Page 10 of Bind Me

My response dies in my throat as we approach several wooden cabins, and ten men spill out, each carrying blades, their attention fixed on us. I’m furious at the captain for revealing our approach. He must’ve gotten paid well for it for word to spread so fast.

“Go, dart around the back of that building,” Asher mutters in hushed whispers, lifting his chin to point to the closest cabin to my right. “Cut across the field to the city. I’ll find you.”

“Hell no,” I respond, already pushing up my sleeves, ready for a fight. “And let you have all the fun?”

“Listen,” he insists, his tone serious for a change. “They’re going to follow you to your family home and won’t leave you alone. I’ll distract them so they lose track of you.”

I blink at him, momentarily stunned. Sure, we’d helped each other out before, but this is the second time he’s saved me when he didn’t have to.

“Why?” The question spills out. A part of me always doubts anyone who wants to do something for me.

He shrugs. “Because I have nowhere to go aside from searching for my fated mate, but until then, I’m going to have some fun.” His grin grows wicked, and I see the glint in his eyes, the hunger for fights, for hunting. He craves it, just like he did back in Tartarus.

“You sure?” I ask.

He laughs, already sizing up his enemies as the cool breeze ruffles his short, dark hair, the muscles in his arms bulging, his shoulders rising.

“I’ll lead them away while you work on the reason your grandfather was framed. Sound like a deal? We’ll bump into each other again.” He smirks, one of his eyebrows arching, as if he can’t wait to get into the battle with the mercenaries.

I’m stunned but appreciative. Not many people surprise me, but Asher is different. That’s why we hit it off from the start. Neither of us ever tried to betray the other; we were in such similar situations that there was an unspoken trust between us.

“You’ve got a deal. You always have a place at my home if you need it. Always a helping hand for anything. Come and find me.” Then I quickly rattle off the directions to my grandfather’s place as my father gave them to me.

With a nod, Asher takes off for the mercenaries, calling out, “Perfect day for you all to die.”

I dart into the woods toward a cabin nearby, knowing some mercenaries won’t take his bait and will follow me. And they’ll be dead men soon after.

But it’s good to know that in a foreign country, in a new world, I already have a loyal friend. I’m not alone out here.

Chapter 3

Sasha

“How the hell did I even end up here?” I grumble to myself in my magic-fueled sedan, staring up at my new workplace in Bergen, Norway.

Last week, my biggest issue was deciding what to wear to work. Now, I’m in a foreign country, feeling more alone than ever. I grip the steering wheel, glaring at the two-story white building where I’ll be working for the next twelve months. The place looks pristine and too perfect, but in truth, I’m still pissed at Scout and Mr. Daniels. To hell with them both. They think they’ve put me out, but I’ll show them. When I return to South Africa, Scout better watch out because I can hold a grudge like nobody’s business.

I take another glance at the manila folder on the passenger seat with details on my target—yep, I’m out on a mission already. They don’t mess around in Norway.

Streets are bustling with traffic and people, but it’s strangely calm compared to the chaos I’m used to back home. The whole drive through the city toward my target in the woods, I replay the last few days in my head. How I could have done things differently, yet I keep coming to the same conclusion. If I had gone after Zane, the animals would have perished, and that’s not how I dance.

Exhaling loudly, I decide to make the most of what I have because, hey, I still have a job, right?

As I turn the corner from the main road in the city, the buildings fall behind me. I’m greeted by an explosion of open land, winding roads, monstrous mountains in the distance, and glimpses of the famous fjord looming farther ahead. I roll down the windows, taking in the fresh air, and for a moment, it’s beautiful in a wild, untamed way. As if, somehow, it calls to me as though it’s familiar.

“Welcome to Norway,” I whisper to myself, sounding pitiful even to myself.

Around me, the landscape unfolds like I’ve stepped into a fairy tale. The water in the fjord—a deep inlet carved by the glaciers long ago—is like a dark mirror, reflecting the overcast, stormy sky. It shimmers and farther in the distance slices between steep cliffs that seem to pierce the low-hanging clouds.

The location is breathtaking.

There’s something comforting about leaving the city behind, in only having an occasional vehicle pass me while the wilderness spreads outward. A few homes peek through the dense woodlands that stretch away from the water’s edge around me, painted in browns and reds, some stark white or yellow.

I read up on Norway on my flight over. Part of the town of Bergen has been preserved, deliberately rebuilt to reflect the lives of humans who once lived here so long ago.

Back when humans were in charge of Earth, a bunch of portals popped up all over the place, letting magic flood in. It caused a real ruckus—wrecked a lot, killed off a bunch of humans—until things sort of settled down. That’s when they came up with the Houses, assigning all us supernaturals a spot to belong. Now, you have to be in a House, basically.

And while other Houses around the globe might’ve kissed goodbye to things like planes and all those travel methods, in the House of Gold and Garnet, we’ve still got those amazing items. Thanks to some expensive magic and living under King Kaspian, we get to enjoy all those high-end luxuries.

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