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April 28 - May 2, 2023
She could only imagine how wild they must have looked conversing through animated looks alone.
Not even Farrah could silence the demons that tormented him. Not until—”
“The bond can also be rejected before the mating, but if either side rejects, that also cannot be undone. The soul will sever whatever connection was there as though its mate were dead. It’s painful and can leave a permanent hollow void, but there’s no lingering bond to always feel a pull to its other half even without any romantic or friendly feeling. Without the bond, one is free to be with whomever they choose.”
“I’ll go,” he answered. Without hesitation, without considering the risks. Nik had to believe his eagerness was solely at the prospect of being reunited with Faythe.
To keep herself calm, she imagined all the excruciating, slow, and gruesome ways she could kill Maverick. It did more than soothe her emotions about the impending confrontation with her superiors; it actually brought her a hint of joy to picture his death by her hand.
When she took the bastard’s life, it would be by her will, and hers alone.
She chose to take confidence in her decision as six became seven once again.
Reylan’s voice… It felt like home.
She quickly slipped into a robe that hid the lattice of her back and chest at least then snatched up her clothes, making to leave as his voice traveled to her with a darkness that swept a shudder over her body. “Which of them hurt you?” She dared a glance back. Maverick’s expression was hard to decipher. There was a coldness that was always present, but now it seemed woven with a chilling wrath. He meant which of the masters had inflicted her punishments. Why he cared to ask she couldn’t be sure. Zaiana raised her chin, casting her eyes to the exit as her feet pressed for it. She didn’t look
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leave, coming up close with his back to Amaya
He was the single person under the mountain—she admitted with great internal reluctance—who was a worthy opponent.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you kneel before me.” “I’ll get on my knees for you anytime, Zaiana. You know you need only ask.” Maverick used his flaming sword to prop himself up in front of her.
His grin was enticing. “I have missed this.” “Getting your ass handed to you?” “Watching you”—his eyes trailed her from head to toe—“become beautifully untamed.”
Lilianna believed there may have been some way to make contact with the Spirit of Life. If not to have her turned fae, then to have me turned human.” Agalhor paused, gauging her reaction.
“They are wrong, because Lilianna and I were wed, in private, but it was legal and binding all the same, and I have the documents and witnesses to prove it.”
“You made fun of me the whole time,” she grumbled. “Young Nikalias was a menace.”
but if they threatened to harm her, he would incite a war.
She’s my mate, and I’m letting her go.
“My daughter, Rhyenelle’s lost flame returned. Just like your mother…you would make a gracious queen, Faythe Ashfyre.”
“We do not hold the key to the temple, and the one who does also happens to be exactly what we need for the ascension.”
To her surprise, Mordecai shook his head. “She doesn’t just hold the key to the temple…she is the key.”
“I don’t know what the future holds or where the path may end, but I plan to follow you down whatever perilous, reckless, adventurous road you lead, Faythe Ashfyre.” His lips curled in tender amusement. “I vow to stand by your side. I vow to protect you with my sword and my life. And I vow to bind my fate to yours, if you will have me. I’ve lived enough years in this world to know should you leave it, so too shall my desire to stay here without you.”
“Until the end of days, Reylan Arrowood.” His smile—warm, genuine, and heartbreakingly rare—had become the light in her eternal shadow. “Maybe even longer, Faythe Ashfyre.”
“Give this to the one with eyes like mine.” Her voice croaked. “To the one they call Faythe Ashfyre.” Zaiana stilled. The name chilled her even more than the first time she heard it. How this human knew of her was mystifying. “Tell her…tell her I knew her mother. And tell her…that I’m sorry.”
“General Reylan, what is the punishment for the murder of an innocent?” Faythe asked, not taking her eyes off the fae in front of her. There was a pause of silence, and she knew he was deliberating whether to intervene on her behalf or not. He didn’t, but he stayed close and armed by her side. “Imprisonment or execution depending on the trial, Your Highness.”
“Phoenix Queen,” a woman breathed in what sounded like awe from the crowd. It was echoed intermittently until it hummed through the masses. “Thank you.”
Faythe muttered, “I killed him.” She moved with the expanse of his chest. “No, you didn’t.”
“Where’s Reuben?” Reylan settled down beside her, close enough their thighs grazed. “Nature’s call, as he announced.” Faythe chuckled. They wouldn’t know it was the way he had referred to his bathroom breaks since he was a child.
“If we’re all to die out here—” “Seriously?” Livia cut in with a dead look. He dismissed her with a lazy smile. “I would simply like to know, if you got the chance, what would your famous last words be?” Faythe smiled too, thinking it a fun game to take her mind off the dark night and discovery of the possible ghoulish threats that could be lurking around them. Kyleer obliged. “Please, Gods above, make Izaiah mute in the next life.”
“I don’t mourn the time I’ll miss; I rejoice in the time I had.” Kyleer whistled low. “This is getting deep. Can I amend my words?”
“My last breath would be yours,” she heard his truth. “To make sure you knew…I will always find you.”
Izaiah scoffed. “Oh, I see how it is. Internal conversation is rather selfish in company, you know.”
“Don’t you dare.” His voice was clear through the glare of light in her mind. Faythe held onto those sapphires while her life balanced between being claimed by steel or magick. “Don’t you give up, Faythe Ashfyre.”
“Skailies.”
“Atherius,” Faythe whispered in disbelief. It was made all the more dizzying when the Firebird reacted to the name. Its flames flickered and head dipped faintly. Wary, but…confirming.
Faythe was… The cry of soul-splitting agony from the silver-haired warrior was enough to stiffen her spine but weaken her knees. He fell forward, palms splayed, as though death tore through him too. The air fell icy cold, and a faint sting creeped behind her eyes while every hair on her body stood on edge watching him.
but it is not without your mate’s tether that you are both here…and there. Though be aware, even the strongest of bindings can be broken.”
“The Great General of Rhyenelle, the one they call the White Lion of the South, and the one who will be remembered in history within stories of battles and reign for millennia…is your soul-bonded mate, Faythe Ashfyre.”
He is not simply a Mindseer, as such an ability is only used to diminish another’s power. No other can take. Reylan Arrowood has strong bloodline blessings from all three Spirits. He is a powerful rarity none of us could have predicted.”
“You are two parts of the same sword. A blade without a hilt cannot be wielded. A hilt without a blade is forgotten potential. With the weapon you could become, together, you could change the world.”
But with great power comes great responsibility, my child.
