Page 18 of Catastrophe

“So, yes, you are affected, but it gives you a sexy glare instead of a pained squint.” The sun behind him formed a kind of halo to frame his handsome face and cast shadows under his dark, long lashes. Despite the long and vigorous activities of the morning, I bit my lip as a tingle of lust caused me to shiver.

He raised a brow, and I knew some of my emotion seeped through our bond. “I suppose that must be true.”

We were so completely enraptured by each other that when the door to the cabin slammed open, we startled.

Elizabeth stepped out onto the decking, and with a frustrated sigh and hands on her hips, she asked, “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for hours.” Then she blinked and lowered her shoulders. “Clawdia, you’re human again.”

“I am,” I said blandly. Seeing her only made the anger stirring in the back of my mind louder and more insistent.

She hurt Charlie. Again. Her son. She believes him evil just because he’s a dragon now. She thought it was him who broke the wards. She would have helped Karin kill him, given the opportunity. How dare she stand here and pretend all is well.

When I said nothing more about how I returned to my human form, she raised her brows and nodded once. She knew exactly how I felt. I probably had it written across my face. “I hate you for hurting him” in blood red on my forehead, cheeks, and chin.

But I wouldn’t let the anger out yet. Cats, feline familiars especially, were cattier and more passive with their anger. Elizabeth wouldn’t get away with her treatment of Charlie. I'd make sure of it.

“Apologies for not arriving earlier. We’ve spent the morning resting. As I’m sure you can imagine, healing a natural portal, creating a portal to come here, healing you, and changing shape is taxing work,” Baelen replied in an easy, pleasant tone, but his smile looked brittle, and his eyes were sharp.

It was a perfect rebuttal, and I ducked my head to hide my smirk.

“Of course.” She coughed awkwardly before asking, “Are you hungry? I found some milk and eggs at the main house.”

I opened my mouth to say no, but my stomach interrupted with a loud growl. Betrayed by my belly, I frowned and reluctantly nodded. “Yes. Please.”

We followed her into the cabin, and the leftover aroma of food made me salivate as Baelen pulled out a chair at the table for me to sit down and then joined me on the other side. He picked up my hand and kissed it.

God, this man melts me. He treats me like a princess.

Elizabeth walked straight to the counter but paused in the middle of reaching for the washed bowl and turned back to us before asking Baelen, “Do you eat? Food?”

“No. I’m full, thank you,” he remarked.

Her relief was evident, and I frowned as she turned her back to us and began cracking eggs into a bowl. “Are your bonds back, Clawdia?” she asked. “Can you feel Charlie?”

“No. It still feels fragmented, and Zaide is muted somehow. It’s as though the bonds are … blocked somehow.” The frustration of being unable to feel them was obvious in my tight voice. It turned desperate as I asked, “Can they be blocked? By materials? Or magic?”

Elizabeth considered my question as she poured milk into the bowl. “Hunters don’t have magic, and I’ve never heard of materials disrupting a soul bond. Especially not one like a soul pair bond. But with soul pair bonds being unheard of, everything is theoretical.”

“How is it possible? How do we fix it? Surely if there’s no known way to disrupt our bond, then it must be an accident on my side?” My voice faded into a pained whisper.

“Don’t place that blame or pressure on yourself,” Elizabeth replied sternly as she placed two slices of bread into a toaster before looking back at me. “If it is a problem on your side of the connection, perhaps a delayed response from the stress you were just under, then I’m sure everything will revert to normal in due time. Just as your ability to shift did.”

She didn’t understand. I couldn’t do nothing. I’m supposed to heal what’s broken, for goodness’ sake. If I couldn’t even heal the broken bonds within me … what kind of healer did that make me?

I tried to explain in a hurried whisper, “Baelen and I bonded, and it could give Zaide a boost or some kind of reassurance if he can feel it. He needs to feel it to … get through everything. It’s hope.”

Elizabeth sighed and turned around to pour the mixture into the pan. “Just because you can’t feel him doesn’t mean he can’t feel you. You’d like the reassurance of knowing he’s safe, which is understandable, but don’t confuse the situation with assumptions. The bonds may be out of balance, just as your familiar bond with Charlie was, and he may feel too much from you. How do you think that will affect him in captivity?”

My blood boiled, and my teeth cracked as I clenched them. I hated her. But I couldn’t argue with her. Because she might be right. And knowing Zaide might feel all my anger, I suddenly doused it, for now, because I didn’t want him to worry about me when he was in danger.

“So we wait and hope the bonds return. What are we going to do in the meantime? I’m sure this morning gave you lots of time to plan our next move regarding rescuing Zaide, finding Charlie, and discovering Fafnir’s plans,” Baelen remarked as he caressed my hand with his thumb.

Testing our new bond, I pushed my thoughts to him. “You’re so good at that. Subtle put-downs. Is it strange that it makes you even more attractive?”

He winked and replied, “I’ve had lots of practice dealing with parents who think they know best.”

The toaster popped, bringing our attention back to the witch as she collected and buttered the toast as she spoke, “I have thought about what our next move should be, and I think we need to find my family. The defected side. Charlie already found the address, but the council didn’t confirm whether the task team found them.”

I was shaking my head before she even finished speaking. Not that she was looking. She was adding the scrambled eggs to the top of the toast. It was hard to argue with someone who was making you food. She probably knew that, but I would not let that stop me.

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