Page 78 of Rhuyin

He smiled, but it was obviously a fake smile. There was something forced and ugly about his words, though he tried to play it off as levity as he shifted uncomfortably. He sounded oddly hoarse when he spoke and it took me a minute to process his words.

“Bonded? I’m—I’mnotBonded,” I answered.

Chapter 23

Rhuyin

I glared at the floor, thoughts of who Luke’s Bonded might be, and when they would be showing up in response to Luke’s panic causing bile to burn in the back of my throat. The slight smell of ozone lingered in the air. It was a scent any Soma worth his salt would recognize: the smell of a Bonded Mageia. Why Kopanos hadn’t noticed it, or the other Somas I could smell that had been in the room, was beyond me.

I’d seen Luke standing with his Bonded at the ceremony, an older man with a military bearing, with silver at the temples of his short dark hair. I was surprised that they were already Bonded, but the scent of ozone when I passed them was overwhelming. They must have held a private ceremony, which made sense considering he was a prince and all.

I’d ducked out of the ceremony as soon as possible afterward, then spent the evening drinking myself into oblivion. It takes a serious amount of alcohol to make a Soma pass out, but somehow I’d managed it.

The earth shaking had alarmed me, and I’d followed the vibrations from my rooms to the lobby of the Pavilion. From there, I had followed the scent of warm cinnamon that I’d come to associate with Luke. I’d seen Kopanos speaking to him through the windows of the office even as I sensed his distress. For once I had set aside my scruples about eavesdropping and had understood most of what he had been saying to Luke.

At first, with Luke seated in the chair pointed away from me, I thought maybe I had been mistaken and it wasKopanoswho was really the one he had chosen for his Bonded, not the man I saw at the ceremony. That thought seemed to be borne out by Kopanos leaning forward to whisper something intimately in his ear.

The surge of fury and fear that burst through my chest had made me move so fast I felt like I had almost materialized behind Luke, my hand on his shoulder. I saw his reflection in the glass and felt the vibrations along my skin as he’d replied to Kopanos. Even before seeing him speak, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was no way Kopanos could be his Bonded.

“Bonded? I’m—I’mnotBonded,” he answered.

I dropped into the seat next to him, my attention caught on my hands, stroking the red, orange and black fur that had materialized along them.

Fur.

What the hell was going on? Some Somas were able to do partial changes even before they Bonded, but I’d never changedanythingbefore, despite many hours of effort.

I was still staring at my hands when Luke reached out and took my hand in his.

“Fox,” he said.

“What?” I asked, uncomprehendingly.

“Fox. Fox fur.” He gestured toward my hands, which now had blackened claws instead of nails.

I tried to sign, then realized the futility when my hands—paws—refused to make the correct shapes.

Suddenly I could see it in my mind’s eye: a red fox, blackened mitts, white chest. The world shifted oddly, and everything went dark. I shook my head and began to panic, scrabbling at the material around me. Not this, too. I couldn’t lose my sight as well.

“It’s okay,” I felt Luke say. “Just hold on a minute.”

I froze and struggled to force down my panic. I felt movement, then sudden light burst through, disorienting me. I panted in relief as I looked around and realized that Luke was standing there, my t-shirt in his hand.

“Yip!” I exclaimed, then looked around in confusion a moment before realizing the vibration had come from me.

Luke looked down at me, a slow smile dawning on his face like the glow of a sunrise.

“Well, hello, gorgeous,” he said.

I struggled out of the rest of my clothing, slowly adjusting to the feel of walking on four feet instead of two.

Scents were a million times more intense than they had ever been in my human form. The ozone smell of a Bonded Mageia was almost a visible thing. Colors were strange, mostly blues, grays and yellows. I began turning in circles, just trying to take it all in at once. I felt the touch of a hand on my back and jumped, literally leaping feet straight in the air like a cat.

I realized it had been Luke, placing his hand on my fur.

I froze. The feel of his touch was amazing.

“Is this okay?” he asked once he had my attention.