Page 66 of A Fate of Ice and Lies (Fated #1)

I expected Brenton to make a joke, maybe say something about milking his injury for years or centuries. He stayed quiet, though, and that unnerved me more than anything else.

There was no doubt that something had changed, and it wasn’t just whatever bond he now felt with Teddy.

“You act exactly as you are,” I told Teddy. “Call me an idiot, a fool, a dummy. Whatever you want but be you. My parents will love you. I promise.”

She looked back at me as if she didn’t believe me, but she nodded.

Brenton leaned toward us and patted Teddy’s knee. “If they love me even after all the chaos I’ve caused in their home, they’ll adore you.”

“I’m pretty sure they love you because of all the chaos,” she told him.

My heart twisted at her words, having wanted to say the same thing to Brenton time and again when he’d undervalued what he meant in our life. Yes, he loved to joke and taunt and prank us, but it was just one of the many things we loved about him.

“Everly, George,” I said, “would you mind going with Adela to speak to my uncle?” They nodded. “Tell him everything that’s going on. Let him read Teddy’s journals if he wants.”

Teddy jolted at my words, and Brenton stiffened at her reaction. I grazed my thumb over the back of her hand that I held against her stomach .

“If that’s okay with you?” I asked, tugging her closer to me. “It’s your choice, mo elma . I know you don’t like him and have no reason to trust him. If you don’t want him reading your journals, he won’t. I’m sorry I didn’t ask first.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “Could we take it to Niev for your parents to read instead? I know he’s the commander, which I’m guessing means he has a strategic brain, but your parents are the king and queen. Surely, they’re bound to be just as smart if not smarter.”

I bit back a laugh and agreed.

“What can we do?” Donnie asked. “I can start some hunting parties to replenish the livestock you lost.”

Lost, as if they’d been misplaced rather than slaughtered. Not even for food for those who’d killed them but reduced to ash and bone.

“I’m sure I can find some people who’ll help rebuild Teddy’s home,” Nate said. “And y’all’s, too.”

“Hunting parties should be groups of three to five,” I told Donnie.

“The group sticks together at all times. George can talk you through the various ways to kill the different creatures from our realm, but I’ll also make sure the fae in our region know to go with you should you ask it of them.

If needed, slaughter whatever you find and distribute it as food until we return.

We can work on the paddocks later.” I faced Nate.

“If you can find people who’ll help rebuild Teddy’s home and she’s okay with that, then do it. I appreciate the offer.”

When the conversation lulled, Teddy stood, taking my hand as she guided us outside, where Nalari had settled on an open field of snow.

The wind howled, and my mate braced herself closer to me.

The cold wind gusting around us was a little wild and untamed.

I put my arm around her, trying my best to shield her from the unfriendly chill.

When we stopped, she turned to me, her hands pressed to her chest and her face tucked beneath my chin, while I wrapped my arms around her.

I rubbed my hands over her shivering back.

“Do you want to go back inside?” I asked.

Against me, she shook her head. I cupped the back of her head and kissed her just because I could.

Nalari waited patiently for us, her golden eyes blinking slowly. She probably already knew whatever Teddy wanted to tell me but waited for Teddy anyway.

“Eiran told me something else when I was in his realm,” Teddy said. She dug her fingers around the hem of my shirt, twisting it around her pinky. “He told me you may not take this well, but I need you to listen to me until I finish.”

My stomach turned, but I nodded and kissed her temple in encouragement. She drew in a long, heavy breath that I felt in the pit of my stomach.

“Do you remember how I gave Brenton blood, thinking maybe it would help him?” Her eyes were wide and scared, her heart beating faster than usual.

Brenton, this was about him. Did she feel that same mysterious bond with him? Guardians, did she want him? That couldn’t be it. Not after she called herself my mate. That was our bond that I hoped to seal as soon as she was ready.

It wasn’t exactly fear I scented. Or maybe it was, but it was more than fear. Joy, possibly but that didn’t feel right either.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” I said, my words coming out slow and soft. “Whatever you need to tell me, you can tell me.”

When she shivered again, I rubbed my hands over her arms and back, but then I remembered a blanket I stored in the pocket of my magic. I pulled it out and wrapped it around her. Her hands snuck out to grab the edges, and she pulled the blanket tighter around her.

