His words to her had been true regardless—he had no intention of returning to Aethyria, if she chose to stay in Mortasia. She was his mate. His destiny. The more time he spent with her, the stronger the pull in his blood, like gravity shifting the tides. An unbreakable thread tied to his chest. And the fiercer his need to protect her. Leaving her to fend for herself against this world would be no less painful than cracking open his own ribs and tossing half his heart away.
