Page 9 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile

When he truly knew who she was—that she was his?

His to save.

His to protect.

His to love.

Merrick cursed again, stepping up to the railing and digging his fingers into it so hard that chunks of wood crumbled under his palms.

He would rip the flesh from the king’s bones like he did this wood for what he’d done to her.

“No more. Please no more,” Elessia had begged that first day he’d seen her, and Merrick wouldn’t stop until the king did the same.

Until he fucking kissed his feet, begging for mercy.

And then…

He’d unleash the souls that always pressed all around him.

He would let them rip into the king—bring him over to their side of the veil or whatever it was he could open and close between their worlds—and continue the torture there forever.

Merrick hadn’t missed the thirst for revenge in some of them, the hunger when they beheld the king, whispering what they’d like to do to him.

An exceptionally tall wave hit the side of the vessel, splashing small drops of salty water onto his face, and he was about to curse again—curse the fucking seas for daring to still exist when Elessia must be hurting—when something flickered within him.

Holding his breath, he froze, trying to sense it once more.

There. The fragile thread that used to shimmer in gold like Elessia’s eyes when her magic surfaced now sputtered like an almost burned-out candle.

But it was there.

She was alive.

And she was fighting.

Merrick didn’t know how, but he could feel it.

His little fighter.

The woman who’d been through so much—too much—in her young life, but who refused to give up. Who believed in him even after everything he’d done. Who believed in the good in all the world even after everything it had done to her.

The good Merrick had thought to be long gone until he watched her fight for a better life.

Until he’d watched her save those Faelings, watched her find friends, watched her build a life, and watched her… fall in love.

He knew Elessia believed he’d been hurting for years because of the mate bond…

But he hadn’t.

He hadn’t been happy—it’d been long since he’d felt happiness, until the past few weeks—but he’d been content seeing her find purpose, find comfort, even find love.

Still, knowing now what it felt like to give in.

To claim her.

To call her his…

He understood why Raine never regretted meeting Solana, even if he now had to live without her.