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At his throat, the silver chain hanging around his neck—the one he’d loaned to me when I was dying—glinted, catching my attention. I tried not to pull back as he drew closer, but he was huge. He towered over me, taking up so much room, invading my space, blotting out the damn light. He was all I could see. All I could smell. He was cold morning air, and smoke, and fresh-turned earth, and a thousand other complex scents I didn’t even have names for.
“You can. Show me that I’m wrong. Show me that you’re tougher than I think you are.”
“Admittedly, I do enjoy when a female kneels for me, but in this particular case…”
“Careful, human. We Fae have an excellent sense of smell. You’d be amazed what we can scent floating on the air.”
Change the subject. Change the subject. Change the subject. “Why haven’t you gotten your lip taken care of, anyway? They can heal it. A small cut like that? It’d be gone with one tiny touch—” Kingfisher’s eyes narrowed, still boring into me. “I was going to get it seen to after this, but now I’ve decided against it.” “Hah. Right.” I ripped a piece of cheese from the block he’d slapped on the plate for me and shoved it into my mouth. “Yes. Just now, actually. I’m going to keep it as a souvenir.”
“You could at least say hello before you start eye-fucking me.”
“There you go again, lying your little heart out. You like my sweat, don’t you, human?”
How the hell had he gotten this close? His eyes danced with mirth. It was criminal that such astonishing eyes belonged to such a bastard. They were like nothing I’d ever seen before. So bright, the most unique and startling shade of green. And while the quicksilver trapped in his right iris freaked me the hell out, there was no denying that it made him look remarkable.
“Yeah. Right. I’m just… going to kiss you. And you’re just going to sit there. You aren’t going to move a muscle. You’re not even going to kiss me back?” Gods above, saying it out loud made it sound even more ridiculous. Kingfisher just stared at me. “Find out.”
“None of us are. All we know is that when the god swords went silent and abandoned the rest of the Fae who carried them, Nimerelle stayed. At a cost. The blade used to shine brilliant silver. As the centuries have passed, it’s blackened and tarnished. But Nimerelle has stayed. The spirit of that sword or the magic inside it, whatever you choose to believe it is, has stayed. No matter what, it’s never left him.”
“I was wrong, y’know. You are a good thief.” “What have I stolen?”
“Don’t you dare die on my watch, Saeris Fane! Fisher will never forgive me if his sole reason for living is torn to pieces on her first fucking battlefield.”
“Once upon a time, that was the case. Back when true mating bonds existed. Unions between true mates were blessed with marks from the Fates. That’s where the tradition of inking our hands originated from. But there’s no such thing as true mates anymore. When the gods left Yvelia, certain elements of our magic either died or waned over time. The god swords, for example. They were very slowly cut off from the source of the magic they channeled. Our ability to form mating bonds also died out over thousands of years, until it disappeared altogether.”
“My weakness! My vulnerability! I’ve known for centuries that you were coming. That you were just going to show up one day and change everything. You’re the chink in my armor, Saeris. The soft spot where the knife slides in. You are the thing that Malcolm will hurt in order to hurt me, and I couldn’t… couldn’t fucking bear it!”
“She said, when I needed you most, you’d come blazing into my life like a meteorite, riding on a wave of chaos that would turn my whole world upside down. That you’d shine so brilliantly that you’d light up hell itself and guide me out of the darkness. She had no idea what your name would be. Just that you’d have dark hair, and a beautiful smile. And that I’d love you with a fierceness despite myself.”
God-bound. We were God-bound. Mates.
Your scent drives me crazy, Fisher rumbled. You’re like a fucking drug. You light me up.
“Nobody will ever fuck you the way I’m about to fuck you, Saeris Fane. I’m about to introduce you to all seven gods. When you meet them, don’t forget to tell them I’m the one you worship on your knees.”
He was going to eat me alive. I was going to let him.
Tell me you have a plan. It was a hell of a lot easier speaking into someone’s mind when you were sprinting for your life. Fisher replied, Yes, I have one. Great. What is it? He answered right away. You.
“Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Salt. Brimstone. Quicksilver. The full gamut. More power than any Alchemist I’ve ever encountered. You are capable of restoring me to my power and a lot more besides.”
“Human, Fae, or vampire. It doesn’t matter how long you live, Saeris; you will always be most sacred to me.”
“You had better pull through this, Oshellith,” I told her. “For better or for worse, I get the feeling that you’re about to turn everything upside down.”
