Page 13 of Fate Promised

Triska gritted her teeth and pushed back.

There was a roar, and she turned her head a fraction. A gust of wind blew away a dense cloud of fog, revealing a massive, charcoal vulk wearing leather trousers and a vest. Her heart skipped. A vulk. He had to be close to eight feet tall, with long, dangerous claws and bared teeth, his muscles flexed to spring. She sucked in a breath. He was glorious, all hard lines and ripped muscles, and vivid, golden eyes.

She’d only seen one person with eyes of that color. Juri.

“Triska!” he shouted.

It was Juri. Her heart fluttered. After all this time, he was here. In front of her. For a moment, her spell slipped, and the cage closed in.

The man in front of her turned his head from her to Juri. “Bloody vulk, such a nuisance. Yet …” his eyes narrowed as he studied her. “A vulk and a female. Again.” He squinted up at the glowing golden symbol. “And some kind of magic. There must be a connection I’m missing.”

“What are you talking about?” She pushed back against his magic, and the silvery light expanded, moving the green cage away several inches.

The magicwielder across from her grunted and dug his back leg in as he pushed back. “How are you draining my magic?” he asked, inhaling again, more green smoke entering his nose. With a swirl of green, he shot another bolt at her. This time, it hit her white light, bursting into a sea of sparks. Several of them hit her hands and sizzled. She hissed.

Juri roared.

The man smiled, and the scar across his face twisted in the light. “Definitely a connection.” His gaze flicked up toward the symbol again. “If I kill you, does he die too? Is he your mate?” He shook his head. “Last year, I had a female tied to a vulk, too, yet I thought she was nothing. A distraction for him. Perhaps I was a fool, blinded by the Dark Lady and her plans. All I had to do was kill a simple female, and everything would have been fine.”

“The vulk don’t take mates,” she said through clenched teeth. Everyone knew that. The vulk were all male and elusive. Always living in the shadows, they seldom mingled with non-immortals or demi-immortals.

The symbol in front of her chimed, and the man lowered his hand a fraction, the lightning tether loosening its grip. Yes. Just a little more.

The symbol spoke, in a clear, echoing tone.

“First, a rune will bind,

But only a bite permanently entwines.

With true love, it must be done,

Or two will never be one.

The vulk they call the Bard,

Has long had up his guard.

Is he able to take his true desire,

Or will duty, overpower?

The lightwielder hears the call of the sea,

Beckoning her to flee.

Her life has never truly been her own,

Will the right path for her be shown?

It isn’t a decision made lightly,

The bonds weave tightly.

Two souls chosen by fate,

Have only a month’s time to gain their mate.”

Time seemed to still. Was this symbol a rune? And was it about her and Juri?

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