Page 44 of Faeheart
“Atlas sent you?” he said, turning his gaze back to the floor.
“No,” I replied, approaching slowly. “Caden told me where you were, but I came on my own.”
Wild nodded, making room for me on the bench, though he didn’t meet my eyes. “Come to convince me to complete the bond? Save the world? Be a good little soldier in the Elder Council’s war?”
“Actually,” I said, settling beside him, careful to leave space between us, “I came to tell you I think you’re right.”
That got his attention. His head snapped up, those fae-bright eyes searching my face for any sign of deception. “What?”
“The Elder Council, Blackwood, even my own family... they’ve all manipulated us from the beginning.” I stared at a cluster of night-blooming jasmine, its sweet scent almost overwhelming in the enclosed space. “We never had a real choice in any of this. The Resonance Stones, the bond, being brought here... it’s all been orchestrated by people who care more about their political games than what we actually want.”
Wild’s surprise rippled through our connection, followed by something that felt like relief. “I wasn’t expecting you to agree with me.”
“Neither was I,” I admitted, finally turning to look at him. “But sitting in that room, thinking about everything that’s happened... I realized I’ve been so focused on living up to everyone else’s expectations that I never lived my own life. I never even stopped to ask what Iactuallywanted.”
“And what do you want?” Wild asked quietly, his voice barely audible over the gentle hum of magical plants around us.
I took a shaky breath, knowing that my answer would change everything between us. “I want you,” I said simply. “Not because some ancient magic says we’re supposed to be together. Not because the Elder Council needs us to save the world. I want you because when I’m with you, I feel like myself for the first time in my life.”
Wild’s breath caught, and through our bond I felt the walls he’d built around his heart trembling. “Elias...”
“I’m terrified too,” I continued, reaching for his hand. When he didn’t pull away, I twined our fingers together. “I’ve never been in love before. I don’t even know if that’s what this is. And I don’t know how to do any of this. But I’d rather figure it out with you than spend the rest of my life wondering what we could have been.”
“Love?” Wild whispered, the word hanging between us like a fragile butterfly.
Heat flooded my cheeks as I realized what I’d said. “I... yes. I feel like I’m falling for you, Wild. Maybe I have been since that first day in Blackwood’s classroom when you challenged everything I thought I knew about magic.”
For a long moment, Wild was completely still, his emotions cycling through our bond too quickly for me to follow. Fear, wonder, longing, terror... and underneath it all, something warm and golden that made my heart race.
“I don’t know how to be in love,” he finally said, his voice thick with unshed tears. “I don’t know how to be a boyfriend or a… amate. What if I screw this up? What if I hurt you?”
“What if you don’t?” I countered, squeezing his hand. “What if we’re both terrible at this and we figure it out together? What if we get to choose our own path instead of letting everyone else decide for us?”
Wild laughed, a sound caught between joy and hysteria. “You’re suggesting we rebel against cosmic destiny itself?”
“I’m suggesting we make our own destiny,” I said, turning to face him fully. “The soul recognition, the calling... maybe it’s real. Maybe we are meant to be together. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is thatwemake the choice and thatwechoose to be together.”
Wild’s eyes met mine, and for once, I saw none of his usual deflecting humor or carefully constructed indifference. Just raw vulnerability and something that looked dangerously like hope.
“Our own destiny,” he repeated softly, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. “I’ve spent my whole life avoiding anything that felt like fate. Every time someone tried to tell me who I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to want, I ran in the opposite direction.”
“I know,” I said. “And I’ve spent my whole life trying to be exactly what everyone told me to be. Maybe that’s why we drive each other crazy. And why I find you so damn frustrating.”
The luminescent flowers around us seemed to pulse brighter, responding to the surge of emotion flowing between us. Through our bond, I could feel Wild’s internal struggle, his desperate desire to believe what I was saying, warring with his lifetime of learned caution.
A small smile played at the corners of his mouth. “I do excel at being frustrating.”
“It’s one of your many talents,” I agreed, returning his smile.
Wild’s fingers tightened around mine, and through our connection, I felt something shift, a tentative lowering of barriers that had been firmly in place since we’d met.
“So… we’re going to do this?” he asked, leaning his shoulder against mine.
“I’m game if you are,” I replied, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“I’ll give it a shot.”
“Also, just so you know, apparently Caden and Atlas are developing feelings for us too,” I added with a sigh. “I have no idea how to handle that.”
