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twenty-nine

Dove

T rudging through the endless forest, we come to a large pool of water. Crystal blue in appearance, it is fanned out by smaller connecting rivers in multiple directions, making the centre pool almost a hub to the surrounding land.

A soft breeze moves through the branches of the trees, leaving the smell of refreshing rain and dew to fill my lungs.

The sights and smells are revitalising as we haven’t seen any other lakes of water big enough to immerse our full bodies. We could’ve trekked via the coastline, but Rivern informed me this way would be faster, and speed—our speed—is something we must be very conscious of. Especially with a mammoth dyre wolf after us—well, me.

Sniffing the air, I catch the unseemly whiff of my clothes after being stuck on a horse for multiple turns of the suns. The fae behind me still gives off the aroma of pine trees and brilliantly blinding sunshine. Lucky him!

Perfect fae prince. Not only is he inhumanly beautiful, but he is also good at everything. Braiding hair, check. Foraging for food and water, check. Doesn’t need sleep, check. Can speak to animals, check. Well, I am not sure he can speak to Mage, more like watch his body clues, but he definitely has conversations with his intimate, Solen.

“Let’s rest for the night here,” Rivern announces behind me.

“The whole night?” I question. We have not made a full night’s camp this entire trip. We stopped only for me to nap and to find food and water. That is it. Rivern never rests.

“Well, the wolf seems to be making minimal progress, and this is the only good place to bathe along our journey. Plus, this may come as a surprise to you, but I do need to rest occasionally,” he adds jovially. Since announcing me as his princess for the whole wild wood to hear, he has become more playful, lighter, and more charming. It is like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

It makes the bond hum joyfully to feel him excited about our connection, and it almost tempts me to change my mind, to change my plans.

I cannot, though. Every time I have a flashback to my life in Haven—every time I see those children starving on the steps of the king’s manor house, shivering with the creeping of the colder months—I cannot free the guilt. I know that somehow, with my knowledge and the Goddess’s song, I can do more for those people and the dying land around Haven. There is no other choice for me. I have to save them.

It is strange that the fae in Terra seem to be flourishing outside of Haven, that they do not need the song to continue.

When I questioned Rivern about fae practices, he commented that they have created new ways of worshipping the Goddess through intentional words, which seem just as effective. However, relearning their lost song will be such a gift to bring back to his people. A lost treasure, finally found.

And it will return their wisps to them.

With the song, they can unlock their magic and build more homes and gardens within the mountains to support the fae. My prince shows excitement for this newfound discovery. So, he isn’t letting me out of his view.

Yet, from his words, it sounds like they do not need the song to keep them content in this life. It makes me question the true nature of the melody, and I keep those thoughts to myself. Surely, there is a reason why I found it just as my crops started to dwindle to alarming levels.

Soon, we find a place close to the bank of the crystal-clear lake to rest for the evening.

Mage is left to graze and drink his fill close by.

The wisps we brought with us flutter around, making trilling sounds, and I delightedly explore this new part of the forest as I spot little balls of light weaving through the thicketed trees around the wide bank.

“Do you think this lake is safe for bathing?” I muse aloud, standing by the soft, rocky shore and watching the slight ripples of the water.

“The last time I stopped here, I swam in it without problem. It’s not for drinking, considering it feeds into the ocean, but I found it energising,” Rivern says as he goes about finding soft leaves and brush for us to sleep on. Every so often, a group of wisps comes by and adds to his collection on the forest floor.

Each time he leans over, I notice the bulge of his muscles flexing beneath his breeches. I have never seen pants that tight before, like they are moulded to his skin.

My whole body responds to the picture of the fae male in front of me, and I frown as tingles shoot from my belly into my groin, saliva pooling in my mouth. Dammit, Dove, control yourself.

“Is everything okay over there, Little Dove?” Rivern comes out of a crouched position where he’s fussing over some leaves on the ground to showcase his hollows of happiness for me. The ones on his face. Though, I wouldn’t mind seeing—

“I’m fine.” I whip my body around on a puff. Get it together Dove. Stop letting Rivern get to you .

Letting this bond get to me is not an option. I need to find a way to get away from Rivern, to stop this aching need for him.

The wisps. The thought of somehow getting them on board to aid me in my escape rings within my periphery. Perhaps when we are sleeping, I can slip out, and they can light my path.

I can use the wisps to create shelter and find food, and if I stick to the wooded areas, Solen won’t be able to see me from above.

It is sorted. This is the night.

Argus swiftly approves of my bravery, and he continues to keep the coals ever hot now that I’ve found my purpose for the evening .

I will set out for Haven this darkness to kill the king and his son, and no person will get in my way, not even my bonded.

I will do it for all the people on the brink of starvation, all the lost souls oppressed by the walls placed around our kingdom, around its people. My people. If they only knew of the prosperity around them, they would not cower.

The king is merely a man, and I intend to prove his mortality.

With the wisps on my side maybe I could succeed. Maybe.

Walking towards the water, I find myself drawn to its restful nature. Water has always been a way for me to feel cleansed after a hard turn’s work, to wipe the worries of the turn away, and I’ve been sorely missing this slight reprieve that life at the temple afforded me.

Large and small rocks surround the lake, so I am careful as I make my way over each as my foot occasionally slips on the smooth surfaces. I find a small pool trapped between a larger circle of stones, and I crouch down to inspect it.

Its clear, translucent nature takes on a slight turquoise colour as it reflects the dark green of the trees and soft blue of the sky. The setting suns highlight the golden hues in the green, reminding me of Rivern.

