Page 5 of A Fate of Blood and Magic (Fated #2)

“Give me whatever orders you want. Lock me in the dungeons when we get back, but I’m going, Elias.

” He crossed his arms over his wide chest, his hazel eyes blazing.

His gray smoke magic trailed from his fingertips, ghosting toward me until he fisted his hands, and his magic snapped back to its master.

“You’re afraid of Finley. I’m not, and I won’t let you make her feel like some monster simply because you don’t understand her magic.

You have use of her, so you’ll use her, all while making her feel like shit. ”

“I have no intention of making her feel like—” I hesitated. “Like that.”

More and more, my friends and I picked up strange human terms but that still felt awkward to use out of context.

His nostrils flared. “That’s exactly what you did back there.” He pointed toward the castle, casting a thin trail of smoke that quickly evaporated. “All of you did. Only Teddy and Alastor had enough sense to know she wasn’t going to harm anyone. ”

“Her magic is unpredictable.”

“Her magic is unique, unlike any we’ve seen, but it’s not unpredictable.” His canines lengthened, and a low snarl rumbled from his chest.

With her brows furrowed, Teddy looked between us. “Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for Brenton to go with you.”

“I already said no.” The words came out sharper than I meant, my fury pulsing beneath my skin. The raw, innate power, the kind meant to command armies and force others into submission, coiled around my limbs. I wouldn’t use it. Couldn’t use it on her.

But she stepped away, her expression stormy. She crossed her arms and moved to Brenton’s side, her disapproval unmistakable.

“I’m going whether you want me to or not,” Brenton said, voice steady but laced with warning. It made my magic quiver in anger. “You can’t stop me any more than we could’ve stopped you from tearing through the veil to reach Teddy.”

“This is different.”

“This is the same.” Brenton shoved my chest hard enough to make me stumble back a step.

My canines pulled down. I circled him, watching his tells so I’d know when he’d strike. I preferred us fighting on equal grounds over forcing him into submission.

Teddy pushed between us, her hands braced on our chests.

“I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but it stops. Right now.” Her glare cut between us. “ Right now .”

I took a slow breath, trying to fill myself with Teddy’s scent. Brenton exhaled and shook out his hands like he could toss the anger away .

“Why is this the same as Elias coming to my realm for me?” Teddy asked, her attention locked on the male that magic and blood had made her brother.

While Teddy had given Brenton her blood in the hopes of saving his life, her mage blood had bound Brenton’s and her souls together as siblings. It was a bond both had desperately wanted.

Brenton let out a short, humorless laugh while he rubbed his hands over his face. That sadness that he tried so hard to hide was evident in his glistening eyes. “Finley’s my soul-bound mate, Teddy.”

Breath whooshed from her lungs. “She’s the one who rejected you?”

“She’s never actually rejected me,” he said softly. “Our bond is still there, but she took on Etienne as her intended.”

Teddy’s growl was impressive. She turned around, ready to storm through the castle and destroy Finley herself.

Although she didn’t possess the same power that made others submit, energy punched from her limbs in a way that resembled mine.

“It’s fine, Ted,” Brenton said, catching her wrist. “I don’t care who she picked, only that she’s safe and happy.”

Teddy turned those blazing, furious eyes on me, and I had the good sense to cower.

“He’s going with you, Elias.” She didn’t wait for me to protest. “You’d be a mess if it were me going to the human realm. You’re taking him, and if you try to leave without him, I will personally drag him through the veil.”

I squirmed under her fiery glare while Brenton grinned in victory. He knocked his shoulder against hers.

“Thanks, sis,” he said.

While her attention stayed on me, her lips twitched. Just as Brenton did, she knew she’d won. I just hoped this triumph didn’t cost me another person I loved.

Brenton was quick to kiss the top of her head before he started back into the castle to sleep the few hours we had left before daybreak. Teddy curled herself close to my side, her arms wrapped around my waist. Rather than rest her head on my chest, she tilted her head up to look at me.

“Are you angry with me?” she asked. “It’s okay if you are, but if I’m being honest, I’m glad Brent is going with you.

He’s the only one going who loves you, and while I know you’ll do everything to protect the others, he’s the only one who’ll have your back entirely.

Maybe Alastor too, but I feel better knowing he’s going with you. ” Her voice was thick with concern.

I kissed her nose. “Are you done rambling?”

She smacked my shoulder, and I rubbed it as if she’d hurt me. I smiled when she kissed the same spot she’d hit.

“I don’t want Brenton going for those exact reasons,” I told her. “I can’t handle anyone else I love dying.”

“I can’t handle you dying.” Her lashes fanned over her cheeks, and I hated the way tears held on to them.

Even now, even through her worry and grief, she stood firm. Fierce, steady, and protective. She’d make a mighty queen. One our people would rally behind, not just because of her power, but because of her heart.

“It would take more than death to keep me from you. Even then, I’d find my way back to you.” I took my time kissing her cheek, her chin, her throat. “Besides, you and Death are besties. I’m sure Eiran would give me back to you if you asked nicely.”

Teddy turned to rub the tattoo Eiran had given her when she’d traveled into the astral realm to fight for Brenton’s life.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Her tattoo, which sat on the back of her shoulder down to her shoulder blade, glowed for a few beats.

She scrunched her nose. “Sometimes it tickles. I don’t know if he’s amused by what you said or wants to tell me something.” She paused. “How long should I postpone our wedding?”

I rubbed the center of my chest. “I don’t know, mo elma . I’m sorry. I don’t know how long it’ll take to find the missing fae. I’ll come home as often as I can, but?—”

The ache in my chest twisted tighter. When I rubbed it again, Teddy gently took my hand. She kissed my palm and then leaned forward to press a kiss to my chest.

“I shouldn’t have asked,” she whispered. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters.” The words came out rough and desperate. “I want to be tied to you in every way imaginable. We have the soulmate bond, the wedding, and we should also do an intended ceremony. That way, if you ever want to leave me, you’ll have to undo each vow we made to each other. One by one.”

And I needed those bonds. Not to hold her down but to hold me together.

She inched up to kiss the dimple on my cheek. “Sometimes you’re too adorable for your own good.”

Although she smiled as if I were teasing her, I meant every word. There wasn’t a language vast enough to name what she was to me. She was sewn into the very fabric of my soul, etched in every fragment of my heart.

And still, it wasn’t enough.