Page 97 of Fated Exile

"Thank you. That was helpful. The gems seemed to... speak to me, almost."

"Did they have Delphine's voice?"

Considering it carefully, I shake my head. "Their voice felt ancient and urgent. I got the sense that they wanted a home. A sacred place where they'd be attended to and worshipped. Like our Elder statues are, or the Elder Tombs. I don't think theymeanto be bad. They just wanted to live inside my body."

"That's not comforting." Kerry crosses her arms. "Promise me you won't let these gemstones live inside you."

"I promise." I shoot her a grin. "I'm just saying, I don't know if Delphine and the vampires created them, or if they just found them and used them to suit their own ends. The dark presence they conjured wasn't thrilled to see me, but both times I fought it, it seemed to take on another's shape. First Bastian, then Elder Gregor. Maybe whatever spirit lives in the gemstones is just looking for a final resting place."

"Or maybe they're just evil, and we should throw them into a vat of acid." Kerry sighs. "Though knowing our luck, they'd just grow more powerful."

"Maybe Bastian's memory will unlock the answers," I tell her. "Remind me again: how does the spell go?"

She says the words again, her voice somehow turning them into more than a sing-song nonsense poem. I repeat them until I'm sure I have them right.

"You'll want to use the mate bond for this, and it may be emotionally draining," she warns me, getting up and walking towards the office door. "I'll bring Bastian in, then leave the two of you alone to do it. If you need anything, shout for help. Oh—and you might want to have him hold these."

Kerry puts her hand in her pocket and pulls out the gemstones, setting them down on my father's old desk. They glow gently there, as if they've tired of putting out so much light. There's an eerie aura to them, but I can't think of it as sinister. I get the sense they're just as lonely and lost as the rest of us.

Bastian enters the room a moment later, and joins me in sitting cross-legged on the floor, which is how Kerry and I have been conducting magic lessons lately. There's a distinctive incense and herb scent in the air because of it. His masculine smell mingles with that scent, delicious enough that it's hard to resist leaning forward to sniff him.

"Are you sure you want to do the spell? Kerry said it might be difficult. We don't know what you'll see or find."

"I'm ready to learn the truth," he tells me. "Let's do this thing."

I gather the gemstones in my hands and reluctantly settle down cross-legged in front of them. Reaching out my awareness, I tug on the mate bond that stretches between us, its black threads bursting to life at my gentle touch. They coil and loop around us, lazily and only tight in a few places, my inattention over the past few days showing.

"Tonight is our date night," I remind him, reaching out to tug his hands onto his knees. I slide my palms onto his, sandwiching the gemstones between our skin. "We can stay in if you want. Or even go out on patrol, though I think I've done enough of that lately. Either way, I think we should spend more time together. I'm sorry I've been neglecting you."

"That's okay, Delilah." He shoots me a shy smile. "It's enough just to sleep in the same house as you."

"Still. I'm your mate now, and that means growing and strengthening our bond. Especially in the bedroom." I feel myself color a little at the last sentence, the memory of his raw, passionate fumbling in the Mating Circle coming to the surface. "I owe you some alone time, so I promise that we'll share a bed tonight. If that's what you want, that is."

"I'd enjoy that." I feel a surge of warmth from him through the bond, and it breaks my heart a little that I haven't gotten more of those lately. "That's not all I want from you, though. I want... I want to spend time together. To go out. See the world."

"I'd love to do all those things."

"Then let's beat this thing." Bastian tightens our hands together, the gemstones clutched tight against our palms. "Do the spell."

Taking a deep breath, I anchor myself down into the ground, gather the power within me, and say the words. They twist on my tongue, harder to channel now that I'm making a spell and not just saying them for practice. By the time the last word falls from my lips, I'm gritting my teeth.

Bastian shudders all over, his chin jerking up and his eyes falling closed.

A long minute passes. He makes faint noises of protest as a memory plays in his head. His eyelashes twitch as his eyes move back and forth behind the lids. I feel a raw, deep fear from him through our bond, followed by an aching desperation.

Then he shudders, coming out of the memory, and opens his eyes. They're clear and wide now, settling on me slowly. There's a pained sadness in his expression.

"Years ago, my sister and I were forced to eat these. There was... something about him." Bastian shudders in distaste, and I sense nausea from him through the bond. "The vampire coven stole them I think. Some kind of spirit lived in each pair. Hers were blue. After I swallowed them, I started losing time... I think maybe that's when they hypnotized me. My sister and I used to talk about cutting them out of each other. Then the fight in the arena happened, and afterwards, I guess I forgot they ever existed."

"They probably made you forget." Squeezing his hands, I stretch up to kiss him lightly. "I'm sure it was hard to remember. I'm glad that you did."

"Do you think we need to destroy them?" He sounds mournful, and as he slides his hands from mine, he curls his fingers around the gemstones and places them in his palm. "I know they're responsible for so much pain. But I just don't feel like they'reevil.Whatever is inside them is somehow alive, and I don't want to kill it."

I hesitate, though I feel the same. "I'm not sure what we should do with them next. I think they're probably dangerous. But maybe Kerry will have an alternate to outright destroying them."

"That'd be good." He brightens, an easy smile on his face. "I've got to go out on patrol, but maybe we can see each other afterwards? I found a restaurant in the square that makes pizza. It's really good."

"Toni's Mozzarella. I know it well." I went there so many times in my youth that I grew sick of it, but I don't tell him this. After seven years apart, maybe thin sauce and soggy cheese will be tasty. Besides—Bastian has experienced so little, and he deserves to know more. "I'll let you know what Kerry comes up with when we meet tonight. Whatever she says, we won't destroy the gemstones without talking to you. I want to know more about them before we make any decisions."

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