Page 28 of Realms of Shadow and Sun (A World of Sun and Shadow #3)

Selenia felt peaceful for the first time since Jurel's death. With Sion's arms wrapped around her, she felt safe and protected. Loved, even. She knew he wasn't aware that they were fated; she could feel it in her soul that he didn't realize it. It was cruel to allow her this gift but to not allow Sion to reciprocate. He obviously felt something for her, but she knew it wasn't the desperation and aching desire that flooded her senses.

The Murcurial said it would hurt, at first, but she would be happy in the end. That was something, wasn't it?

She sighed and tilted her head back towards Sion. He held her tightly, his arms around her waist and his warm breath hot against her neck.

Her nightmare had brought them closer together. Selenia dreamt that Sion was in Cressida's court, and she was forced to watch as Cressida cut him over and over again, marring his beautiful skin. With a devilish look in her eye, the Shadow Queen had carved out Sion's heart right in front of her. That was when she woke up, with Sion's chest pressed against her own. It took her a while to realize that he was safe, and not locked away to do Cressida's bidding. When he told her what happened to him there, it upset her. But once he became hers, the revelation was absolutely horrifying. She'd stab Cressida in the heart for hurting her mate.

Her mate. Fates, how could this be so? Sion was well past the age for it. But then again, Grayden was too when he discovered he was fated to Renya. Was her mating bond somehow locked like Renya's? Or did the Murcurial create it? If she had somehow, when would Sion feel it?

Her head felt dizzy, trying to piece out this strange, yet exhilarating revelation. Selenia debated telling Sion, but it made no sense, and she didn't think he would believe her. No, she needed to figure out exactly what happened before she confessed.

Her face brightened. They were in the Snow Lands, and they should be home today. Surely Almory would know what was going on. Perhaps he would be able to force Sion's bond to her, so they could be deliriously happy together.

She traced her fingers lightly over his hand on her stomach, thinking about the kiss they shared last night. After a few minutes, Sion had pulled away, and the loss of his body against hers was so substantial that she had begun to cry again. He had held her then, pulling her to his furs, wrapping her in his muscular arms and placing tender kisses along her back. Even now, his chest was pressed to her back and she could feel the warmth radiating from him. Her bottom rested against him, and she could feel his hardness against her backside.

She was horribly naive when it came to men, and the only knowledge she possessed about sex had come from romance novels hidden deep in the false bottom of her wardrobe. From what she read, the hardness she felt indicated that he wanted her. Relief flooded her. Perhaps he sensed their connection, even without his side of the bond activated.

Sion shifted in his sleep, and Selenia felt herself being pulled to his body even tighter. She could scarcely breathe, but she didn't care.

Finally, Sion began to wake up. Selenia dreaded the moment, knowing that when he woke up and realized how close they were, he would undoubtedly push her away again. But for just a little bit, she could pretend.

She could tell the instant Sion remembered the previous night. He tensed behind her, a shaky breath escaping him.

He started to pull away, but Selenia turned towards him and held his face in her hands. He blinked rapidly, and she watched him swallow hard.

"None of that,"

she said, looking deeply into his eyes. "You aren't going to pull away."

He closed his eyes, and Selenia could feel the pulse of desire tug at them both.

"Selenia, this can't happen..."

"What did I just say?"

Sion pushed himself up, untangling his limbs from hers. "I took advantage of the situation. You're sad because of Jurel, and I'm preying on that."

He held the fur over his body as he tried to pull his trousers on, nearly falling over in the confined space of the tent.

"You did no such thing. If you must know, my nightmare last night was about the horrors you endured at the hands of the Shadow Queen."

Sion paled, his hands pausing on the laces of his pants.

"Why would you dream about that?"

Selenia bit her lip. She wanted to tell him, make him understand that what was happening between them was inevitable. But she knew it would be hard for him to believe.

"It just...bothered me,"

she finished lamely.

They both looked anywhere but each other.

Sion broke the tension first.

"We should get going."

He turned his back to her, indicating that she should dress.

She rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn't see it. He had held her all throughout the night, her body pressed against his, but in the light of the day, he was concerned for her modesty. She struggled getting her arm into her sleeve, the pain worse than ever. The weather was so poor that they didn't even eat dinner, and Selenia was desperately overdue for the pain relief that the poppy concoction provided.

Sion heard her grunts of pain and turned. She was mostly dressed, but her arm hung in the sleeve, her blouse still open. Selenia could see his concern, his pity for her condition.

"I'm fine,"

she grumbled, leaving her injured arm outside of the blouse and shrugging on her cloak.

"Selenia."

All it took was her name on his tongue, his voice thick, causing a shiver down her spine. He moved towards her and her breathing hitched, watching his hands reach out to hers.

The second his hand made contact with her skin, she felt a jolt of electricity trail through her body. From the widening of his eyes, Selenia knew he felt it too, although he didn't comment on it, but instead focused on helping her into the rest of her clothing.