What? Even colours remind you of him now! I chastise myself.

Pushing him out of my mind, my thoughts clear out for the slightest of moments as I’m able to see my reflection in the lake’s clear waters.

And as I blink, the image of the tired, messy-haired girl is transformed into…

Something else.

It’s me, but it’s not me. This Dove has fire in her emerald eyes, a crown of fairy flowers on her head, a blood-red dress that dips so low that her whole scar is on display and soft, glowing, silvery lines that dance around her skin.

That cannot be me.

In one blink of my weary eyes, the image is gone, leaving my sullen expression looking at me. Troubled eyes crease through the ripples as I squint back at myself.

You’re delusional, Dove.

Rivern is off finding food for us to eat, so, with his earlier assurance that the lake is okay to bathe in, I quickly strip down and wade into the surprisingly lukewarm water, my hair out and blowing in the chilling earthen breeze.

“Godesssss.” The relief passing through my body is immeasurable as I continue to sink inch by inch, just letting my head bob above the soft current.

With my feet barely touching the floor, I decide to dip my whole body under to wash the dirt out of my hair. Without soap on hand, I will not be as clean as I like, but the firm pull of the water on my skin is a reprieve after turns of travel. My body almost seems to calm down enough my heart rate lowers to a normal, non-erratic speed.

Soon, the suns are dipping below the trees, a warm glow illuminating the lake around me.

As I move my hands up and down my body, washing the dirt and grime off my skin, my thoughts drift unbidden to the fae male I’m bonded to.

Truly, this would be the best time to flee, but I am cautious that, with Rivern awake, he could come back at any moment to find me gone. I need slumber to hold him through the darkness, giving me a head start before he notices my absence.

What will he think when I leave? He will be disappointed, but surely if he were in my position, he would understand . My saving grace continues to be that we aren’t fully bonded, meaning he cannot read my thoughts. Just my feelings.

Suddenly, a slight splash comes from behind me, and I jerk my whole body around.

There, clad in nothing but his nakedness, is Rivern. Completely highlighted by the last of the suns’ rays peeking through the trees, the map of his skin weaves vined, golden lines from his face, down his neck, his arms, his torso. Even reaching for his—

My eyes shoot back to large, violet orbs. “Since it’s just us out here and we are bonded, I thought you would not mind me sharing this lake with you.”

Words get caught in my throat. What the actual fuck?

I take a step back, slipping on a rock.

My reflexes do not compare to those of the fae before me, and before I slip through the water, two firm, strong hands are pulling me against one large, taut body.

Eyes closed tightly to the overwhelming torment of this male holding me, I lower my forehead to rest on Rivern’s firm chest, my body on fire from the contact between us.

My brain turns to mush, an unthinking cavity as everything Rivern becomes heightened to me.

Iron fingers hold my upper body close to his strong form.

Everything in me stills, waiting and pliant as the bond’s beat is all I hear in my ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. Music to my weary body.

Rivern exhales. I inhale. A rhythm unbroken, reminding me of the double-circled loop symbol the fae use. Always connecting back to each other. A dance of forever.

His unyielding fingers slip from my arms and trail a line from my upper back to my waist, and further down to the cheeks of my bottom.

“I would stop, but I cannot,” a croaking, smooth timber says from above. I finally open my eyes to see my shining prince encased in a halo of wispy light.

“What if I don’t want you to stop?” The voice betrays me, my lips unbidden. Shit, what am I doing? This bond cannot be sealed.

“I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my lifetime, Princess.” That name again unlocks a little part within me, welding it back to the shattered pieces of my heart.

Rivern stirs my fire to unheard-of temperatures, making the water milling around our bodies hotter than it should be.

Fingers flex on my bottom, giving it a tender squeeze.

A whimper slips from my lips, and I watch as blazing eyes turn the darkest shade of wine.

Folding his head forward, my prince leans his head towards mine, pushing our foreheads together. “If you make that sound again, Princess, I cannot be held responsible for my actions.”

My breath catches in my throat at the sound of his desperation.

It leaks from his voice and the bond.

Want…

Need…

Desire…

Connection…

Our connection—it’s undeniable. This moving thing within and between both of us is a new song that I’m becoming more and more attuned to.

My body thrums along to the sound of Rivern’s power. It’s almost like my human senses are heightened. Will I receive his fae abilities if we fully bond?

“We can’t,” I whisper.

“We can’t?” he questions.

I need to run far, far away from this fae prince. All I can feel is him, me and our bodies. He has brought me fully into the present. Past and future no longer exist within his embrace.

“No! We can’t,” I shriek in a hushed tone.

This fae will be the death of me. And here, I thought it would be a wolf that kills me at the request of a disillusioned king. Turns out, it is going to be the Goddess-bonded fae prince who sets my blood to boil instead.

“You can’t hide from me, Dove. I feel you, in here.” He pushes his palm on his chest.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” I bring my trapped hands up towards Rivern’s upper chest and trace the lines of his markings around his perfectly sculpted frame.

With our bodies flush together, all of the hard muscles and lines of his body become one with mine, including a hard length below my waist, seeking something it cannot have.

No, no, no . I shake my head vigorously.

My mind has only one focus, and I don’t know how to pull it away from the prince who has gripped my body tight with a claiming, a vigour I have never known.

I am melding to his will. To the bond’s will…

At this moment, I am utterly lost to my fae prince.