Page 70 of A Kingdom of Broken Bonds

“How the fuck did I not notice that earlier?” I curse under my breath, shifting my weight from foot to foot and watching the tail move.

“You look like a bird,” Finnik comments helpfully.

A sarcastic retort is on the tip of my tongue when a cawing sound reaches me from outside—the crow from earlier.

I knew then it was unusual, but now I realise what it was. It wasn’t just a strange coincidence, it was communicating with me. While I cannot fully understand what the creature is saying, I know it is here for me, and I know I have something to do with its appearance.

“Not just any bird,” I whisper, still trying to understand. “A crow.”

The darkness in me calls to the crow. With my power released and blending with my body, it has taken on a form. For me, it has manifested as a crow. Do all of the brides have this sort of power within them? Can they transform too? I have so much to learn about myself.

My body suddenly shudders, the world moving around me as I seem to shrink, every part of me tingling with magic I did not know I possessed. Finnik watches in fascination, taking half a step back to give me space for whatever is occurring. When I take a deep, steadying breath and glance down at my body, I notice I am back in my usual form, no tail to be seen. That answers my question about whether I can return to myself or if the darkness permanently changed me. I may look the same, but I feel different. Something in me is altered, and I finally feel more at home in my body. I have accepted a part of myself I always shied away from and blocked.

I am glad to be back in my usual form, and when I look up at Finnik, I’m surprised to find he has a horrified expression on his face.

“Thea, your skin…”

His whispered words are tight and clipped, as though he’s trying his hardest not to explode in anger.

Since my transformation, my skin actually feels a little better, as though it kick-started my vampiric healing. His stare is making me uncomfortable, so I try to make light of what happened. “Oh, this is nothing. They used sunlight to torture me, along with a good old-fashioned beating.” I chuckle, but there is no humour behind it.

Finnik’s hands tighten on my arms, and I watch his expression go dark with feral rage.

“Fucking bastards.” His growl is low and long, and his teeth are bared, looking more animal than fae. “I hope you killed them all.” There is a gleam in his eyes, one I cannot help but react to.

Grinning, I expose my fangs. “Every last one of them.”

His expression turns smug as he watches me proudly. He licks the front of his teeth, his stare heating. “Why do I find that incredibly sexy?”

My body reacts to his words, warmth moving through me, causing my body to come alive. Fucking him here in this stable while I am covered in blood should be a huge turn-off, but for some reason, it’s the opposite. Perhaps because we have been apart for so long and been through so much, our bodies know this is what we both need.

“Even with Havoc’s body in the room?” I am not sure what makes me say this, and as soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret it, but it is too late to take back now.

Finnik stiffens, the moment between us gone, and I think he’s going to shut down. This conversation needs to happen whether or not he will admit it. I just killed someone he loved, and no matter the reasoning, he is going to need to mourn. If this is bottled up, then it could negatively affect us in the future. He could come to resent me for it, so even though it is uncomfortable, we need to talk this through.

Sighing deeply, he glances over my shoulder at the body. “It was the only way. I regret that things happened like this, and I wonder if I missed something in all those years we spent together. I never would have thought he was capable of the atrocities he committed this last year. That was not the male I knew and loved.” He nods his head towards the body. “That is not Havoc. My friend died a long time ago when the brotherhood got their claws into him.”

My heart aches for him as he speaks. I had no idea he was carrying this guilt around with him. He used to tell me Havoc did not usually act like he did with me, and he just brushed it off, but now I am beginning to understand that something deeper was going on with Havoc.

Taking Finnik’s hand, I pull him from the stable, wanting to get him away from the body, only for him to drag me into another stall several down from where we were.

“You are magnificent,” he whispers as he pulls me deeper into the stall, his lips crashing onto mine.

My arms wrap around him, one across his back and the other threading into his hair. The soft, messy waves are finger-length and perfect for grabbing. Arousal and need courses through me, my body needing my mate as soon as possible.

“You found me,” I murmur as I tear at his shirt, trying to pull it off him, needing to feel his skin against mine. Against all odds, Finnik found me, and that makes me want him all the more, my entire body filling with a delicious warmth.

“Of course I found you, you are my mate.” As he kisses the length of my jaw, he speaks between each kiss, the rumbling of his voice vibrating against my skin. “I would travel the lengths of the world to find you.”

A thrill shoots through me when he calls me his mate. I miss Felix and my other mate, but Finnik and I need to be together. There have been a lot of differences between us, and many trials we have had to work through for us to get to this point.

Humming with pleasure, I take his shirt off, scraping my nails over his bare chest and enjoying his deep grumble of pleasure. “You sound pretty sure about that.”

“It took me a while to work out, but I have almost lost you twice, and I cannot do it again. I need you, Thea.” His final words are a plea. He needs me just as much as I need him. Some might think this is a poor place to seal a mate bond, but it is clear the two of us need this.

“Finn,” I gasp as he gently bites my neck, pinning me against the stable wall. While he does not draw blood, something about the act of him biting me is a real turn-on, especially while I’m trapped by his body.

We are not gentle, tearing at each other’s clothing, pulling and tugging, desperation driving us until we are completely naked. We have been apart for too long, we need this bond between us.

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