Page 9 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile (Compelling Fates Saga #3)

If he squinted, he could make out the towering island ahead, the black cliffs skirting its entire border, the slippery, steep stone seemingly impossible to scale.

But Merrick knew better. There were several hidden paths—one with stairs, and a few with meandering, narrow trails, where one misstep would cause someone to fall to their death.

He’d taken one of those paths in the war, and he scowled remembering how slick it had been from all the shifter blood running down it.

He could almost smell it.

The death.

The destruction of every town.

The fear that had permeated the air as the shifters realized no one—not even women or children—would be spared.

Merrick dropped his hand from the regent’s shoulder.

For him, it felt like yesterday that the last fucking war had ended.

But humans and shifters forgot quickly… and even for the Fae, even for Rioner, the memories appeared to be hazy.

Merrick scoffed to himself.

He’d seen Rioner and Alarin in tears, bent over their father’s cold body only a century ago.

And they’d be there again soon.

With people crying for loved ones.

People pissing themselves on the battlefield because the glory they’d been promised faded in the bloodshed and pain that fighting truly brought.

People screaming for a mercy that would never come.

“We’ll find her.”

He nearly lost his grip on his magic when Loche spoke again.

Whirling to face the regent, he couldn’t help but let his nostrils flare. “I know we’ll fucking find her. But it needs to be soon.”

An image of himself kneeling next to Lessia’s broken body, the horrid smell of death assaulting his nose, flashed in his mind, but he pushed it away, especially as that guard and Amalise ventured down from the ship’s quarterdeck.

“How are we doing?” Merrick barked at Zaddock.

It was Amalise who responded. “We’re probably two days out from Korina. The winds aren’t in our favor, so we can’t go faster.”

The fucking winds.

As if he’d let some fucking weather dictate how fast he could get to her.

If she was even there.

Merrick’s chest vibrated from the growl building in it, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes when Zaddock stepped in front of Amalise.

Moving her own eyes upward, Amalise pushed him aside. “Stop trying to babysit me.”

Zaddock mumbled something about “Stop putting yourself in danger, then,” but he backed off when Amalise sent him a glare so cold it could rival King Rioner’s.

Merrick’s eyes flitted between them for a moment.

It was clear that the guard had it bad for the blonde.

But she was holding back.

He wasn’t certain exactly why, but in the few times he’d caught her eyes when she hadn’t been prepared, especially when they were out on deck, the pain there mirrored what he’d seen in his brothers’ eyes.

She’d lost someone. That he was sure of.

Amalise’s gaze narrowed when he continued staring, and her voice dropped an octave when she spoke again. “How are we going to find them? Korina is massive, and I’ve heard you have to have a death wish to try to climb those cliffs.”

Merrick finally tore his eyes from hers.

“They won’t be on Korina. The king is a water wielder, so he will stay over water on his ship to be as strong as possible.

He’s worried, and when he’s worried, he’ll not take any risks.

He’ll have his most lethal guards with him, including one who is a stronger mind-bender than even Raine. ”

“That’s never been proved.” Raine walked up to the group, throwing Amalise a wink when she stared at him as he took a sip from his flask, which had Zaddock pull her behind him again.

“He’ll probably also have one of his beloved fire wielders, though—they can cause so much lovely destruction from afar. ”

“But so can we.” Merrick couldn’t help but curl his lip to show off his teeth. “They’ll probably have Kerym and the others dosed with Vincere to keep them docile, but you and I can take on a little fire wielder and the mind-bender.”

“Kerym will probably still want to fight, if I know him.” Raine wiggled his brows. “I’m guessing the little Rantzier will as well. She seems quite feisty.”

Merrick nodded back at him, but he didn’t voice the thought that touched his mind.

They would want to fight if they were alive.

He knew how Rioner worked by now.

He was probably doing everything in his power to break Lessia.

And the easiest way?

To threaten those she loved.

His fingers curled until his knuckles blanched, but Loche interrupted the snarl wanting to break free.

“So let’s say we find them there. What do we do then?”

Raine met Merrick’s eyes as he responded, “I’ll try to take out as many as I can, the ones who forget to protect their mind, so that we can get close to them.”

“Then I get on the ship first,” Merrick continued, falling right back into their usual planning as if it hadn’t been decades since the last time.

“Whoever is the best fighter comes after me, and I will protect Raine so that he can continue controlling their little minds and search for Lessia and the rest. No one apart from our friends stays alive.”