“How many blankets do you have in there?” she asked.

“As many as it takes to keep you warm.” I grinned sheepishly, not telling her how many more I’d already made.

“You’re adorable.” She returned my grin. “It’s one of the many things I love about you.”

Love. She loved me. Whatever was going on between her and Brenton, we’d figure it out.

She traced my bottom lip before she nestled in closer to me, like she wanted us to become one. Or she was just really cold.

“By giving Brenton my blood, my mage blood, I unknowingly created a bond with him.” She watched me carefully while I did my best not to react. “Eiran explained it’s like a familial bond. Like I’m his sister.”

A ripple of excitement skirted over me. This would mean everything to Brenton, who’d spent his earlier years in an orphanage before he joined our military school.

Did she think I’d get upset over their connection?

I considered how much to tell her about Brenton’s past. Although I trusted Teddy, his story wasn’t mine to share.

“Aside from us, he doesn’t have family,” I settled on saying. “Not blood family, anyway. I think this is a good thing. At least for Brenton.”

“It is a good thing,” she said, still watching me with caution.

“Donnie and Ry have been my family forever, but I’d like to have someone who actually is my brother, even if that bond was created through blood and magic.

” She paused, and I ran a hand across her back.

“The problem is that this bond is only one-sided. Although he doesn’t fully understand it, Brenton feels this connection with me.

However, because I haven’t completed my end of the bond, he has no way to actually channel that connection.

From what Eiran explained, leaving him untethered would slowly drive him mad until the bond itself kills him. ”

I didn’t bother asking what she’d have to do to bind their connection because I already knew. Vith. But if she drank his blood and completed this bond, I’d have to share her soul with him.

“I didn’t know,” Teddy said. “I thought I was helping him.”

I wrapped my arms around her tighter. “I know, mo elma. You did nothing wrong.”

“I didn’t know either,” Nalari said through our joint connection. “It was my idea to give him your blood. I thought you were human. I didn’t realize . . . You have my apologies.”

“Are you certain he’d die if you don’t complete the bond?” I asked. “If it’s like the mate bond, denial of the bond or leaving it untethered would drive him mad, but it wouldn’t kill him.”

“I don’t want to be the cause of his pain, Elias,” she said.

I jerked back, studying her face. Her pretty, blue eyes glistened as if asking me to understand and accept this.

I swallowed past the thickness in my throat. “Do you want to complete the bond?”

“I don’t want him hurting.”

I rubbed the center of my chest, where my heart pounded in jealousy. She couldn’t mean to take his blood and bind her soul to him. Sibling or not, she was my soul-bound mate. My soul sought her soul, and I couldn’t share it. Not even with one of my best friends.

“He’s survived for years knowing his mate will never be his,” I said, thinking about the female who’d taken on an intended rather than accepting Brenton as her soul-bound mate. “He’ll survive this, too.”

“Brent has a mate?” she asked.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter right now.”

The way her eyes narrowed, I knew it did matter to her.

“He’s fine, Teddy,” I said, trying to reassure her. “She turned him away over a hundred years ago. He learned to live without her. He can figure out how to live without your end of the bond completed.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s not right.”

I ground the back of my teeth. “What’s not right is you wanting to take another male’s blood.”

“I don’t want to take his blood.” Her words lashed out in anger. “The idea of it is disgusting. But I don’t want our friend suffering and dying when I can fix it. Can’t you see that?”

“No.”

“Damnit, Elias, you’re being stubborn for no reason.”

“No reason?” I wanted to roar at her words. “You want to drink from another male and bind your souls together. This . . . you’re my soul-bound mate.” I slapped an open palm across my chest. “Mine. Don’t ask me to share you with another male.”

Her features softened, and she placed her hand over mine. I wondered if she could feel how rapidly my heart beat.

“You’re mine, and I wouldn’t want to share you with anyone either,” she said.

She wound her arms around my neck, and I leaned down to hug her to me. Her fingers ran through my hair, and I nestled my face against her throat.

“I’m not asking you to share me with anyone,” she said. “I’m yours. Completely and solely yours. You own my heart and my soul. No part of me isn’t yours. ”

Her words undid me. She was mine. I pressed hot, tender kisses along her neck.

She trailed her nails along the back of my neck before her fingers again ran through my hair.