Once her borrowed cape from the Sun Realm was clasped around her neck, Sion opened up the tent flap and crawled out.

When she looked outside, her mouth dropped. At least three feet of snow settled around the camp, completely covering the terrain.

"Whoa."

"We haven't seen snow like this in ages,"

Sion agreed, heading towards the horses, his feet sinking deep in the wet snow.

Selenia followed him, teeth chattering. The horses were tethered under a tree, their thick coats protecting them from the cold.

"Can I help pack up the tent?"

she asked?

Sion shook his head. "It's too wet to take back. We'll leave it and just take what we need."

Selenia had never been so excited to see Wesalie again. The town was quiet, everyone hunkered down for the evening, but the low glow from the streetlights was like a beacon, leading them up the gravel path to Snowden Lodge.

She could feel Sion's excitement as well, his body practically humming once they reached the outskirts of the town.

"How long have you been gone?"

"Almost a full year. Before I went to the Shadow Realm, I was up in the mountain training camp."

"Will you stay at the lodge or go back home?"

Selenia tried not to sound too hopeful at the prospect of being under the same roof.

"I'll stay here until Grayden is back. Then I'll head out towards the foothills."

Selenia nodded. "Has your house been abandoned all this time?"

"No, my grandmother is living there. As soon as my father died, I moved her there. It's bigger than her old house and closer to the town."

"That was good of you."

She leaned back into his arms, the scent of him too strong to ignore. She felt him tense against her, but then he relaxed as Honor continued up the path to the lodge.

Two grooms were waiting for them, no doubt spotting them as they came up the long hill. Sion dismounted first, and then pulled Selenia off and carefully lowered her to the ground.

"Selenia!"

She whipped around to see Tumwalt rushing towards her, Almory a few paces behind. Tumwalt had grown grayer in the weeks they'd been gone, and his hairline receded even more. He looked thinner, as if their absence caused him a great deal of stress. Almory looked the same, although his eyes twinkled even more, as if he was pleased to see them.

"Selenia is hurt,"

Sion said immediately, looking at Almory.

"I'll see to her at once—"

Almory started, but was cut off by a woman who appeared quickly, racing across the yard with speed that didn't match her age.

The woman looked at Selenia and Sion, sizing them up quickly. She wore several strange pieces of clothing, layered as if to keep her warm in the Snow Lands.

"Where is Renya?"

the elderly woman asked, eyes darting quickly around the courtyard and behind them, as if she expected more guests to appear.

Selenia understood immediately who this was, even though she hadn't met her the last time she barged into the lodge.

It was Renya's aunt, Agatha.

Selenia's jaw fell the second she realized that Renya's aunt was here, not only in their world, but here at the lodge.

"She's not with us,"

Sion said, clearly baffled by the woman's appearance. "You're Renya's aunt? I met you briefly in the Sunset Land. You hit me with some falling rubble."

"Ah, the spy, is it? Hopefully I just knocked some common sense into your brain. If my Renya isn't with you, where is she? That boyfriend of hers better be taking care of her. He's far too handsome for my liking, but he does seem to care about her."

Selenia tried to piece together the timeline in her mind. Based on her speech, she guessed that Agatha didn't know Renya was fated to Grayden. She glanced at Sion, and he shook his head slightly while Agatha looked behind them again, as if Renya would pop out from behind the horses.

Sion was right. It wasn't their place to tell her of Renya and Grayden's bond.

"If everything went to plan, Renya, Cyrus, Grayden, and his brother Phillippe should be on their way here as we speak."

Sion looked at Tumwalt next. "Have you had any communication with them?"

"None since they left the Twilight Kingdom. We've been in the dark here."

"You all better hope my Renya's in one piece. What has happened since Renya came back through the portal?"

Selenia spoke up. "Renya's powers were unlocked by the Shadow Queen. We went to the Twilight Kingdom so Renya could be trained by Queen Kalora—"

"That old bird is still alive? Hmph. She stole my beau from me when we were younger and I've never forgiven her for it."

"—and then the Shadow Queen came there and took Renya—"

Agatha gasped at this revelation.

"But Renya was able to get on her good side. Cyrus, Grayden, and Phillippe went to the Shadow Realm to get her back."

"What's being done to end this threat for good?"

Agatha looked at them all, hostility rolling off of her in waves. Selenia wasn't sure why she was hostile towards them, or if this was just her personality.

Sion cleared his throat. "Grayden has a plan."

Agatha snorted. "I'm sure Pretty Boy does. Hopefully it's better than the plans he's had so far."

Selenia wanted to argue, but she was tired and cold. She shivered, and then felt Sion's eyes on her.

"We can talk about this later. Selenia is in pain and needs to be seen to."

Sion gave her a gentle nudge forward and Almory beckoned for her to follow him. She turned her back and marched away from the courtyard, towards Almory's workshop. Just before the doors closed behind her, she could hear Sion trying to reassure Agatha.

"Grayden is the best leader I've ever known. He also loves Renya. She's safe as long as she's with him."