“I’ll go after you, then,” Loche said as he patted the sword by his side. “I may not have fought Fae, but I was one of the best in our navy.”

“I’ll join you.” Ardow walked out from the shade of the upper deck. “Venko is no warrior, but he will manage the ship, keep it ready if we need to leave swiftly.”

The merchant who hovered behind Ardow nodded, his eyes flickering across the group before meeting Merrick’s and offering him a quick bow of his head.

“I will go as well.” Amalise raised her chin as she pulled at the hand Zaddock still held on to. “I might not be a fighter, but I am quick and quiet, and I know how to sneak in and out undetected.”

Zaddock’s grip on Amalise’s hand tightened until she hissed at him, but he refused to let go, his face turning as white as the woman’s fingers he squeezed, and he appeared not to care who listened as he spoke.

“The fuck you are. Amalise, I need you to listen to me. You’re staying behind with Venko. It’s too dangerous.”

Amalise ripped her hand free, moving to stand between Merrick and Loche. “I am not going anywhere. Lessia is my best friend, and I would gladly sacrifice my life for her.”

“She doesn’t want you to die for her!” Zaddock was nearly screaming now, the desperation so sharp it would have pierced Merrick’s chest should he have space for more emotions within him. “You’re staying behind.”

“I am not.” Amalise’s eyes burned Zaddock’s way, and Merrick shook his head when the guard glared right back.

“He might be right, blondie.” Raine grinned at her, ignoring the vicious stare she shot him. “It’s not like sneaking away from the men that I am sure chase you back home. These people won’t stop because you’re pretty. They’ll rip your head off all the same.”

Merrick gripped the blonde’s arm when she lurched toward his friend, pulling her back even though Zaddock looked as if he’d take the sword and stab it right through his chest for touching his woman.

“Calm down,” Merrick hissed into her ear. “This isn’t about you. It’s about Lessia.”

Amalise panted as she stared up at him, but when Merrick continued to keep her gaze, she finally relaxed. “Fine. But I am still going.”

These stubborn humans.

They all thought they were invincible.

It must have to do with their short lifespans, Merrick thought.

Being twenty-five or eighty was perhaps not that big of a difference.

“Z, just stay by her side on the ship,” Loche offered. “Merrick is right. It’s not about us, it’s about Lessia, and who knows… maybe Amalise will be helpful when we find her.”

Zaddock’s jaw was so tight Merrick was sure he’d have a raging headache after this, but he finally gave a curt nod as he walked up and dragged the still seething Amalise to his side, ignoring her “Stupid, possessive bastard” mumbles.

Merrick snapped his gaze to Raine, but he still didn’t miss Zaddock snarling “If you die on that ship I will come to the afterlife and haunt you for fucking ever, and then we can talk about possessive.”

Despite everything, his mouth twitched, and so did Raine’s as he shook his head at the two humans.

He knew what Zaddock was feeling very well.

But while he was a possessive bastard himself, he’d never force Lessia to do anything.

She’d had enough of that in her life.

He’d be whatever she needed him to be—be whatever she wanted him to be.

Unfortunately, he doubted an overprotective Fae male was her dream.

Even if she did seem to like it in the bedroom.

He couldn’t stop her grinning face from popping into his mind.

The sounds she made when he devoured her.

What she’d said to him that first night they had together.

I love you. And one night is not nearly enough. I told you. I want everything . I want to be your fucking mate, and I don’t know the right words, but I accept our bond—I welcome it—I’m proud of it.

Merrick closed his eyes, and her scent immediately slammed into him.

She’d always smelled like warm grass on open fields to him. Like a summer day full of possibilities he’d never had. Like a calm sea begging to be swum in.

Freedom, he’d decided that day he finally got to meet her eyes.

That’s what she smelled like.

That’s what she was.

Absolute perfect freedom.

That fragile bond that seemed attached to his heart flickered in response to heat welling within him, and he wished there was a way to grasp it, tug at it until he found her.

It flickered again, and his brows creased.

Why was it swaying?

Merrick focused on the bond, and only the bond, Lessia’s face fading into the background.

It flickered again.

Flickered like a candle about to go out.

Fuck!

His eyes flew open, immediately meeting Raine’s, and Merrick didn’t even realize his knees buckled until his friend’s arm wrapped around his back.

“What is happening?” Raine urged. “Merrick!”

He could only get out two words. “Bond. Breaking.”