Page 80 of The King has Fallen

Yet, though undoubtedly a woman, she was still young. Twenty-five? Twenty-seven? Perhaps. It was harder to tell with humans. They aged differently.

I wanted to turn from her, to ignore the discomfort in my chest andother areasthat seemed a constant companion now, but I also recognized the urge for the fear that it was and made myself see her. Made myself ask the question.

Why would God bring her here? Why bring her tome?Was she simply a temptation? A test? Or…

I wanted to shy away from any other explanation. But I had learned the hard way that avoiding thoughts because their conclusions might be difficult was the fastest track to regret and self-destruction.

So, I made myself ask.

Consider.

Confront.

Why would God bring her here? And to me, personally?

She was so young.We saw the world so differently. We understoodlifedifferently. We aimed for different goals.Opposinggoals.

She was my enemy.

Why would God bring me a woman who sought to destroy me and my people?

Everything in me went still and cold as I caught the thought that had been whispering to me for days and that I had so tirelessly ignored.

No.

It could not be.

Surely?

She could not be intended for me.

She must be the vengeance on my people! Or… or the siren, lulling me into a false sense of security in order to lower my guard and—

Yilan shifted in her sleep, squirming and resettling, murmuring to herself as I stared at her like an asp crawling across the grass towards me, reminding myself she was aFetch.A spy. An assassin.

She was the enemy.Notthe rising sun of my heart.Not!

And then she sighed.

And then, as her body settled more deeply into sleep, she smiled.

I remembered her fierce protection of Gall, and that vision, and…

Something in my chest broke open, staring at her there in the dark. As I scanned her from head to toe with terrified eyes, my heart ripped in two—half of me driven to lift her, shake her, demand that she release me from this… thisdeath sentence, to kill her and remove the threat… and the other half roaring at the world that she wasmine,to place my body between her and this war that would destroy her, to cover her, topossessher and the world be damned if they thought my strength would be anything but a weapon to her protection, because she was precious, she was needed, she wasmate.

A low, strange rumble began to curl in my chest. My chest that was pumping, squeezing,shuddering.My breath coming fast and too thin.

I was trembling.

Stunned.

Mate.

Soulmate.

Soulbond.

The other half of my soul…if I possessed one.

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