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eighteen

Dove

M y hand stills as the small hairs on my arms rise. Tingles race throughout my chest, sparking an awareness that defies logic.

Someone is here. Someone I know.

But this is not Gideon, not my beast.

He went to report to Castor after bringing me some soup and boy’s brown breeches, navy blue blouse and boots. I do not begrudge the food and the clothing, having been in a thin gown covered in blood most of the moonlight. Not the greatest look.

I did tell him I was likely to flee in his absence, but he wasn’t too concerned. He gave me plenty of side-eye and stated that if he could find me once, he would find me again . I have no doubts.

As my tummy grumbles from barely being able to eat, knowing what is in store for at first light, I force down soup and think of an action plan.

Until this presence…

This unknown entity changes the very way my body reacts. My heart chants. My blood palpitates.

I place the spoon back in my bowl and press on my chest, frowning.

“You feel it, too.” It’s not a question but a statement, rolling off the tongue in a smooth, lilting accent.

I cannot look. If I look, everything will change . I feel it. This ache will no longer be a simple pain I can ignore like all the others I’ve locked tight. If I turn my head, this gnawing feeling that has been carving its way into my body since my twenty-second rotation will be known. It will have power, and I can’t let it have me. I have nothing left to give.

The person behind me does not have such qualms as they move closer to my frozen body. The particles that make up the air that I breathe sizzle and pop with every step they move.

“Look at me.” A request from my… I don’t even know what he is . Goddess. This must be her doing. Her song. Nothing else explains this person’s presence here, in the wolf’s lair.

I cannot ignore him. It’s physically impossible. My body yells at me to turn, to face him, his smooth melodic voice lulling my being into a false sense of security.

Fine! I breathe in deeply and stand, facing the stranger who sets my body alight in all the annoyingly right ways.

The air leaves my lungs, and I don’t know if I’ll ever breathe again. “You?” I rasp out.

My body wrenches me towards the male familiar to the depths of my soul. Violet eyes, the same colour as the fairy flower, dusted with golden brown lashes. A regal nose, high cheekbones and dark golden hair braided down his back.

“Me?” he questions with a confused expression.

Looking up, I notice the difference in height between us. He’s not as tall as my beast, but I have to crane my head to view his upper frame, where glowing networks snake his skin down the sides of his face, continuing southward, complimenting the bronzed hue of his skin tone.

“Yes, you!” My voice comes out shrill.

His feet move towards mine, an invisible tether pulling us together, a chant beginning in my head. Home, home, home.

“Yes, I… I feel you…” We are but one foot apart, and his face is the most beautifully carved creation I have yet to see.

And that’s when I see them. His ears . They are pointed. “Fae.”

The soft words travel from my lips and thud to the ground between us.

It seems to shock something within him, and he shakes his head and takes a wide step back.

“Yes, I am fae. I am Prince Rivern of Terra, and you are my bonded,” he states matter-of-factly.

That lilting voice could tell me the worst news in the history of the constellations, and it would still sound good, I surmise.

When his statement begins to sink in, I glower.

Prince Rivern… Terra… Bonded? The words tumble through my awareness, separating and reforming, not quite making sense. I’ve read about the bonded in the Goddess’s texts, left by the fae when I was learning her song. Each rhythm I went back to the library after the initial book fell at my feet, I kept my eyes peeled for similar-looking tomes, and I surprised myself by finding at least a dozen books filled with lost knowledge.

A bubble of laughter makes its way up my throat. “I’m not your bonded.”

From what I’ve read, fae bond with fae and I am not fae.

A smug look overtakes the prince’s face, showcasing two prominent dimples on each of his cheeks. Could this fae get any more attractive? It is seriously concerning .

“That tug in your chest.” He points to his chest and then to mine, where my heart lies. “That pull that wants to bring our souls together. I fear it is stronger in my kind than yours because bonding is a fae concept, not human… But, by your reaction to my presence, I know you can feel it too.”

He keeps his hand on his chest, long, tapered fingers clenching into a forest green tunic.

“I—maybe?” I don’t want to give this prince everything. But our bond isn’t complete. From what I have read, it has to be consummated, and that is not happening. He may be more beautiful than a sunrise, but he will not ease his way into my breeches.

“I am not here to play games, little human—”

“Dove,” I cut in. He looks taken aback that I would interrupt his little speech. “I’m not a little human. My name is Dove. ”

Rivern looks me dead in the eyes, smiling coyly. “Little Dove, I could get used to that. Hmmm…” He looks me up and down as I cross my arms, trying to hide my body. The feeling coming through the bond is a mix of confusion and…need. As much as he doesnt want to admit it, this bond leaves no room for untruths. “Cute for a human, I suppose.” The nonchalance of his nature must be a well-honed mask because the bond yells desire that makes my insides melt.

