Page 109 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“The difference is, we’re not bonded.” Elwynne gestured between herself and Orvay. “There’s no magic pushing us to stay together.”

Ravv countered, “You’re also not being hunted by one of the elves’ assassins.”

“Still. I like the freedom of being together without anything forcing us,” Elwynne said. “If one of us changes our mind, we can part ways without a problem.”

If one of them changed their mind, they could part ways without a problem?

I fought not to wrinkle my nose at the idea.

Maybe I liked the idea of a mate bond more than I cared to admit. I supposed I had lived so long without stability that I wanted the guarantee of it.

If I was going to be with Ravv for an extended period of time, it wouldn’t be with the knowledge that we could part at any time. I’d tie him to me in every way there was, so he knew I was his without question, and I knew he was mine with just as much certainty. And if we ever fell out of love, we would figure out what we had to do to fall back in love. Our bond would be a vow that we would do whatever it took to make things work for us, for the rest of our existences. It was a huge commitment, but there was a lot of security in it.

Then again, even a mate bond could be manipulated, abused, or ignored. Ria had seen clear proof of that.

I wasn’t about to argue about mate bonds with ancient fae, though, so I kept my thoughts quiet.

We all ate quickly, then headed out once again.

The ride was long.

Really, really long.

And a bit cold, too. It was difficult for me to get a chill thanks to my bond with Ravv and my fire magic, but not impossible, and the glacier at night made me shiver a bit.

The Demon in the sky seemed to be sticking closer than usual to us too, which was nerve-wracking.

By the time we finally reached the hideout, with an entrance that was nothing more than a crack between two chunks of ice, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. My body was pressed to Coarse’s back, and his movements were steady enough that I didn’t need to hold on tightly.

“Stay out here,” Ravv murmured into my mind. His hand brushed my back before he and Elwynne slipped inside, while Orvay stayed out with me.

I didn’t want to think about what might be happening inside the hideout, so I focused on Orvay. I had never spent much time with him, and I found myself studying him a bit curiously.

He hadn’t said anything during the conversation about mates a few hours earlier, and that made me wonder how he felt.

He noticed me eyeing him, and his lips curved upward in amusement. “You’re stuck on the conversation earlier, aren’t you? Humans believe in marriage more than fae believe in mating.”

I sat up a bit. “I guess. Why wouldn’t you be comfortable promising everything to each other when you’ve been together for so long?”

“I’d love to make Elwynne my mate,” he said bluntly. “But she grew up in a family of nomads, so she feels safer knowing she has options.”

“Aren’t you afraid of losing her, then?”

His smile widened. “I won’t lose her. If she tries to leave me, I’ll follow her until I’ve annoyed her enough that she takes me back. Eventually, she’ll realize she doesn’t want to live without me in any life, and she’ll become mine permanently. I’m a patient enough man to wait for that day.”

As I opened my mouth to ask another question, Ravv and Elwynne came back out.

“It’s still empty. If there are any more cultists alive, they’re not here. My guess would be that the only ones left alive are those still hiding among our warriors, and there can’t be more than one or two we haven’t uncovered at this point,” Ravv said, his eyes landing on me immediately. They moved over me slowly, as if he was making sure I was in the same shape he had left me.

It didn’t exactly thrill me to find out that we’d gone all that way for nothing, but Ravv would be able to rest easier after seeing the hideout, so it was worth it.

“Ready to head back?” Elwynne asked, scratching her bonded idorr behind his ears.

Ravv started to say something, but a huge rush of wind cut him off.

My head jerked upward as a flash of gleaming red caught my eye, and panic flooded me.

“Get inside!” I yelled at Ravv.

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