Page 22 of Fated Unkindness
“I’m sorry, Dax.”
“Don’t.” He interrupts. “Don’t apologize for anything. It’s me who should apologize. I should have never left on my own. I should have included Trent, Kait, You—”
“I lost my memories of the time I was in Ravendene.” I blurt out.Smooth Rae.His eyebrows pinch and his jaw ticks. “I remember bits and pieces from the year before I found myself at Ravendene, but I don’t remember any of you or my life there. I only know that I had a sense of trust and that I was supposed to help Trent when I saw him in my path, so that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve also felt a tug on my magic or something pulling me to… well, I think it has been pulling me to you.”
Dax stares at me for a moment, just taking me in. Then slowly, begins to pull back one of my sleeves. “May I?” he asks, and I nod. “This.” He pulls the fabric back. “I do not doubt thatthisis why you have felt that tug.” Just under the crook of my elbow, I see it. My eyes go wide, and my head snaps up to lock eyes with his.
He reaches up to his left arm, pushing the fabric of his shirt back, just a few inches below the crook of his elbow, displaying a matching mark to mine. Two bands of black, one solid and one faded into a shadow.
“As it appears, we’re mates, love. I believe that the clap of magic was the mating bond being placed on our skin when you broke the curse.” He says this as he strokes the two bands on my arm withhis thumb. I hear what he’s saying, and I recall the shock of magic we both felt before I agreed to take his hand, and he jumped from the infirmary window. My brow furrows as confusion and intrigue settle over me.
Chapter twenty
I think the shockof it hasn’t settled yet after all that has happened. Mates? It has been years since a true bond has occurred, but Raelle and I have the mark of mates as proof on our skin. I felt something was trying to draw us together, but I never thought it could be this. Bonds have been almost forgotten since the kingdom fell. As though the gods themselves were upset about the revelation not allowing them to find one another. This, along with the visions that overwhelmed my thoughts before I woke from the curse, have me confused as hell.
Opening my eyes, I see Raelle looking down at me in that infirmary room. Her pine green eyes were wide with fear… She broke the curse. Remembering how my chest tightened with the shock of finding the mark on my skin… but later finding the match on Raelle’s? I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts as Isit up from the oversized chair in the sitting area. The room is purposefully dark, with only the light from the dwindling fire in the oversized hearth for me to see by. Raelle needs rest, and I need time to think and process before I bring up the vision to her or before we discuss any more about what this means to each of us. I know she must still be in shock from seeing the marks, as am I, but with everything there is for us to discuss… I don’t need us both to be so overwhelmed, so some things will have to wait.
I don’t blame her if she's upset about being bonded to me. It's not like we had a relationship or even friendship to begin with. The latter is my fault for being so twisted up in my own bitter agony. I truly don’t deserve someone like her or a blessing such as a mating bond. Determination settles over my bones as I decide I will do everything I can to be the mate she deserves. My gaze finds her as she tosses in her sleep for at least the twentieth time. She asked me to stay with her, and I agreed. I had no intention of leaving her side.
The need to find my brother, sister, Kait, and even Miles weighs heavily on me, but hell if I will let anything happen to Raelle again. She has been through enough, so for now she will rest, and I will try to come up with a plan. I wish I knew what Cano’s endgame was. I know he’s a power-hungry fool, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was trying to use Raelle in some way for her power.
As I pace back and forth in front of the large hearth, I wonder if I’m boring a groove in the floors. I place some wood to the fire that has gone dark, and use my fire element to reignite it. Nights in these mountains can get cold. Standing in the master suite of the manor I have not been back to since—well, since my parent's death- brings back so many memories. Good and bad. Being hereis causing all the emotions of that night to bubble back to the surface, and with everything else going on right now, I can’t be still.
“Dax?” Her voice is rough with sleep, but just a whisper, and it cuts through my thoughts entirely. I move to the bedside and sit next to her with trepidation building in my gut.
