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“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “I’m thinking.”

“About?”

“Do you want that? To be mate bonded to me again?”

“Of course I do.” She turned to look him in the face. But then it occurred to her that maybe his hesitation was that he didn’t want to be bound to her. Her cheeks flushed. “Um, it’s alright if you don’t. I would understand.” As they both well knew, they hadn’t chosen that the first time. To be mate bonded through magic was the highest form of loyalty and commitment. It was a literal death sentence to be with someone else, and since their life force was tied to the other, it also meant they lived and died as one.

He brushed his fingers through her hair. His soft touch sent a tingle through her. “I can hardly stand not being bonded to you. It’s making me feel physically ill. But I don’t want your life tied to mine like that again unless that’s what you truly want. You have a choice now. I never wanted to take that from you. I’ve never wanted to force you into anything. I want you to choose me and even though you said you wanted to marry me, it was still me or turning into a pale one. That’s not much of a choice.”

“Varlett gave me the opportunity to break our mate bond with the necklace at her cottage. I chose you then. I chose you at that very moment.” She swallowed hard. “It’s even more cruel she took it away from us because of that.”

“The spell is at the castle. We’ll get it.”

“She said only the Black Mage could create a mate bond in us again because that spell can’t be reused.”

“It’s just a way for her to manipulate you.”

“That was my exact thought except… She helped the Black Mage create the spell, and she knew about Novak dying because of the loyalty clause in the bond.” Layala sighed. “What if she’s not lying?”

Thane wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her closer to him. “Let’s not worry about that right now. We’re together and you’re safe and that’s what matters most.”

“I say we find the All Seeing Stone and ask, along with everything else we need to know.”

“I like this plan, my dear betrothed.”

She was a little sad he couldn’t call her wife yet. That too had been stolen away from them by Tenebris. One person seemed to ruin everything. She glanced down at the ring Thane gave her, poking through the bandages. The purple jewel and silver band needed washing to sparkle again, like her. With a war against Thane’s father and the task of finding the All Seeing Stone, a wedding and a mate bond would have to wait.

* * *

Throughout the night,a steady drizzle breached the canopy of branches and leaves above. It was a warm rain, and the forest air felt heavy, damp. Thane offered his cloak, but she liked the feel of nature’s bath against her skin, rinsing away the dirt. Horse hooves splashed through creeks and padded over soft ground. The Ravens were eerily quiet in their travel. The toads and crickets made more noise. They rode for hours until morning birds began to sing, and first light peeked through the darkness. When they came to the edge of the forest, the sun pushed through rain clouds, to reveal waving fields of amber and blossoming pink crabapple trees. The wind carried a line of flowers around them on an airstream. Intermingled with them was a six pack of silver and purple pixies laughing and playing with the sweet-smelling blooms. It felt like a good omen from the Maker. A long, dark night to bring a gloriously warm day. She was finally free and reunited with Thane.

Thane held up a fist and the group came to a stop. Layala glanced around for signs of Tenebris or his army, but no threat was on the horizon. Thane twisted to speak to the group. “We will head west and ride along the lake towns. It will take longer than the main road but it’s the best way to avoid my father’s army. He’ll no doubt send trackers, but we’ll deal with them if they catch up.” He tugged the reins to the left and started them down a narrow dirt path. He said quietly to Layala, “And while we are in these towns, we can find out more about who might have the stone.”

“You think whoever took it will have told anyone?”

“The funny thing about someone who gets an item like that, is they’ll want to brag about it. Maybe even sell it. I mean, you read that note. ‘I got it first.’ That was practically a point-and-laugh moment. They’ll have told someone. I have a friend in the next town who deals in rare items, artifacts, and underground information. If anyone has heard, it’s him.”

“You? Your highness.” She turned to look at him. “Slumming with the underground crowd? I’m surprised.”

He smiled. “The majority of the elves in Palenor have never seen me. They don’t know what I look like. It’s easy to slip amongst them unnoticed. My friend Kail knows who I am but most in his tavern don’t.”

“A tavern? Maybe I can get rip-roaring drunk and give you a little lap dance.”

Aunt Evalyn gave her a disgusted scowl, and Layala lightly chewed on her lower lip. It was going to take some time for her aunt to get used to her relationship with Thane, wasn’t it?

Tif stuck her head out of the bag for the first time all night. “Oh, can I too? Get rip-roaring drunk that is, not the lap dance. Although, I mean, I could…” With a cocked eyebrow, Thane looked down at her. Layala couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Tif cleared her throat. “Or not. That’s inappropriate for a number of reasons.” She giggled and wiped her sweaty brow. “Don’t take much for me to get tipsy. A couple thimbles and I’ll honor you with my yodeling instead of dancing, High King.”

He took in a long breath. “Please don’t make my life harder than it already is. Either of you.”

Chapter14

When they crested a hill, they overlooked a small lake town. One road led in between two rows of colorful homes and businesses. There might have been fifty structures. Some of the buildings were light blue, or yellow, others, various shades of pink. She found it a little odd, having never seen the style of bright colors like this before, but it was unique. At the edge of town, a white lighthouse stood on the sandy beach of the lake. A few white sailboats were docked, and a sign at the bottom of the hill read: Braxentown.

“This is a cute little place,” Layala said.

“Don’t let it fool you.”

“What does that mean?”