Page 31 of Bound By the Beast Man

CORVAK

I watch her sleep. In the safety of the small inn room, with a locked door and a warm fire, the lines of tension and fear that have been etched onto her face for so long have finally begun to soften.

She looks younger, more peaceful, and the sight of it is a balm to my weary soul.

I have done this. I have brought her to a safe harbor, a place where she can rest and heal from the horrors she has endured.

The thought brings a fierce, protective satisfaction that is quickly soured by the crushing weight of my own duties.

Now that the immediate danger has passed, now that she is safe, my thoughts inevitably return to the men I failed.

I see their faces in my mind: Silas, Tarek, Caspian, Ronan, Lucaris.

My brothers. We swore an oath on the deck of that doomed ship, an oath of reunion, and I have broken it.

While I have been focused on saving Diana, they could be wounded, captured, or dead, their bodies lost to this hostile, unforgiving land.

My honor demands that I find them, or die trying.

I stand and walk to the small, grimy window, looking out at the snow-covered village.

A painful, necessary conclusion settles in my heart.

I cannot stay here. I must continue north.

I must find my brothers. I tell myself that leaving Diana here is the only logical choice.

She will be safer in this village, away from the dangers that lie ahead.

I will leave her enough silver to last for months.

I will tell her I will return. It is the honorable thing to do.

And the thought of doing it feels like tearing my own heart from my chest.

Diana wakes a few hours later. When she sees the tray of food the innkeeper has left—thick stew, fresh bread, and cheese—her eyes well up with tears.

It is the first real meal she has had in years, and the simple, domestic act of sharing it with her in the peace of the room makes what I am about to do feel even more monstrous.

We eat in a comfortable silence, a fragile peace I am about to shatter.

I wait until she is finished, until some color has returned to her cheeks, before I speak.

“Diana,” I begin, my voice sounding rough and unfamiliar to my own ears. “I cannot stay with you.”

Her head snaps up, and mixture of shock and a deep, wounded confusion on her face. I force myself to meet her gaze, to be the disciplined soldier I was raised to be.

“I swore an oath to five other men,” I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

“My brothers. We swore we would reunite in Rach. They could be wounded, captured… they could be dead, and I am here, safe. My duty as their leader, my honor, demands that I find them. And our mission from my King is there, in the north. I must go.”

I stand and pace the small room, unable to sit still under the blanket of her stare.

“You will be safer here,” I reason, the words feeling like a lie even as I say them. “You can rest, recover your strength. To follow me would be to walk into even greater danger. I will leave you with enough coin to last until I can return for you.”

I stop and face her, prepared for tears, for anger, for accusations of abandonment. I have steeled myself for her pain. But I am not prepared for the fire that ignites in her eyes.

She does not cry. She does not shout. She rises from the bed, her movements graceful and deliberate, and faces me, her chin held high. The fragile woman I carried through the snow is gone, replaced by the fierce, unyielding warrior I saw in the clearing.

“I have nothing without you,” she said, her voice quiet but ringing with an unbreakable strength.

She takes a step closer, her gaze unwavering.

“You think safety is a room in an inn? Safety is an illusion. The Purna are still out there. The Storm Shadow is still out there. My only safety is with you.”

She stops directly in front of me, so close I can feel the warmth radiating from her.

“And what of your duty to your brothers?” she presses, her voice softening, but losing none of its intensity.

“You want to honor them? You want to find them? Then you must stay alive. You will not survive out there alone, not with the enemies that hunt us. Your first duty to your brothers is to not get yourself killed on a foolish, solitary quest for redemption. Your only chance of fulfilling your vow is with me at your side.”

Her words, so full of irrefutable logic and fierce loyalty, shatter my flawed, foolish plan.

She is right. I cannot save my brothers if I am dead.

My duty to them, to my King, and my duty to my mate—they are not separate paths.

They are all the same road, and it is a road we must walk together.

The conflict that has been tearing me apart finally resolves.

My duty is to her, because she is the key to fulfilling all the others.

A profound sense of release washes over me, and I pull her into my arms, crushing her against me.

I kiss her, a kiss that is not of passion or desire, but of a new, absolute certainty.

It is a sealing of our vow, our unbreakable pact.

We will face the future, and all of its dangers, together.