Page 89 of Spirit Trials

I wait until we get to the top of the stairs to ask my next question. “What do you think about everything she said?”

He takes a breath, the only sign I can see that tonight got to him. “My mom’s visions can be a lot. I’ve gotten used to them over the years. The thing about them is that you can’t take them too seriously. You saw tonight. Most of it doesn’t make sense.”

I take a moment to think about his words. “Do you think she was right about the king?” I ask softly. “Do you think he’ll see us a threat?”

His mouth ticks up on one side. “My father’s always seen me as a threat.”

“Well, yeah, I get that because you’re you; but I’m a nobody.”

“A nobody that shot the glass out of his hand with a throwing star,” he feels the need to point out.

I cross my arms across my chest. “He deserved it.”

“I didn’t say he didn’t. In answer to your question, yes. He will see us as a threat. We’re the first soul bond in a long time. Our people will see it as a big deal. Our kingdom is based on power. The more powerful you are, the more authority,leadership, and respect you garner. With a bond like ours, we become the most powerful couple in the kingdom.”

“How do you figure?” I can’t help but ask. “I don’t feel any more powerful than I did before.”

He nods, unsurprised. “That’s because you don’t know how to pull from Solace’s strengths yet. You will; I’ll train you. You’ll be able to pull from her strength and abilities, while at the same time have her at your side. But what makes us unique is that we’re a group of four. Our wolves are soul-bonded, and you and I are as well. We are each connected to our wolves, and they are connected to each other. We form a perfect magic square, connected to each other. It’s the most powerful connection in our world, and it rarely happens.”

Chapter 45

I try to take it all in. “That’s crazy,” I finally respond with.

He nods solemnly. “It is.”

“Why did your mom say what she said about...consummating?” my words get sort of stuck in my throat.

“The way we connect our magic square and complete the soul bond between us is to be intimate together.”

“Oh.”

He puts a finger under my chin and tips it up. “We’re not going to sleep together just to complete the bond. You have a free will; I won’t take that from you. Besides, when we sleep together, it’s not going to be just because we want to complete the bond. It will because we both want it because of what we feel for each other.”

My brain is still latched onto thewhen—whenwe sleep together, not if. I think I nod and mumble a goodnight before I make my way to my room and close the door behind me. A few minutes later, I drop onto the bed. My body’s exhausted, but my brain is on high alert. It takes me quite some time to fall asleep.

The next morning drags but finally, it’s time to leave. We head to the stables to saddle our horses. “Over here, Farrah,” Jamik calls out from further away. I walk down to the stall he’s at and take in the horse he’s standing next to. “This one’s yours.” I continue to stare at the gorgeous horse.

“What?”

“Rysden got her for you.”

I blink and then blink again because I know exactly why he picked this one. She has the same coloring as Clover, my old horse. I swallow hard. “Are you sure?” I can’t help but ask.

“Absolutely. Her name’s Asha.”

I rub her mane. “Hi, Asha. It’s really nice to meet you.”

A few minutes later, we’re headed outside the city gates to the gathering area where the winner will be crowned. My mind is still whirling; I can’t believe Rysden got me my very own horse. I wish I could thank him, but it will have to wait. He left early this morning. When we get close, I take in the area. There are hundreds of chairs set up, maybe even thousands. There are so many, I can’t even see them all. I take in the people assembling; it’s way more than the number of us left from the competition. “What are all the chairs for?” I ask to whoever wants to answer.

Lox shoots me a curious look. “For everybody watching.”

“People are coming to watch?” I ask.

“Everybody comes to see this each year,” Lox says.

I look over at Kinsley and Harper. “Don’t look at us; we wouldn’t know,” Harper says. “It’s not like the banished get invited to watch.” Kinsley merely shrugs.

“So, all these people are from the Wolf Kingdom?” I ask.