Page 163 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
I nestled against her arm, feeling the warmth that came from our joined souls.
“How did you do that?” I asked.
I marveled at the wonder that was Teddy. She could be ruthless and had shown that side of herself when she’d taken control of the messenger’s magic and turned it against him. I wished I could’ve been there when she’d slain him. I wasn’t sure if she would’ve let me kill him on her behalf since she hadn’t let Donnie, but I would’ve liked to have been there to witness her wrath unleashed. She was also kind, inquisitive, and unrelenting.
She was mine.
“I’ve been looking for our soulmate bond since we lost it.” She moved closer to me, and this time, the shift on the bed didn’t hurt. In fact, although the blisters remained, I barely felt them. “When you bit me”—she ran her nose across my forehead—“something told me I’d be able to find them.”
“Your magic is a wonder.” It had linked us together after I’d thought our bond had been irrevocably lost. And now . . . now, I was whole again.
I felt her lips spread into a smile. “I am pretty awesome, huh?”
I ran my hand across her side. “Will you tell me your story?”
“As you can imagine, the fae prince was horribly ugly,” she said, pausing when I chuckled. “Hideous, really. With green warts all over his face, but worse than that was his hair. If you can believe it, he only had three strands of hair, that he combed over the top of his head, making him look even moreridiculous. His feet were so big, he kept tripping over them, but they served him well when his people teased him about his looks. Sometimes, he’d punish them by kicking them straight across his kingdom into another kingdom. Little did he know a mage princess lived in the other kingdom, and she was getting tired of his castoffs landing in her backyard.”
I chuckled again, letting my eyes close while sleep tried to claim me with Teddy’s sweet voice telling me the most absurd story. I didn’t let myself drift until I was certain the fae prince and mage princess got their happily ever after.
Chapter
Thirty-Three
ELIAS
With the castle in ruins,Leah no longer had access to her old clinic or any of the machines she’d used. Thankfully, the small clinic Padern and Dela typically worked from had most of her usual equipment.
“Leah, I think you, Teddy, and I have been through enough these past few months that you can start calling me by my name,” I said.
Her eyes widened, and she gave her head a slight shake.
“I insist. Actually, I’d prefer to think of you as a friend rather than our healer. Let’s start over.” I stuck out my hand, waiting for her to shake it. “I’m Elias, and you are?”
She huffed out a disbelieving breath while Teddy rolled her eyes at me. If she still had her mind-speak magic, I was certain she’d have called me an idiot.
“You truly want me to call you Elias?” Leah spoke slowly while she stared at my outstretched hand.
“I do,” I said. I gave Teddy a mischievous grin, knowing she’d scold me for what I was about to say. “Are you refusing my friendship?”
“Elias,” Teddy warned.
“No, no,” Leah rushed out, shaking my hand with a firm grip.
“Good.” A knot in my stomach loosened. In the past, I’d rarely ever asked anyone to call me by my name out of fear they’d refuse my friendship, seeing me only for my royal status.
Leah let out a nervous laugh, wiggling the wand in her hand. “May I?”
“Yes, please,” Teddy said.
I didn’t know how to explain it, but after Teddy joined our souls a week ago, I swear sometimes I could hear her thoughts and sense her feelings as if I were the one feeling them.
Her fear fastened around me. Not for me—that fear had lessened the previous night when the blisters had almost disappeared after another round of Leah’s healing. She still fretted over them, careful not to touch anywhere Pietro’s fire had licked my skin unless it was to apply the medicated cloths, but she also didn’t shy away from the scars that marred my skin. And every night, she spent hours combing her fingers through my hair. Even after I’d fallen asleep, she continued playing with my hair.
When Leah pressed the wand to Teddy’s stomach, her fear soared to the point my gut turned with a painful twist. I did my best to soothe the threads of her soul, and she squeezed my hand.
The small room filled with the sounds of our sons’ heartbeats. Although she was only thirteen weeks pregnant, there was a small curve to her belly where she housed our babes.
I forced my hand to still so I wouldn’t reach for her stomach and interrupt Leah’s examination. But, Guardians, Iwanted to touch her or press the side of my face against her belly so I could hear our babes from within her womb.
