Page 171 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
A golden thread shimmers brighter than any other essence and it’s coming from Rhianelle. I trace the rope as it twines with a dark ashen rope leading to me.
“What the fuck am I looking at?” I ask the bond.
“This is it,” he says in a low voice. “The threads that these creatures, elves, fae, orcs, and dwarves call fate.”
I admire Rhianelle’s pretty string of fate. It’s as warm and bright as she is, and I can’t fight the curve of my lips.
But then I see other strings on the mattress, not attached to either of us. They trail to the outside of the tent.
“What are those?” I ask him.
“Potential mates.”
His answer thunders through me like a lightning strike.
The bond studies one particular golden string closely. “This one belongs to some fucking fae who made a connection to her.”
His thread glows with the same bright light as Nel’s. I compare it to mine which looks like some desiccated rope on a pirate’s ship. It looks brittle enough to be picked apart by the wind.
“Destiny says he is supposed to be with her. Similar upbringing, a noble lineage, an identical past. They are perfect and were always meant for each other,” he pauses to exhale. “But by some twisted fate, she fell down a rabbit hole and met you.”
The bond juts his head to another illuminous string, twirling on the bedpost with a sapphire glow. “The blue, polite one is from her knight, Aelfric.”
Just when I was starting to tolerate Eyepatch’s presence… Guess I’d have to kill him now.
I lift the blanket from the bed, my eyes surveying for any other fucking thread.
“What are you doing?” the bond arches a dark brow.
I’m searching for a fucking red or grey string that could belong to Red or Shade. I’ll be damned if I found them.
The bond’s eyes churn with emotions. “My point is, the mating bond is a fucking fickle thing. What happens when she finds out she has options? Better ones?”
Fiery pain slices my heart at the thought of losing her.
“Do you understand now what you have to do?” the bond asks.
“Kill her other suitors and damn them to hell.”
Lesser men would have flinched at the solution I uttered, but the bond is me.
He simply nods in agreement. “Yes, that. But first, secure the bond and claim her.”
The bond stares at me, dark eyes unblinking.
My shallow breaths fill the silence of the tent. “I get it. Now go.” I close my eyes.
When I open them again, he is gone.
Emotion wells up in my throat as I glance at the girl beside me. I run my hand over the back of my head, relishing in the memory of her tugging my hair there.
“Svenn, I don’t share.”Her eyes were fierce and possessive when she said that.
“Same here, sweetheart,” I whisper to the dark.
I cast a glance at the glorious golden string reaching out to her and Eyepatch’s polite blue thread.
What if they have a chance to make her happy?A small voice of doubt takes root.
