Page 235 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

“Oracle,” Caryan retorts coldly.

“Tell me, why are you here once more, wanderer of worlds? What is your desire to know?”

“You know very well why I am here,” Caryan says, his voice close to a snarl. Riven stills. No one speaks like that to any oracle—and lives.

But Kalleandara only scrutinizes him. “Yes, I do. I can sense the rage in you—this is interesting.”

“Interesting? You dared to shackle me with a bond.”

A bond? What bond?Riven freezes inwardly.

“It was never meant toshackleyou, Caryan.”

“Spare me your lies. Angels have no mates. Never had. How dare you bind me to another creature like some fettered animal?”

“They have now,” the oracle retorts unperturbed.

Riven holds his breath, his heartbeat strangely fast. Melody… Caryan’s mate?

“Break the bond!”

“I cannot. You made that decision yourself, Caryan. A longwhile back. When you gave a promise to Meanara of Avandal. When you swore a blood oath to never harm her unborn child. You bound yourself to that child.”

“That childdied,” Caryan growls. “My oath died along with it.”

“No, it did not. She ceased to exist before she lived. In that world, in that time, back then. But her life and that oath you gave her are still written in the stars, even if she was not born by her true mother, but by another woman years later, Caryan. You brought this upon yourself, by your choice.”

“It was a dirty trick you played on me.”

“Not a trick. You gave that oath, Caryan. It is now written in the stars too.”

“I never asked for the bond!”

“And yet I see that you forged it.”

Caryan lets out a snarl. The walls shake with his dark power in response, yet the oracle doesn’t retreat an inch. It’s terrifying to watch. And riveting to witness a stand-off between two of the most powerful creatures this world has ever seen.

“Do not challenge me. You forced me to forge it. Just another of your ploys.” Caryan’s voice has lost all its warmth, laced with nothing but disdain and a lethal promise.

Riven braces himself again. Hells, no one has ever dared to speak to an oracle like this. Or survived if they have.

But again the oracle just cocks her head, the river of her hair flowing all around her in undulating waves. “No, Caryan, I did not do that either. Again, it was your decision not to sacrifice her. It was your decision to give her your blood and seal what has always been there.”

“That is a barefaced lie. You knew I wouldn’t let her die.”

“It is no lie. Yes, I knew, but it was still always up to you. I gave you a choice and you chose.”

“I never chose a mating bond!”

“And yet she still lives. You could have severed that bond, Caryan, instead of just damaging it.”

Riven clenches his teeth against the relief swamping him, despite everything he just learned. Shelives. Sheisstill alive. For some reason, it is all that matters. The news is enough that he can breathe again.

Caryan seethes, “She still lives because I still need her. But if you think you turned me into a fae by having me enslaved by another creature, you are wrong. I am not fae and will never be. A mating bond is not going to change that fact.”

Again, the walls shake at every word, stones falling into the nothingness. There’s no sound when they hit the ground because the caverns are endless, and depthless. Those who stumble are doomed to forever fall through never-ending layers of darkness.

“Only time will show.”

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