Page 56 of Magic & Secrets
“And you only figured it out now?”
“I knew you’d wondered how I survived the Serpent Shifter’s venom. With no way to lie any longer, I had to do everything possible to stop your suffering. That’s why I reached out for help from Solme Divige.”
“I don’t know much about the ancient ones, but even I can see how you shouldnevercall out to them. They are monsters, and you’re a fool.”
“You’re my mate,” I muttered, losing my temper. “It’s why I keep losing focus in battle. Our mate bond distracts me as much as it does you.”
“I’m fine. I’ve never been better.”
Roque required time to process what was happening. He’d been a slave to the Murade and war for many centuries. His time on the mountain only reinforced what he already believed.
“The Gathering believes your kind was created using magic from Vyanlpoth,” I explained, believing he deserved the truth. “According to legend, the ancient one was known to changeshapes. Normal Shifters changed by Pandorium and exposure magic can’t change their size much. But Bane Shifters can grow very large or extremely small. Extraordinary magic was used to create your kind.”
Roque studied me, seeming detached now. He dug deep within himself to avoid the reality of our situation.
“Before we met, I dreamt of you,” I said, winning a cocked brow from Roque. “I believed you were the creature destined to end my life.”
“I might be,” Roque replied immediately. “I haven’t decided how today ends.”
“I saw you in the cave on the mountain. You were all alone.”
“Don’t pity me,” Roque said and then snarled, “Or trick me.”
Losing my patience, I started walking away. Roque ran at me. I felt the ground shake under his power, yet I didn’t look back. He stopped behind me and poked my back.
“You’re going the wrong way.”
“No, I’m not. It’s the same way we were going before the attack.”
Roque stopped walking and looked around. I felt him struggling again.
“Will your sisters kill Delta and Koda?”
“You won’t like my answer.”
Growling, Roque erased the space between us again. His large hand shoved me to the ground. Pouncing on top of me, he snarled in my face.
“I sensed your devious nature as soon as we met.”
My fingers caressed his bearded face as I inhaled his scent. The air around us warmed.
“Enya and Mina are bound to your packmates like I am to you.”
Our mate bond filled the air with her spicy scent. My body hummed with need, calling out to him.
Roque bounced backward as if shocked. “I will never be a slave to your magic. I don’t care what made you or why. I am a free creature. I won’t be chained again.”
Storming into the forest, Roque quickly put distance between us. I considered letting him disappear from my life. I could return to the Citadel and warn them of the Cult of Ivitithi.
No, that wouldn’t do. Even if my heart could accept abandoning Roque to a world actively hunting him, returning to the Citadel would be courting disaster. They might lock me away rather than allow me to locate my bevy. I might even be killed by my fellow New Armgard.
Chasing after Roque, I found him walking slower as we moved deeper into Pandorium Forest. He no doubt sensed my presence. Even as he fled from me, our mate bond pulled me closer.
Roque didn’t shift into an animal form and run. As a beast, he could quickly separate us. However, he simply stalked through the woods in human form, allowing me to easily keep pace.
We traveled in this way, separate yet on the same path, for hours. Toward late afternoon, the air grew colder. The trees were different here, whiter and chillier to the touch. A gray mist rolled in, nipping at my knees.
“Roque,” I whispered, finding my breath hanging in the air like smoke.
