Page 247 of Primal Bonds

But his dad didn’t turn away. Instead, he put a hand on Fane and Marjani’s backs and urged them toward the door. “I hope you know what you're doing,” he muttered to Fane. “Even the fae get lost in that bloody maze.”

“You think I don’t know that? But I had to do something.”

The two of them exchanged a look, and then his dad moved a shoulder. “Hell. If it was your mom, I’d have done the same thing.”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Marjani said.

His dad looked skeptical. “You’ll need it.”

Marjani’s backpack had appeared next to the oak door. When Fane asked where it had come from, she just smiled. “A friend.”

Arne squeezed Fane’s shoulder. “I’ll keep the king occupied as best as I can. Go with the Goddess. Both of you.” He winked at Marjani and strode back to the center of the tower. “Who wants to bet on the fada?”

An excited ripple of voices responded. “Me!”

“I will.”

“I’ll put ten thousand on the king.”

Diamonds, the court’s preferred currency, exchanged hands, with Arne keeping the bank.

Marjani shook her head. “They really don’t see us as people, do they? They're betting as if it were a fucking horse race.”

“Their loss.” Another wave of dizziness hit him. He reached for her arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

But Sindre ’ported in front of the door, blocking it. He raised a glass of wine to Marjani, ignoring Fane as if he was less than dirt. “Dawn is at 6:17 a.m. I’ll see you then, love.”

His nephews—the blond twins—strode up to flank them, their expressions avid. They loved a good bet, and Fane suspected they hoped that if Marjani were forced to serve Sindre, they’d get a chance at her. Bastards.

Marjani’s eyes flashed turquoise. “I’m not your love, and I plan to be long gone by dawn.”

She slipped out of those fuck-me heels that Fane knew must be from Sindre, and tossed them in the powdery snow at the king’s feet—first one, then the other. They landed with a puff of white.

“We’ll see,” he said with a little smile and moved aside.

She slung her backpack over a shoulder and slid an arm around Fane’s waist. “Ready?”

Lightness filled his chest. Even if they did escape, he was out of a job and stripped of everything he’d earned since accepting Sindre’s geas. But hey, he’d be with Marjani, and he’d still have his Gift—and he’d never again have to kiss Sindre’s cold white arse.

Things could be worse.

“Ready.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and together, they walked past Sindre and the twins. The oak door swung open and then slammed shut behind them with an ominous thud.

The maze stretched in either direction, the path wide but with no openings to be seen in either direction. He waited until they went around a corner before pulling her to a halt.

“Jani? I meant it. I’m mate-claiming you.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

A shadow crossed her face. She set her palm to his heart. “Fane—think. If we lose, he’ll use the bond against us.”

“Is that why you didn’t accept my claim?” He heard the anger in his voice, but damn it, if the woman was still trying to protect him, he was going to turn her over his knee when this was over.

“He’ll hurt you to control me. Like he did just now.” She rose up onto her toes to whisper in his ear. “You know those river fada he keeps as servants? The woman and I talked while I was getting ready. She told me he hurts her mate to punish her. Do you think I could stand by and watch him hurt you?”

“Fuck that. I can take anything that SOB dishes out. At least if you’re my mate, he’ll stop trying to seduce you.” He gripped the back of her head and tilted it so that her face was angled up to him. “Accept the claim. We’ll do this together. If we lose, at least let me have that much. I’ll know he can’t touch you.”

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