Page 12 of Fallen Demon

I nodded. “Oh, yeah. I remember that.”

“At first, I told myself it was just the bond; we could ignore it. And even after, I pushed him away because of the curse.” The curse the fae king had cast over all their kind—any fae who fell in love with another supernatural would lose their immortality. “I believed he deserved someone better.”

“But you two are together and happy,” I said.

“Yes, because we realized the bond isn’t just fate. The bond knows the perfect pair for you, the one who completes you, even before you do. I believe that even without fate and the bond, actual fated mates would have found each other and fallen in love.”

“But my bond was forced, it was an accident.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe fate had been working since before you and Levi were born, aligning your paths, so you would meet each other, and find a way to be together. Fate just gave it a push and helped you create an accidental bond with him.”

I glanced at Farrah and narrowed my eyes. “Are you saying all of that to make me feel better?”

“No, really.” She placed a hand over her heart. “I truly believe fated mates, or forced mates, whatever, would find and love each other without a bond.”

I shook my head. “I’m not a romantic, Farrah. Don’t try making me into one now.”

“You might not be a romantic, but everyone likes a little romance in their lives. I know it.”

I let out a sigh. “Regardless of the bond and how I might or might not feel about him, I want to find him. If he’s trapped in the underworld, or dead, I need to find him. I owe it to him, to our bond.”

“I know, and we’ll find him.”

“If only it was that easy.”

I told her about the Great Eternity Hall, the girls who were there researching the underworld, and how I had started research here.

“I’ll help you, Wyatt will help, and I’m sure we’ll find other ways to do this.” She bumped her shoulder on mine. “We always do.”

“That is true.” At least, I wanted to believe it was. Repeatedly, my friends and I had confronted big evils and dangerous situations, and even though it was never as smooth as we wished, we somehow made it.

We would make it again. We would find Levi, and we would save Elysium from a civil war that would disrupt everything and everyone.

“Now, let’s get you to your room so you can shower.” She plugged her nose. “You stink.”

I bumped my shoulder on hers. “It isn’t so bad, or you wouldn’t have hugged me.”

“Oh, I would. That’s how much I have missed you.” She gave me a soft smile. “But now I won’t let you run away again.” She pointed a finger at me. “I warn you. If you do, I’ll hunt you down.”

I smiled back at her, believing her, and loving her for being such a fierce, awesome friend.

5

To Farrah’s delight,I not only took a shower, but I put on one of the fancy dresses in my closet. She loved dressing up, and, well, it made sense since everyone else in this castle was always ready for a ball.

We had dinner together in the main dining room—even the vampires, though they didn’t need to eat. The table was full: Drake at the head with Thea to one side, Aurora to the other. Then the princes Dorian, Aston, Gray, princess Lyra and Prince Ward, Prince Killian, Lavinia, Wyatt, Farrah, Zadkiel, Elisa, Sally, and two other witches I had just met, Mila and Violet.

The food was delicious and I even allowed myself to drink a glass of wine, though I wanted to keep my mind sharp in case of trouble. We weren’t foreseeing anything right now, but I had been too relaxed before when danger found us.

After dinner, we gathered in one of the largest sitting rooms. Lord Drake, the princes, the princess, and Prince Ward sat to one side, talking about some disturbance on the west coast, while the rest of us spread out on the other, talking about everything but our troubles.

Aurora entertained us all when she lifted her hands and neon butterflies sprouted from thin air and flew around us. We all stared at the little girl. She was a mystery to us all—sometimes she was just a kid, but sometimes she spoke as though she had the wisdom of an old witch. She had magic beyond anyone’s comprehension, but she still had a lot to learn, especially when it came to control.

A neon blue butterfly landed on my shoulder, then it shuddered and disappeared.

The next morning, I woke up early and went to a training session with Zad before the day got busy. Farrah, determined to spend as much time as she could with me, tagged along. Unfortunately, this session wasn’t any better than the last one, which only made me more frustrated.

“Tomorrow let’s talk to the witches about your magic,” Zad suggested as we made our way back to the castle for lunch.

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