Page 14 of Stolen Thorn Bride

This was it. And it might be all she would ever get of romance. Because if there was one thing she would never do, it was break her vows to anyone. For any reason.

Was that why Gianessa had told her to beware?

The doors burst open, and if Kasia had tried to imagine what to expect of an elf seer, it was not the man who burst through the doors.

A tall, graceful, mystical woman in white, yes.

This was an ordinary-looking man (ordinary for an elf) in plain black clothing, with a wild halo of curly brown hair, fiery amber eyes, and a sense of barely leashed impatience about his every move.

“If we’re doing this, let’s be about it,” he said. “I believe I’ve made my opinions on this clear, but if you’re determined to ignore me, then there’s little I can do. Who am I bonding?”

King Miach tilted his head fractionally towards Kasia.

“That?” The seer threw a disbelieving glance at his king. “You’re bonding the Rian of the Northwatch to… to…”

Kasia decided she’d had enough. “To a pig keeper,” she said, with a little extra emphasis onpig. “I even rolled in the mud before coming, just so there could be no mistake.”

“But…why?”

“I can’t just let him die,” the king snarled, causing Kasia to take a step backward as his anger suddenly overflowed.

The seer raised an eyebrow. “Even if such is his desire?”

“He never said that,” the king argued, but even Kasia could hear his doubt.

“He might very well wish it when he wakes up,” the seer rejoined, after another swift glance at Kasia.

And at that point, she’d had far more than enough. “Justdoit,” she snarled. “Either kill me or bond me, but don’t make me stand here and listen to your condescending commentary on my suitability. This wasn’t exactly my idea!”

“Kill you?” The king suddenly looked puzzled and slightly horrified. “We wouldn’t…”

But the seer had already seized her arm. Yanked her closer to the bed. Grasped the unconscious man’s wrist and placed their hands palm to palm.

“Now,” he said grimly. “Don’t move. And also, try not to die. I’ve never done this with a human before, so I really don’t know what to expect.”

Kasia’s eyes widened, and she tried to cry out, but it was too late.

The world went white and then faded from view.

Chapter 4

Dechlan hadn’t expected death to involve quite so much arguing.

If he’d imagined it at all, he’d thought—or at least hoped—that Aureann would be waiting for him. They would walk the forests of After, hand in hand, with no fear that wraiths might once again tear them apart.

Instead, the first voice he heard was Miach’s.

And he was staggeringly angry.

“…did not explain. You broke your vow. How can I face him with this?”

How odd. Perhaps he was not as dead as he’d assumed.

Opening his eyes, Dechlan took a moment to survey the ceiling above him and confirmed it was the same familiar gray beams that featured in his last waking memory.

Was he still in Caislan Daire?

He turned his head to the side and found himself staring at someone… most peculiar. A human, or so he assumed from her appearance.

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