Page 138 of The Throne's Undoing

"Dani mentioned it a few weeks ago when she and I were fighting," Kallie added, plucking petals from a flower with a shrug.

"Why are you bringing it up now?" Graeson swallowed.

"Why are you avoiding the question?" she retorted with a playful smirk.

Graeson shifted and sat up straighter. He twisted one of the gold rings on his fingers. "Soul bonds are a type of connection between two people. Your mother and father were soul bonds."

"But what does thatmean?"

"For some people, there is a thread that connects them to others. According to the stories, Pontanius had created bonds to help strengthen people's abilities. But it's more than that; it's a deep connection between a couple, stronger than a mere marriage. It does not always exist, but when it does, it is a powerful connection that is hard to ignore once realized. "

Kallie weighed his words, then asked, "Were Fynn and Dani soul bonds?"

Graeson nodded. "They were."

"When did they discover the connection?"

A small smile flicked over his mouth. "Your brother, being his arrogant, egotistical self, did not realize it for a long time, actually." He chuckled and scratched his chin. "Dani has never said as much, but I believe she discovered they were soul bonds much sooner, probably when we were all children."

"What happens when you lose a soul bond?" Kallie asked.

Graeson stopped twisting the ring, his fingers freezing on it. He swallowed, the bump in his throat dipping. "It destroys a part of you."

"Forever?" she prompted.

"After your father was killed, your mother wasn't quite the same, and she still isn't, not really. For years, she was a walking shell of herself. The grief from losing a soul bond can be overwhelming." Graeson began twisting the same ring, his browns bunching and expression twisting with worry. "It is a tradition that soul bonds exchange rings crafted by their families and made from a rare metal found on an island off the coast of Pontia. The rings solidify the bond. When one's partner passes,the connection becomes something different and can drive the survivor mad."

Kallie stared at the ring he twisted. Had Graeson lost his soul bond? Was that why he was so tormented? A feeling Kallie did not wish to identify nor admit existed twisted in her gut. She quickly shook it away, forcing her gaze away from the ring.

"Doesn't Dani still wear hers?"

"She does," Graeson said.

"Does she know the consequences?"

He nodded. "I think she is waiting to take it off."

"Until when?"

"Until she can avenge Fynn."

Kalisandre swallowed as Graeson's gray eyes met her.

"She will not harm you. Despite how mad she may be at you, she knows Domitius is the true person to blame. He is the one she is truly after."

Kallie rubbed a hand across her throat. "It's not his fault."

Graeson's lip parted as he stared at her, blinking. Something akin to shock flushed his face. "You still defend him, after everything?"

"No," Kallie said, shaking her head, her hand falling from her throat. "Domitius is a monster. I am not defending that. But he did not drive the final blade through Fynn's heart."

"Then who did?"

"Sebastian."

Chapter 45

KALLIE

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