Page 115 of Draekora

How are you still bonded to me?she asked him.I Released you! I said the words! I did exactly what the book said to do!

“You did everything right,” Niyx said out loud. “But for a Claiming bond to be truly severed, the recipient of it has to be willing to be Released. When I felt the initial uncurling of the bond after your words, I needed to have said, ‘I accept my Release’—but I didn’t. It was me who wouldn’t let go of the connection between us. That means your Claim on me is still effective.”

Well, there definitely hadn’t been anything aboutthatin the book she’d read.

Alex’s face scrunched up in confusion.But…Niyx, why would you… She took a shallow breath and tried again.Didn’t youwantto be Released?

He offered her a quirky, one-sided grin. “Turns out you’re a riot to be around, kitten. Like a one-stop entertainment shop. Who would willingly give up that kind of fun?”

I don’t have the energy for what you consider ‘humour’ right now, Alex told him.Please, Niyx. I don’t understand.

His face turned serious and he helped her up into a seated position leaning against Xiraxus’s front leg. The move cost her, with pain surging through her middle and her vision dotting at the edges, Niyx wincing along with her. When she was able to focus again, she discovered they were situated at their lookout atop the Golden Cliffs. Hours must have passed since she was last there, since the moon had now well and truly risen in the sky.

“You can’t be here,” she managed to gasp out, looking at Niyx with wide eyes. “They think you’re one of theGarseth. You need to get as far away from here as you can before they come looking for you.”

“There’s nowhere I can go that will be far enough away,” Niyx returned quietly. “And since you’re so determined that I try to escape, I have to presume that, in your future, I don’t.”

Alex couldn’t hold his gaze, but that in itself was telling.

Niyx released a sigh and nudged her shoulder gently, calling her focus back to him. “You’re very weak, Aeylia, but you’re not safe here. Aven may have fled, but if I know him—and Ido—he’ll still be nearby, at least until he can no longer find sanctuary in the city. Xiraxus is confident that he now has the strength to return you to your future, so you have to go with him. Tonight.”

Alex nodded, knowing it was time. She’d already caused enough damage. For all she knew, a sneeze gone wrong could start the Medoran equivalent of the bubonic plague next, so good was her luck of late.

“Will you answer my question first?” she begged hoarsely, needing to know. “Will you tell me why you wouldn’t let me Release you?”

“Aeylia, I’d just learned that mybest friendhad turned into a raging psychopath,” Niyx said quietly. “I’m smart enough to realise that merely by association, I’m automatically labelled as a traitor, and no one will believe otherwise since Ididwillingly attend the Rebel meetings he hosted, with plenty of witnesses to testify to that. No one will ever believe I was only there to make sure Aven wasn’t planning anything too foolish.”

Niyx shook his head, angry with himself. “Along with all that, you’d just told me it’s him you have to defeat to avoid the destruction of this world.” He raised an eyebrow and finished, “Do you really think I was willing to risk you dying here in the past if it meantthatwas the future we’d be heading towards?”

“How did you know I’d be in any danger?” Alex asked, certain she hadn’t given anything away earlier about going to face Aven inside the palace.

Niyx’s expression was as dry as his tone when he replied, “Aeylia, you told me not to follow you. For future reference, that’s a dead giveaway.”

With a furrowed brow, Alex asked, “You’re right, Ididtell you not to follow me. I ordered you, actually. You shouldn’t have been able to—”

“I didn’t follow you, not technically,” Niyx broke in. “I merely decided I wanted to walk around the palace, and I justhappenedto visit every room until I accidentally stumbled upon you. Loopholes, kitten. There are always loopholes.”

Alex closed her eyes slowly, feeling so very tired. But a sudden resolve came over her and she opened them again. “Niyx, you have to let me Release you from the Claim.”

“I have to do no such thing,” he returned. “Someonehas to make sure you stay alive long enough to save the future. Who better than me, since I can feel everything you feel? Even your draekon here only gets impressions of your emotional health, not your physical. It’s win-win for you, between the two of us.”

“Niyx, listen to me,” Alex said firmly, hating herself for it but doing it anyway. “Youwillaccept the Release of my bond on you.”

When the familiar tug didn’t come with her command, Alex frowned and Niyx let out a self-satisfied laugh.

“Sorry, kitten, but I’m not actually Claimed by you anymore, we’re just bonded by blood. Consider it a promotion. All the benefits, none of the puppeteer work.”

Alex looked at him in alarmed puzzlement.

“You Released me from the Claim you had over my will,” Niyx explained. “But in choosing not to accept that Release, I maintained the connection between us. Since that was my choice, it gave my free will back to me while allowing us to keep all the other bonuses, like me sharing your death and us violating each other’s minds.”

Alex’s lips twitched at his wry words despite her better judgement. But she forced herself to sober and said, “You don’t understand, Niyx. If you don’t let me Release you properly, I can’t tell you what’s going to happen when I get back to my time. Your future—”

“Ah, so Iamin your future?” he cut in. “That’s good to have confirmed, at least. But don’t tell me anymore. I’m guessing from the way you’re looking at me that it’s probably best if I don’t know what joyous times await me.”

Alex pulled a face at his blasé attitude, frustrated that he wasn’t taking her seriously.

“Hey,” he said in a deliberately soothing tone, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “I get it, okay? Or I don’t, and that’s okay too. But either way, you have to accept that this is my decision, and I’m sticking with it. Let me do the noble thing here. Light knows, this is a rare event for me.”

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