m helping you, but my first priority will always be to my people.”
He walked us over to a corner of the room where a few makeshift tents stood, seemingly unoccupied. “You guys look terrible. Rest up for the night, truly rest, and I’ll be back in the morning.” He stared at us as we all looked around warily, none of us willing to relax. “You’re safe here. That cloud you passed through? I created it using an enchanted object. It will sear the skin from the bones of anyone who dares enter with ill intent.”
“An enchanted object?” Nia asked sharply. She’d said what we were all thinking.Could it be the ring?
“It’s not the ring, if that’s what you’re getting at. Rowan took that with her when she left.” His tone was more accusatory than I was comfortable with, but he had a point. I was the idiot who had taken it and then forgotten where I’d put it. “I’ve made it a sort of passion of mine, tracking down enchanted artifacts, but I’ve never been able to locate that one.”
“Will you tell me the story of what happened? Maybe it would help me jog my memories.” Having Finn with us was a silver lining I hadn’t expected. He was there when I’d cursed the Queen, and if we’d really been best friends, he’d be able to fill me in on a lot of my former life’s blanks. I’d take advantage of the days we had to travel and pick his brain as much as possible.
He nodded, before he turned and walked back toward the entrance of the cave. I didn’t know where he lived, but it didn’t seem like he slept down here with the other refugees. “I can’t wait,” he called over his shoulder as he went.
“Is Aura going to be alright?” I asked Nia as we got settled around the sparse campsite.
“She’ll be fine,” the blue-haired girl replied as she peeked inside the tent, nodding with satisfaction that it was up to her standards. “I sent her home.”
“You what?”
“She wouldn’t be able to follow us down here, and I’d worry leaving her alone so long if she was to trail us from the sky, above enemy territory. It is better that she return home and check on things, and on her way back she will see if she can find Varus and Lithia.”
“What will happen to them?” It was incredibly shitty that they would leave us in the middle of battle like that, when our lives were on the line, but since they were a bonded pair and Lithia was injured . . . I didn’t really blame Varus for making that choice. I’d probably make the same one myself. I only hoped that they were okay, but I kept my opinions to myself.
