Page 17

seventeen

Rivern

S he’s here . The words ring over and over again as I stand within a tunnel that bodes no exit.

The Goddess would have her jest .

I continue up the tunnel, moving past the feelings of despair and warmth. It’s strange to feel such a wide array of emotions without understanding their connection to the environment.

The bond is ravenous in these moments, knowing she is close but also knowing I’m unable to help her. My mate.

Shaking the unwelcome thought away, I continue down the tunnel, remembering when I first broached the strange feeling in my chest with my mother three rotations ago. Originally, she had hoped that with space and time, the bond would disappear, as the fae had not experienced a bond like this since they left Haven. But the pain grew, and the need to find my bond was persistent, often leaving me sleepwalking in the moonlight.

When I started finding myself nearly half off cliff faces in the middle of the dark, and with my impending nuptials, Mother relented in me finding and taking care of business—for Terra, of course.

Finally, I find an exit off the tunnel not far from where I sense my bonded, and head up a narrow staircase. I’m brought to a stone wall, and I move my hands around each individual stone to find the releasing latch.

It does not take long for the secret door to give way, and soon, I am squeezing out into another tunnel.

Light flickers up ahead, and I notice the air in this space is different. Every step I take towards the flickering, warm yellow and orange glow makes my skin prick with sweat.

The chanting starts back up, the bond singing for its mate. Her, her, her. Mate, mate, mate.

I feel it. I feel her. Everything grows stronger the closer I get to the light.

My training kicks in, and I open myself up to any extra sounds or sensations. I cannot go in blind. If she is with the dyre wolf, I must prepare for a fight.

Easing a dagger out of my boot, I move with silent ease towards an archway where the orange glow spills.

As I stand a few feet from the arch, I scan the room for her through the bond. My body heats and leaves an intensity moving through my limbs as I focus on the small female with long, silken hair. For all intents and purposes, she seems well, besides… I tilt my head, trying to read a faint thud that is moving through my skull that is not mine. She’s hurt!

The bond makes its anger known and propels me to move within the doorway.

Glistening chestnut hair is the first thing I notice as I see my female bent over a table, taking large spoonfuls of a liquid into her mouth.

My senses reach out but detect no others in the room. I do, however, pick up the unmistakable smell of wolf within the space.

At the unpleasant scent, my teeth bare, and my bonded halts the spoon halfway to her lips.

She’s not fae . I knew that the first rhythm I was close enough to tell whether she was male or female. Human, then. That knowledge alone should be enough to send me through a loop, but knowing she is one of them doesn’t make any difference to the beating of my heart for her. Only her.

In all the centuries of the fae’s existence, I’ve never heard a story of a fae bonding with another God’s creation. And after what happened in Haven, it is blasphemy to talk of the creatures who stole our home.

The Goddess does not seem to have the same affinity towards the species as her people do. Otherwise, this bond would never exist.

Boring my eyes into the side of my bonded’s head, I want nothing more than to let resentment take me and hold me in its embrace, but all I can feel is an overwhelming sense of peace like the Goddess has brought me home.

I’m thoroughly fucked.