The Aspect of Essence (The Aelfyn Archives, #1)

by Samantha Amstutz

While he folded his cloak to carry, Lykor discerned an inferno of hatred searing through the link. Even half a world away, he experienced the intensity of the bond-holder’s emotions. He doubted the person on the other end was aware they were jerking on the connection. PROBABLY FUCKING AROUND WITH THEIR MAGIC, Lykor thought. He refused to embrace this intrusion linking them with tendrils of power. Lykor had no desire to dwell upon how long this vestige of a bond would hover between him and whichever figure he’d observed that stormy night on the shore. With a disgusted growl, he assumed the connection would last an eternity if they never met in the flesh to accept or reject the magic of the bond. As if he wanted an aspect of Essence to shackle him to another. We’re both probably bonded to them, the other entity in Lykor’s mind mused. While fucking ridiculous, the quiet statement made Lykor stiffen, hackles rising like hearing a whisper in shadows. They rarely addressed each other directly. That is, until a few weeks ago when the other presence took an interest in the discovery of their bond-holder. Surely talking to the other in his head would grate at his focus—making his stability more difficult to maintain than it already was. The other being had seldom risen to the surface of their thoughts during the past century they’d existed together, dwelling in the same mind. That fragment of himself had been content to lurk. To watch. To let Lykor serve as the host of their action...

Are they the silver tendrilss she sees in her mind