Page 53 of A Kingdom of Broken Bonds

“Yes, I am leaving,” I begin, not understanding his frustration, “but you will come with—” Realisation suddenly hits me. “Oh.”

He won’t be coming with us.

I had never even considered that he wouldn’t come with us, although why I thought that, I do not know. We never had a conversation about us being together or him leaving, yet after everything that happened with Havoc…

Finnik’s expression softens, and he takes a step forward, his hand outstretched as if to touch me. He stops at the last moment though, the space between us so small, yet it feels like a chasm. He came to the same realisation I have—I thought he was coming with me.

Torn, his face contorts. “My place is here, Thea. I cannot leave, especially not with the mess Havoc has gotten himself into.”

I am so fucking stupid for getting carried away, making assumptions that I really shouldn’t have, and now I look like a fool. A hot blush colours my cheeks. Suddenly unable to meet his gaze, I look away and try to find something else to focus on.

“Of course, I shouldn’t have assumed.” I give a wan, fake smile and laugh breathily to try and cover the heartache the thought of leaving him behind produces. Pushing from Eli’s arms and moving over to the trunk, I refold clothes that don’t need it just for something to do. My shoulders hunch forward as I try to keep myself upright against the emotional onslaught.

I feel him behind me, and my body aches to lean back and burrow into his warmth, but I keep my focus on the clothes. A large, warm hand lands on my arm, tingles shooting through my fingertips at the feeling.

“Is that what you want, Thea? Me to come with you?” he asks quietly, but there is a weight in his voice that tells me my answer is important to him.

The rest of the room falls away, and everything narrows down to this one question. I so desperately want to say yes, but as I open my mouth to tell him, I find myself suddenly without a voice. Of course I want him with me, but Felix and Eli are part of the equation, so would he ever agree? We still haven’t spoken about this thing between us, and I know there is more to our relationship. I want to explore that when we are away from the craziness of Drathlor and Havoc, in a place where we can simply be who we are and get to know each other in a way we cannot here. However, I can’t face another rejection. It would tear me apart and set me back. All of the hard work I have done with Eli’s and Felix’s help to recover could be destroyed with one word.

“Does it matter what I say?” I reply instead, my voice cracking with suppressed emotion. My answer will not change anything.

Finnik seems to believe otherwise, his hand tightening slightly on my wrist as he steps closer. He’s so close to me now, I can feel his heat against my back. “Yes, it matters.”

The emotion in those words has me turning around to look up at him, grabbing onto the trunk behind me to support my shaking legs. Frustration courses through me, and I narrow my eyes at him as I speak. “Then yes, Finnik, I want you to come with me. I do not want to be separated from you. But you won’t come, will you?”

I sound far more aggressive than I meant to, my surety that he’s going to reject me lining each of my words with agony and disappointment.

He seems to be taken aback by the force of my words, his breath even catching in his throat. He wasn’t expecting me to be so honest, but I have stripped back all my masks and guards and let him see the raw emotion beneath it all. He wears a look of longing so intense that he actually looks like he’s in pain, then he huffs out a frustrated breath and runs his hands through his hair.

“Thea, if I could, I would, please know that.” Taking a step forward until we are almost pressed together, he reaches out and places his hands on the tops of my arms, looking earnestly into my eyes. “I am tied here by more than just loyalty.”

His comment makes me blink. What does that mean? I assumed he stayed with the king and other royals because of loyalty thanks to them accepting him into their family, like he told me before. Now, though, he makes it sound as though there’s another reason, something that is stopping him from leaving with me now.

Before I can formulate a question that makes sense, he is already moving on, shaking his head. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?”

Eli snorts loudly, breaking his silence. I’m impressed he’s managed to last this long without needing to touch me, especially with Finnik in the room. The two of them are pretty competitive with each other, and I’m the new shiny toy. Storming forward, Eli pulls Finnik’s hands off me and squeezes between us.

“She needs to heal,” Eli growls, and as I skirt around him so I’m at his side, I see he has his sharp teeth on display as he snarls at Finnik. “Surely you can see how bad the city has been for her. She is skin and bones. You can thank your prince for that. She needs to get as far away from this cursed place as possible.”

To my surprise, Finnik doesn’t start pushing or fighting as I expected him to, reacting much better to Eli’s accusations. His frustration seems to be aimed more at the situation rather than my mate. “I know that, but my hands are tied! What about the prophecy? You cannot break it in Trador.” He throws out the question like a lifeline, his tone hopeful as he searches for a reason for me to stay.

My chest constricts at the reminder of my failure, and I have to grab onto Eli’s arm to keep me upright. His attention is quickly shifted to me, his expression concerned as he wraps his arm around me and pulls me against his side.

“We don’t actually know that,” Eli begins, distracted with trying to take care of me.

“Stop,” Felix orders, stepping into the room and looking between the fae with a frown. “The two of you are acting like bulls fighting over a female. This is not helpful, and it is not good for Thea. Let her get ready in peace.”

Felix always takes me by surprise when he stands up for me. Usually, he is fairly placid, happy to take life as it comes at him and step back when there are stronger males around. Both Eli and Finnik are very dominant in their personalities, so naturally he is quieter around them, focusing on making sure I am happy and safe. However, every now and again, when I need someone to back me up against the fae’s strong personalities, he seems to become a different person. It just makes me love him all the more.

Raising a single brow, Finnik looks at my friend in shock. For a moment, I worry that he’s going to snap back, but he seems to take Felix’s words to heart. “You are right. I’m sorry, Thea.” He dips his head first to Felix, and then back to me, taking my hand in his and raising it to his lips. “I need to return to Havoc, but I shall see you in the king’s office later,” he murmurs against my skin before kissing the back of my hand.

I smile slightly, the tingles from his kiss shooting up my arm. “Bye, Fin.”

I don’t know where that came from, as I have never heard him being called that before, and I have certainly never used the nickname. He stills, and I think I offended him. In some of the cultures in Drathlor, it is an offense to change someone’s name, as names have power. The witches are particularly strict with this.

“That’s the first time you’ve called me that,” he says, his voice low.

That’s it, I have blown any chance of friendship or something more thanks to a slip of my tongue.

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