His nostrils flare as he closes his eyes. “Stop that,” I tell the preening male.

The bond continues to loop a steady stream of lust, leaving my body a sweaty mess of pooling need.

“You feel what I feel, Little Bird. It is not that simple.” He is right, of course. My blood is boiling at his nearness, and if I could just touch him…

“Let’s go,” Rivern’s voice cuts through my delirium.

“What? I—” He starts to stride out of the room.

“You will come with me, Little Dove. We do not have time to linger.” He stops and turns. “Unless you are quite fond of your wolf?”

At the question of Gideon, I shiver, and the prince frowns. “Forget him. You are mine!” The ire and possession seep through the bond, and I wince.

I take wide steps to make my way in front of the prince and let my simmering coals alight, leaving Argus to rest. Somehow, stupidly, I finally find the courage to stand up for myself in my own fire in front of a fae, of all creatures. A humbling realisation.

“The only person who owns me is me,” I poke my finger into his chest, and with each tiny jab, my finger is zapped, sending electrifying pricks like mini finger orgasms down my arm. Even his touch is hauntingly thrilling, infuriating.

“Follow me.” I leave no room for argument and walk in front of him down the hall.

The bond tugs him along. Now that we have found each other, we will always follow each other. The bond will never let us part. Which is both the most terrifying thing I’ve ever known and the most heart-warming.

When we reach the door that leads back towards the main courtyard, we find it unlocked. I see Gideon is quite cocky in his scouting abilities.

Luckily for him, he will not have to look far.

“We should go back the other way. It’s too dangerous up top.” Rivern makes his concern known—the bond itches with it—but I don’t listen to it or him. My defiance at the situations I’ve been placed in has been steadily fuelling my internal fire pit. At this point, I’m surprised I’m not releasing steam from my ears with the rage flowing through my body.

“I told you already. I’m not leaving,” I whisper-hiss at the striking fae behind me.

He huffs. “You are coming with me to Terra. We can figure out the bond there.” He’s been telling me that we may be able to break it. That they have oracles in Terra that might give us answers on how a human and fae have become bonded by the Goddess. He keeps calling her Oona—the same name they use in the old texts—but humans only know her as the one Goddess.

Apparently, I’m told, our bonding is an impossibility. Hard to believe it’s an impossibility when the bond is connecting us in ways I’ve never known with anyone before. It’s jarring, to say the least, and the last thing I expected from this evening’s events. Death? Yes. Bonded fae prince demanding I go to an unknown kingdom? Not so much.

“And I already told you that isn’t happening. You didn’t see all those children lining the castle steps with their families! The king and Castor need to be stopped.” In my silent eating earlier, the thought of those poor kids and families on the steps dug a hole deep in the pits of my soul. The villagers are not being told the truth. The land is failing us, and they deserve to know. Something sinister is afoot, and I am not about to watch corruption win any longer. Maybe I am just a broken servant girl, but if my earlier actions prove anything, they show I can create change. Be that negative or positive.

And if the Kingdom of Haven is going to survive, we need change.

“Little Dove,” he says my name with gentleness, and I snap, spinning on him and getting on my toes to shove my face into his. Well, as close as I can get with our height difference.

“It must have been sooo nice, Prince Rivern. Growing up in luxury, never having to hunt for scraps so your belly would not cramp during the night. Never wondering whether your father would remember to bring his wages home instead of blowing them on mead.” My finger sizzles as I punch it into his chest. “To have everything you’ve ever wanted and not have to think about…” I choke on a sob and spin.

I’m sure he can feel everything through the bond. I cradle the burn markings on the side of my face.

“Dove.” His body moves around me, and he grasps my face, filling me with fervor. Sadness and ferocity filter through the bond.

I close my eyes. “Please help me, and then I will go with you to Terra.”

As I open my eyes, those deep violet orbs say so many things that it’s hard to grasp onto just one. “Okay,” he responds.

I can’t help the smile that lights up my face. “Thank you,” I squeak, and my body very uncharacteristically hurtles itself towards Rivern in an embrace.

“Ooof. For a tiny female, you pack a punch.” He doesn’t let go as the bond sings. My head buries in his chest, breathing in pine and sunshine. Do humans even smell of sunshine? Fae apparently do.

With my hands clenched around his neck, they begin to fiddle with his soft, silken braid. Fae also have extremely soft hair. Or is it just Prince Rivern?

In my current position, with my legs dangling down Rivern’s torso, I become very aware of a hard length pressed up against me. A searing temptation through the bond makes me want to move and find out more about this sensation, but I can’t. I—

“Little Dove, either let go, or I’ll have to satiate this urge and fuck you against the wall, which would solidify the bond.”

The fog lifts, and I jump back.

