Page 49 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile (Compelling Fates Saga #3)

Frelina

T he wind had gotten colder, and Frelina was almost beginning to rethink her wish to visit Ellow when little flakes of snow filled the air.

It was supposed to be spring here.

In Vastala, it would get cooler in the winter, but not like this.

Not with snow and ice and whatever the wind that actually hurt her cheeks was called.

Frelina shuddered as she caught Elessia approaching her from the corner of her eye.

As her sister offered Frelina a blanket—one that must have been their dear uncle’s, based on the thick lining and beautiful gold stitching weaving through the black fabric—Elessia gave her a soft smile.

One Frelina had come to hate over the past few days as they’d raced toward Ellow.

It wasn’t her sister’s real smile. It was… fake was the wrong word, but it was just… wrong. Like the reflections back in the Lakes of Mirrors, it wasn’t her sister’s usual grin—it wasn’t her real face.

Frelina could tell Merrick hated it, too, based on his brooding scowl every time Elessia threw it his way.

Her sister didn’t appear to care, though.

Elessia didn’t go silent like the rest of them had after what they’d been through, didn’t draw back into her room like Frelina had come to do, especially as Raine didn’t even deign to meet her eyes anymore, clearly regretting what had happened between them in the heat of the moment back in the gods’ land.

It was as if Elessia was trying to fit as much conversation and company into their days as she could.

She kept asking Frelina about mundane things like what she and their father liked to eat when they’d been living back at their home isle.

What had come of the horses they’d kept in the stable behind the modest cottage?

Did the isle still smell like salt and forest, and did the sun warm the white cliffs where they had to watch out for the Vastala snakes that King Rioner kept breeding and letting out into the wild? The ones that swam, too, which Frelina hated more than anything else.

Elessia did the same to Merrick, and while he entertained her, his answers usually became shorter and shorter with each question until he’d pull Elessia down into his lap, kissing her so passionately that Frelina had to leave the room.

Raine was the only one who refused to speak to her. Elessia had tried for a day or two, but realized quickly that the Fae either didn’t want to talk or didn’t even listen.

“Are you all right?” Elessia asked carefully as she made sure the blanket was wrapped tightly around Frelina’s shoulders.

Frelina nodded. “I’m fine. I am just sick of being on a ship. Feels like it’s been forever since I had solid ground beneath my feet.”

Elessia laughed. A quick, breathy laugh, but one that still warmed Frelina’s heart. “I know what you mean. The mirror place definitely wasn’t solid or steady.”

Ydren popped out of the water, probably at the sound of Elessia’s voice, like she had done every day they’d traveled, just watching and waiting until Elessia crawled over the railing and got onto the beast’s back, riding there beside the ship until Merrick couldn’t stand being away from her and got her to return.

“She’s calling you,” Frelina mumbled when the wyvern made a purring sound—one that didn’t really sound feline but that she guessed was supposed to be soothing, based on how rounded Ydren’s eyes were.

Elessia shot her another one of those strange smiles. “She doesn’t feel comfortable with the other wyverns yet. She… she and I… we understand each other.”

Frelina made a concurring noise.

Elessia had told her the other wyverns swam deep beneath them, their leader apparently not trusting the group not to lead them into an ambush, and while she hadn’t spent much more time with them apart from that first meeting, she could understand why Ydren was hesitant.

None of them seemed particularly friendly.

“You should go.” Frelina tried to soften her voice, not let any sadness seep into it.

She knew Elessia would do anything for her. She could feel it in every touch, in every smile, in every time her sister checked on her. But it… it just wasn’t enough.

Frelina missed the banter and friendship with Raine.

She didn’t care about the kiss or whether there would be any more, although she wouldn’t say no if he wanted to continue to pursue whatever they had started back in the lands of gods.

It had felt good to find someone who wasn’t her family and who actually cared for her. Who thought she was funny. Who didn’t treat her like something they needed to be careful with.

But now he barely looked her in the eyes, even when she’d noticed he hadn’t touched the flask, which had begun collecting dust on a shelf in the kitchen.

“Are you sure?” Elessia’s eyes narrowed, and Frelina quickly dragged her downward lips into a forced smile.

Not that it would fool her sister, but if Elessia was allowed to walk around with a grin that should have been the definition of somberness, Frelina should as well.

