Page 13 of His Summer Prince

“No. Whatever it is, I can handle it. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. But—” Elior swallowed. “Fine. Five more minutes, and you’d have figured it out anyway. I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but all right, here it is: the only thing to prevent a bond from taking is another, pre-existing bond.” Wren froze. “If I establish a soulbond with someone before the wedding, the officiant conducting the ceremony can try all they might, but they wouldn’t be able to forge a connection between me and the Winter King. It simply wouldn’t take.”

“So we have to find someone who you’d rather bond with thanthe Winter King. The lesser evil, so to speak.”

Wren drew out of the embrace to properly look at Elior and gauge whether he was thinking along the same lines. The fire cast a warm glow onto him, the light setting the golden flecks in his eyes ablaze. Wren didn’t want Elior to be bonded to anyone, selfish as it was.

Flashes of emotions rushed across Elior’s features, too fast for Wren to decipher, but there was hope in his gaze. Why hadn’t he said that he was thinking about bonding with someone else? There was no reason for Elior to keep this from him. Not unless he thought that Wren wouldn’t approve. Was there someone Elior would rather marry? He’d promised not to court a girl over winter, his word binding him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t fancy one.

“You’re in love with someone?” Wren asked. “You want to arrange a secret wedding but are afraid of the consequences—for you, her and me if I help you, is that it?”

“Wren…” Those big green eyes brimmed with desperate affection. Elior took Wren’s hand and squeezed it. “The only person I’d voluntarily, gladly and immediately bond with… is you.”

“W-What?” Wren’s voice shook. A chill, not unpleasant, slid down his back. He’d heard what Elior had said, but he struggled to comprehend his words.

“It’s all right. I didn’t mean to bring it up. I had a lot of time to think over winter. Too much time if I’m being honest, which is how I came up with this nonsense. It’s a bad idea. Forget I said anything.”

“No!” Wren’s ears rang so loudly, he barely heard himself. Clutching Elior’s hand, he returned his gaze. He didn’t know what to say or do. There’d been this door in their relationship they’d never acknowledged. It’d waited in the background, never closed but left ajar. Elior had ripped it wide open, revealing awhole new world.

Elior was asking to enter a bond with him, connecting their souls. Wren, never letting go of Elior’s hand, turned his whole body to face him. Elior averted his gaze, a faint pink high on his cheeks. He looked so lost with his eyes cast to the side, emitting an uncharacteristic air of vulnerability. His shoulders hunched, and he curled in on himself.

“You know you’re safe with me, right?” Wren asked, stroking his thumb over the back of Elior’s hand. “We’ve never kept secrets; we’ve never held back emotions. Please don’t start now. Please don’t shut me out.”

Elior’s fingers went to the locket he wore under his tunic, playing with it through the thin fabric. “I’m not.” His voice was small, barely audible. It broke Wren’s heart.

“It’s always been the two of us,” Wren said. “You and me. Whatever happens, that doesn’t change. I’m glad you brought up the bond. You’re safe to speak your mind with me; I won’t judge you for what you think or feel. I want to share in your emotions. Please tell me you know you can trust me. Because if not, I need to change so you can.”

Elior’s eyes snapped to his. “I do trust you. Even if I lost faith in the rest of the world, I’d still trust you.”

Wren pressed his lips together and nodded. “You’ve taken me by surprise, but when I told you that I’d do anything for you, I meant it. Where you go, I follow.”

Wren loved how tight he and Elior were, and the longer he considered the possibility of an even closer relationship, the more he craved it. He yearned to annihilate the last bit of space between them. He’d welcome Elior into the depths of his heart, and with their souls entwined, they’d be one.

“If you don’t want to marry the Winter King,” Wren said, “then I’ll ensure you won’t. To be honest, I don’t want you to be bonded to him either. Just thinking about it fills me with grief.And rage.”

“It does?” Elior asked with a shy smile.

“Yes. Because it’s you and me. I loathe the idea of you sharing your soul with another person. It’d feel like theft, like someone ripping my most cherished treasure from me. I’d murder the Winter King in his sleep the night before the wedding if that was what it took, consequences be damned.”

“You’d do that for me?” Elior’s eyes blazed, and Wren came alive. If Elior was the sun, Wren was a flower unfolding in his light.

“Yes. Neither of us is close to their family, but we’ve always been there for each other. I want you safe and happy. That’s all that matters to me.”

Wren tugged at Elior’s hand and pulled him into him. Elior collapsed onto his chest, Wren’s arms coming around to hold him close.

“You want a soulbond with me,” Wren said in his ear, “and I want it too.”

Elior shuddered, and Wren pressed him to his chest. He cupped Elior’s nape, suppressing a moan at the softness of his hair.

“It’s dangerous,” Elior whispered. “We could anger—”

“I don’t care. If you’re willing to take the risk, so am I.”

“If they find out, they’ll come after you.”

“Let them come. If our bond means that you’ll forever be free of the Winter King, it’s worth it.”

“Wren…” Elior was all over him, pressing their bodies together.

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