“Sorry,” I hiss as if I’ve been stung. I can’t be fully bonded to this fae. I know nothing about him. And where would we even live? He keeps mentioning this Terra, but Haven has been my only home.

My breathing starts to become laboured. I can’t leave Haven. I can’t leave Haven. It becomes a roar, and my breaths come in short and sharp.

A wide-eyed Rivern expresses worry down the bond but quickly takes me in his arms and crushes me to his chest again. “Breath, Little Dove. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out.” He breathes with me, taking deep exhales as I do.

I cling to him like a possum hugs the branches. His sunlight and the comfort of home seep through the bond, filling my body with the strength I need to keep going. “I’m sorry,” I say into his hard chest.

“Stop saying sorry, Little Dove. There’s nothing to be sorry for. We are bonded. We will naturally seek comfort in each other. It’s as simple as breathing.” I nod into his chest as he begins to stroke my hair.

“Well, this is interesting,” a voice coarsely tracks down my spine, and I push off Rivern. In a swift move, he alters my course, pushing me behind his body and unsheathing a very pointy silver sword.

Gideon bares his teeth as he hunches over his body, a growl echoing through the small space.

“Stop, both of you.” I try to push at Rivern’s side, but he is an immoveable statue.

“Get back, Little Dove. I will not let harm come to you.” Well, actually, I was doing just fine until you showed up.

Gideon has been a perfect gentle-wolf, and if my gut feeling about him is true, he is just as much a servant as I am.

“Oh, stop, Rivern. Gideon won’t harm me. He is the one who fed and clothed me.” Obviously sensing the lack of a real threat, Gideon retracts his teeth, straightens his body and leans against the opposite wall as if he didn’t just lose himself to his wolf moments ago.

“She’s right. I have no interest in harming the songbird. Just you, fae,” he spits the last word on the floor in front of us, and a polished rumbling sound starts to come out of Rivern’s body.

His whole form is tense as his body stands stiff in front of me. Through the threads connecting us, I have the innate need to send feelings of assurance to him.

Moments tick by, and neither male moves or speaks, instead resorting to a very intense stare-off.

“You are both ridiculous!” Throwing my hands in the air, I skirt around Rivern and towards the courtyard door Gideon must have just returned through.

“Dove!” Rivern bellows as Gideon grabs my arm to stop my procession.

“I wouldn’t go that way if I were you,” Gideon grumbles in my ear.

Rivern is pulling me away from him before the last syllable leaves his lips, his sword under the wolf’s chin. “Put your hands on my bonded again, and it’s your death sentence.”

“Oh, please. That’s enough, Rivern,” I harshly murmur behind him. This fae is giving me serious whiplash with his bonded antics.

Gideon lets out an ominous chuckle, pushing his neck into the sword balanced there. “Bonded? Do you think that’s stopped a dyre wolf before? You are out of your league, little boy.” Gideon continues to walk forward, but the blade does not pierce his skin.

Rivern’s face does not give away the surprise lurking within the bond. “Impossible…” his voice trails off.

“You are not the only God creation here, boy.” Gideon pushes the blade aside with his hand, not a scratch in sight. Well, not a fresh scratch. The light scars littering his caramel skin tell a story of pain and survival.

Gideon makes his way back down the tunnel without a glance backward. “If you don’t want to die by the hands of my brother, I wouldn’t go out that door.”

His broad, hulking form disappears behind the curve of the tunnel, and I turn on Rivern, who is still stuck in place. “He’s shown kindness towards me, so I think he can help.”

Rivern turns to face me, sheathing his sword, harshly stating, “He wants you.” Ferocity is a potent potion, making the heat within me rise.

“Gargh! Why does it matter?! Neither of us want this bond. I don’t want it, and I don’t need you to save me,” I speak bitterly. Rivern’s eyes storm with irritation that burns our souls in equal madness, an insanity that brokers on pain.

“Stop.” I grip my chest as the flames lick my skin.

“It is not me. It is the bond. You angered it.” The harsh reality of our connection makes itself clearly known.

“ I angered it?! What of your talk of going to Terra to find a way to dissolve it?”

I do remember some minor discomfort at the thought, but not outright anguish—not what I am currently feeling at my utter disregard for it.

“I never said I didn’t want it,” Rivern seethes back at me as if the bond won’t hear our conversation if we are quiet enough.

“Same, same,” I want to shout, but the echoes within the small dungeon space do enough of that for me.

My eyes begin to water at my frustration, and Rivern grabs my shoulders, pushing our bodies together and wrapping strong arms around me. Grief and regret spill through my chest. “Let’s just forget about it,” he responds.

Anything to stop this sting . It pokes at the dragon guarding my cave, reminding me of old wounds long buried.

I squeeze my eyes, sucking in the forest and the suns emanating off the fae male gripping me tight, his nose in my hair, doing the same thing, setting a smile on my face. This bond has crippled us both .