Page 225 of Dark Souls

I smiled as I replied.

No. I’m good. Thank you though. For helping him. You are the best.

He’s a remarkable person, Ilaria. I can see how much he loves you. But this won’t be easy for him, or for you. He has a lot to work through.

I know, but I’m not going anywhere. I just want him to find peace and start living the life he deserves.

And he will, but it will take time. I know you will be patient with him. He knows that too. Have a great day, sweetie. Love you.

“Princess, there is something I need to talk to you abo–” The sound of joyous squealing cut Grandpapi off just before the doors flew open and Hana and Ronnie stumbled into the room. We all froze, staring at the scene. Ronnie had Hana flung over his shoulder, her ass up in the air and a playful smile on his face. Hana was wiggling and hitting his back but laughing loudly until she realised they had an audience. Ronnie put her down reluctantly but kept his arms wrapped around her as they duck-walked towards the table. His eyes were now back to their dark brown, which held a secret gleam that was never there when he was human. Hana couldn’t stop giggling, her face turning the shade of beetroot as she dropped her head and hid her embarrassed face behind her red hair.

“Good morning,” she muttered, holding the back of a chair. Before she could pull it out, Ronnie beat her to it. She blushed even harder. “Thank you.”

Before he pulled out his own next to her, he bent down and kissed her lips. It was brief but full of doting affection. Grandma Maddy smirked across the table at me, clearly enjoying their display, but I was too shocked to smile back. Something had drastically changed between them, literally overnight. They were now so comfortable with each other and I couldn’t understand–wait.

Hana leaned over to his chest and fiddled with a silver chain that hung around Ronnie’s neck. It was a strange piece of jewellery with a heart shape on one end that allowed a bar on the other end to be hooked through it. Ronnie chewed at his lip, a look of instant arousal written all over his face as she peered into his eyes.

Oh my god.

“You’ve bonded. Ronnie, you’ve given Hana your soul, haven’t you?” I blurted it out before I could stop myself and they both looked at me with alarm, remembering there were other people in the room.

“Um.” Ronnie smiled sheepishly but looked at Hana to confirm it.

“Yes. He did.” She grinned.

“Wait. Does that mean you have your demon back? Is the spell on the sigil broken?” I slammed my hands on the table with excitement.

Hana started nodding and I screamed with happiness.

“Jesus,” Grandpapi groaned, holding his hands over his ears.

Ignoring him, I zoomed around the table and pulled Hana up from her chair, hugging her tightly. I wasn’t normally one to dish out affection so openly, but I was just so fucking happy for her.

“I’m stealing her for a minute.”

Grabbing Hana’s hand, I marched us out the veranda doors and into the castle grounds. When I found my favourite bench by the rose bushes, I sat down, tugging her down next to me. I felt it was my duty as her sister to check how she was feeling about it all, even though it was obvious she was okay. But she’d never had anyone to talk to about… anything, and I wanted that to change. I wanted her to know she could talk to me.

“Firstly, I am so happy for you, Hana. How are you feeling?”

She puffed a breath out through her lips and looked around the gardens. “Honestly, like I’ve been reborn.” She peered at me anxiously, her green eyes shimmering under the sun. “This isn’t weird, is it? To talk to you about this?”

“God, no. Hana, you’re my sister. I want you to talk to me about anything. I know it may seem weird to you because of Ronnie and my history, but I don’t see it that way. The Ronnie I knew months ago wasn’t the same person as that man in there. He is entirely yours. In a way, the human Ronnie really did die that day and this version of him feels so much more like the man he was always supposed to be. Which kind of makes him a stranger to me, if that helps you to understand this better.”

She nodded. “Yeah. It does. Thank you.” Her lips twisted up into a devious smile. “It was amazing, Ilaria. I never knew sex could be like that.”

I tapped my feet on the floor, bouncing my knees up and down as I struggled to contain my excitement. “I truly am so happy for you right now, but I thought you guys were going to wait? I thought you said it was going to take time to trust him.”

“I thought so too. But then Leif told us last night that he had the spell to summon Casmira, so whenever I was ready, he could do it and then Ronnie could give his soul to her and break the spell. And my first thought was, she’d get him before me. And that just didn’t sit right with me. I love my demon, but she hasn’t been through what I have. She was locked away while I was abused. So I knew, as soon as she met Ronnie, she would have sex with him. She would have no reservations about making him hers. Call me selfish, but I just found the idea of it so unfair. I stood up and stormed out of the room and went to my bedroom without any explanation to Leif or Ronnie. I was so angry. Angry at Wesley for tainting something that was supposed to be for my mate and angry at myself for allowing him to hold me back from having what I had always wanted. My bond. I hadn’t even kissed Ronnie. And it just made me furious. Ronnie came to check I was okay and I… well, I practically jumped him. The poor man.”

“I doubt he minded.” I smiled.

“We kissed. Passionately. And it waseverything. But when I tried to take it further, he stopped me. He was concerned that I was rushing into this and wasn’t sure I was ready. But his rejection just sent me spiralling. The moment his lips touched mine, I wanted him. He wasn’t Wesley. He was mine. But I was worried I’d disappoint him. I was scared that I would have flashbacks or freak out at him when he started touching me. I didn’t really know how to tell him what I needed. We got into a fight. No, actually, it was more me screaming hysterically and him trying to calm me. I ended up kicking him out of my room. I cried, feeling so many complex emotions and when I finally calmed down hours later, I forced myself to have the courage to apologise and be honest about what I really needed from him. When I opened the door, I found him sitting on the floor with his back to the wall. He’d given me space but never left.”

My heart swelled for her, knowing how much that would have meant.

“And that’s when everything just melted away. A sense of calm washed over me and I just knew he was my safety and I could trust him. I talked. He listened. And then… things just naturally progressed. He was everything I never knew a man could be, but everything I needed. It was sweet and sensual. It was intense. It was beautiful.” Her eyes welled up with happy tears. “He made love to me like I wasn’t broken.”

I reached over and squeezed her hand. “That is because you are not.”

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