“I’m here, Raelle. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay, I think. Bad dreams, I guess… Have—have you slept at all?” Her eyes are still practically closed as she turns her head, looking at me.
“No,” I respond.
“Oh.” She pulls the blanket up to her chin in a way that I find adorable and innocent, and a wry smile tugs at my lips. I haven’t had much of a chance to get to know the real Raelle. But I sense that the rough and tough girl is for her own protection most of the time, as I see this gentle softness lying in front of me.
“Too much on my mind. Nothing to be concerned over, love.”
“The bond?” She asks, her brow pulling down. It makes me worry; that is what haunts her nightmares. Who would want to bear the mark of the bonded with a man such as myself?
“I guess. That and—and other things,” I tell her, and she sucks her lip into her mouth, biting at it with worry.
I know I’m being vague, but how do I explain the feelings I have about being in this house without freaking her out? How do I explain the dreams I had when I was cursed to die? I don’t even know what I was seeing or feeling during that time. The only thing I know that kept me alive as long as it did was watching Raelle try so hard for me and my family. Somehow, I assume, through the bond that was manifesting. I was able to project my shifts and could watch over her through the eyes of a raven, like my namesakeand the name of our territory. Shift projection is not common, but not unheard of. When I have the time, I will have to look further into it.
When I decided to ignore Cano’s order to stay put and not go after my sister… I decided then that I was done hiding myself away. I will resume lordship over Ravendene and claim my rightful position. I was never meant to be on the sidelines. I was born to be a leader of our people. He was not, and that much shows through his dictator style of leadership. Our people deserve better, and I am ready to step up as such. I am Dax Fornax-Ravendene, and I am the eldest of my line now that my parents are gone. It was a mistake to abnegate my position. I will make things right.
“Dax?” Raelle whispers again, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Raelle?” I whisper back with a hint of a grin playing on my lips. Am I nervous talking to her? By the gods, a flush is creeping into my cheeks, and I’m thankful for the dark room. I do not blush.
“Are you upset to be bonded to me?” Not a question I was expecting. Or, I guess I was, but not right away. I haven’t had much time to think about it. But there is no question how I feel about this union. I should have known when I saw her the first time in Ravendene. I should have known that something was drawing her to me. I should have never pushed her away.
“No love, I’m not upset about being bonded to you. Honestly, I think quite the opposite. Does it upset you to be bonded to me?” The question comes out before I even process the thought. Of course, she is upset to be bonded to an asshole like me. Our first conversation ended with me telling her that I didn’t care what happened to her, and that I would rather lock her up and use her for her power than let her leave Ravendene. Whowould want to be with someone like that? I close my eyes and bring my head down to my hands, elbows resting on my knees. I run my hands through the overgrown locks of thick black hair, waiting for the truth of her feelings to rip my soul out.
She sits up so her back is resting on the large, intricately carved wood headboard. “I don’t know how to feel, to be honest, but I know that upset is not the emotion I’m feeling. Since I don’t have my memories of ever knowing you, there is not much to go on other than the feeling my growing power is telling me, and it has not led me to make a bad decision yet.”
“Growing power? How could it be growing? You are twenty-three, are you not? You would have ascended before you came to Ravendene, and your magic doesn’t grow past ascension unless you obtain a relative’s power due to their death.” My brows dip low as I try to understand.
“I um—haven’t ascended yet… But you are correct about my age. I’m not sure what the reasoning is. I thought maybe there was something wrong with me or it was the turmoil I was in when I turned twenty-one. Maybe the gods sensed I was not ready for such a feat.” She shyly sweeps some of her silver-blonde hair out of her eyes and behind her ear. My gaze is snagged by the motion, and as I follow her hand down to her bottom lip, where she worries it between her teeth absently, causing a wanton desire to build in me.
I clear my throat and shift on the bed, facing the fire. “Interesting. So, your power has been growing? Do you think you are close to ascension then?”
