Page 80 of Bonds of Starfall

"I should have done it the first time, but then, I might’ve missed out on this." Though the words were heartbreakingly vulnerable, he said them with ease to her. "If you don’t remember your past life because of the Nova inside of you, there’s got to be someone who’ll know how to fix it." Desperate, he reclaimed her hands, squeezing them. "This had to have happened before, right?"

Rin’sheart was beating so fast, her whole body thrummed like electricity ran through her veins. The organ cracked against her ribcage with such ferocity, she felt like it might erupt from her chest, a bloody, red mass lying still-beating on the carpet of her dorm apartment.

Fuck, it certainly felt like it.

The truth in the incubus’s words wrapped around her chest like a vise, squeezing her. They were Soulbonds. And somehow, Rin didn’t remember.

Cy’s purple eyes were aglow with desperation. She hated to squash his hopes.

"No, never." Rin’s throat was tight.

But… it had happened once, hadn’t it? To her.

Her eyes drifted to the clock on her small table, nestled between the bed and the wall. Not even an hour had passed since she first let Cy in. Her whole world had shifted, and she was without gravity.

She was wishing for someone to tether her feet back to the floor.

Lucien would know what to do.

Could Rin risk roping him in on this?

A plea lingered on her tongue, but for whom, she would never know.

A long, ominous beep sounded from the pocket of her shorts. She tugged her phone out, wary of what the news alert would say. All devices were programmed to have the same blaring tone for an important news alert, usually Rogue sightings or Nova evacuation notices.

She unlocked her phone and read the notice posted across her screen, written in bold letters above a picture.

PRINCE CYRUS SOLTREN OF SIBETH. MISSING.

The photo was more damning than the words staring back up at her.

Purple eyes, framed by dark lashes, half-lidded with sensuous boredom. Full, thick lips that she knew tasted of ripe berries. Red hair, deep like rich, crushed velvet. Maroon and scarlet, everything sinful and lustful.

And perched upon those unruly waves, a golden crown, tipped to the side.

Rin’s eyes widened, staring up from her phone to find the male in question standing before her—in her bedroom. On Earth. A stowaway. Arunaway.

The male who was proclaiming to be her Soulbond.

Her heart stuttered dangerously in her chest, and she listed to the side as the air grew shimmery, black overtaking her vision.

10

IMMINENT

Rin woke up to purple eyes staring down at her, so close she could count each eyelash framing the glittering depths.

It all came rushing back to her. She shot upright, sweat cooling on her chilled skin. The incubus sat back so she wouldn’t knock her forehead against his with her quick movements.

Dazed, she rasped, "Prince Cyrus Soltren thinks he’s my Soulbond."

The incubus—CyrusSoltren—sat closer to her on her bed. He sat astride her lower legs, strong thighs splayed over hers, hands braced by her hips as he leaned over her. She nearly went cross-eyed as he drew closer, a long, pale finger brushing the tip of her nose.

"I don’tthinkanything. We’re Soulbonds," he nearly sang.

She was getting whiplash. She had never met anyone so mercurial before. One moment, serious and repentant, the next, playful. She would take either of those over his heady sensuality.

"How long was I out?" Rin asked, rubbing a hand over her chest. He had moved her to the bed, at least. And she tried to ignore the flipping in her lower belly at the thought of him carrying her.