“I’m sure.” Restlessness settled in Frelina’s bones. “I am going to find Raine.”

She’d been too scared to talk to him the past few days, but what was the point?

They might all be dead in a week… and she didn’t want a stupid kiss to ruin what could be her final days.

Elessia already had one leg over the railing when she stilled, her face tilting to study Frelina. “Did something happen between you two? I know he’s been strange the past few days, but I just chalked it up to him not drinking anymore…”

The smile on her face shook, but Frelina kept her sister’s gaze. “Nothing that can’t be solved.”

She hoped, at least.

Elessia bowed her head, but her eyes were still unsure, so Frelina hurried to begin backing away. “Go on. Your pet needs you.”

Her smile did firm the slightest bit when Ydren screeched at her, trying to splash a wave of water onto the deck, but thankfully, it wasn’t far to the door to the stairs leading down to the cabins where they all slept, and where Raine appeared to spend most of his time.

As she opened the creaking door, which took quite some effort since the wood had swelled from the water either the sea or Rioner must have cast against it for years, she heard Elessia assure the wyvern that “she was just trying to be funny, I promise,” and Frelina shook her head as she offered Merrick a quick wave where he sat against one of the masts, watching her sister with those dark eyes that never rested.

She kept her feet moving swiftly down the stairs, unwilling to lose her nerve now that she’d worked it up, and within moments she stood outside Raine’s door.

Frelina lifted and lowered her hand a few times, reminding herself of what she wanted to say to him, when the door flew open, revealing a Raine with messier hair than usual and more stubble than she’d ever seen shadowing his strong chin.

Her eyes flew to his heaving chest for a second before she also sucked in a breath, the words she’d memorized pouring out of her. “I know you regret the kiss… and what we said. While I don’t, it’s totally fine. I just… I want us?—”

Raine gripped her arm so forcefully she stumbled into the room, and even before she’d regained her balance, he’d slammed the door behind her and thrust her against it.

“I—”

Raine didn’t let her finish that sentence, either, before he covered her mouth with his own, groaning “Finally” into it.

The kiss was as urgent as the one before, and he groaned so loudly when she responded that heat exploded between her legs at the sound.

“I thought…” Raine kissed her again. “I thought you’d never fucking come.”

Frelina opened her mouth for his demanding tongue, and he didn’t hesitate as he angled her head, his fingers wrapping around her chin to position her as he seemed to like her.

Head tilted, Frelina kissed him back, alternating between crashing her lips against his and sucking on his bottom lip when she needed a break.

“Fuck,” Raine swore when a whimper escaped her as the hand not holding on to her chin began exploring her body, finding her ass and pressing her against his hardness.

“Fuck,” Raine echoed when she arched into his touch, grinding against what must be his cock, using it to find some relief from the burning need between her legs. “Is… is this okay?”

Is this…

Frelina wrangled her hands into his hair, which definitely needed a wash, not that she cared too much right now, when the only thing she wanted was to have him closer—have something—and despite the waves of desire washing through her gut, she dragged his head back so she could meet his eyes.

“Don’t you dare ask me if this is okay,” she hissed. “You said you wouldn’t be gentle. This… this is an exchange of needs. Like we agreed. I use you, and you use me.”

Raine’s hand dropped from her chin, and an involuntary sound left her when it found her other ass cheek and he used it to roughly lift her off the ground, forcing her to wrap her legs around him as he pressed her back against the wooden door.

His stubble scraped against her chin as he kissed her again, harder, making her lips swell and ache with each rough press of his own.

When he pulled back, the green and gold in his eyes swirled, and there was a wild edge to them—one that had her move her throbbing pussy over his clothed cock so hard he growled.

“So eager, little Rantzier,” he mumbled as one of his hands found her hair, fingers tangling in it as he pulled her head back until pain from her scalp mingled with pleasure.

She couldn’t help but moan at the sensation, and it felt as if she needed to escape her clothes, maybe even her skin, and crawl under Raine’s when he rasped, “Good to know.”

Still, after Raine had attacked her throat, licking and sucking and nibbling until she was panting, he stilled with his lips hovering over hers, hand still fisting her hair, keeping her from moving a single inch.

“Have you… have you been fucked before?” Raine asked hoarsely, and she didn’t miss how his cock twitched against her.