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I grab her face, turning it up to mine and squeeze her cheeks. “Do you still love him? I must know.”

“Love?” her brows furrow. “No, Angurus. It wasn’t like that.”

I lean close to her, spotting the small freckles that color across her cheeks. They’re faint but recognizable up close like this, sunspots left from working out in the hot sun all day.

“Then what is it? You did love him, didn’t you?”

She lets out a soft laugh that I can’t help but feel like it’s mocking me.

“No. Not at all. He was there for a time when I needed comfort. My parents were both killed in the mines and I couldn’t rely on my sister for that kind of comfort or support. So I needed someone else.”

I lean back slowly, letting go of her face.

I suppose that makes sense, her wanting to seek the pleasure in forgetting about one’s own tragedies in the arms of another. Though, it makes me feel uneasy that humans are fickle enough to have multiple lovers throughout their short lifespans.

Dark elves mate for life. I suppose dragons would, too, if we could afford to, but I’m not sure. They are too competitive down at the base of the mountain.

Commitment is a bond that is strong enough to withstand almost anything, and tearing two elves apart after they’ve declared their bond is nearly impossible and always results in the death of one of them.

I look Kelly over, taking in the muscles that shape her strong body. My fingers itch to touch her in every spot that my eyes land on. I want to feel the shivers that run up her spine and the gasps that come out of her lungs.

My hand finds the curve of her hip, my thumb running over the bone that protrudes from that spot. I want her to be mine for the rest of eternity.

“Kelly,” I speak finally.

“Yes?”

I look her deep in the eyes. “You are to have no other lovers for the rest of eternity.”

She gives me a strange look. Her head tilts to the side while I massage the spot at her hip.

“I know. I am your mate, but you should know I don’t live as long as you do. The most I’ll get is probably another fifty years or so. That’s only if I’m not working to death in the mines.”

The thought of her collapsing in some dirty mineshaft because a couple of oafish orcs decided to get greedy irks me. My lips peel back from my teeth, a growl ripping out of my mouth before I can stop it.

“You will live as long as I do.”

Surprisingly, she doesn’t shrink away from me. “How? Again. I’m human, not immortal.”

I don’t answer her. Instead, I grip the side of her hip tightly and move my thumb over her smooth skin. She lets out a startled gasp, her body jolting when I pour magic into her skin. Tendrils of it leak from my finger, creating a glow around where I touch her.

A small design, like that of a brand, forms on her skin. It glows beneath the surface, anchoring itself while I begin to tie our two life-forces together.

This kind of magic is dangerous if used in the wrong way. It can potentially saddle one to someone that they hate for the rest of eternity. It’s something I’ve seen very few dragons do – and on accident, like it’s instinctual – and it is only meant to bond themselves once they are sure that their partner is committed to forever.

I suppose that it is slightly irresponsible of me to be doing this, especially to a human who has no concept of what ‘forever’ means. But even entertaining the idea of letting her loose back to the camp where she lives with suitable males all around her makes my blood boil.

I won’t have her claimed by someone else while I sit back and watch it happen. I’ll end up burning down the entire continent, and that wouldn’t be a good look for my maker now would it.

Her hand grabs my wrist to squeeze in pain while her back arches. I hold her down against the furs and don’t move. Severing the connection at this point would most likely kill us both, and that isn’t what I want.

“Hold still.” I tell her. She groans back at me. “It’s almost done.”

I can feel her life force joining mine. The thrum of her heart beat hammering in time with my own. It’s an unexpectedly vulnerable feeling of interconnecting our souls together, one that I didn’t consider up until now.

I breathe her in. “Kelly.”

She opens her eyes and looks at me.