Page 74 of Earth-Bound

“Oh, I see. I haven’t explained properly. Youaremy fated mate, Joe. I can feel it in the earth and the way my power responds to you and the way my body responds to you.” I was sure he blushed as he said that. “But fated mates tend to claim one another. I suppose it’s a bit like getting married – it’s not absolutely necessary. Being married doesn’t make you any more in love than before. Only it makes your love official. It’s a declaration to each other and the world. You give yourselves to each other completely.”

“And you… want that with me?”

“Of course I do!”

He said it as though he couldn’t believe I had to ask, but, yeah, I’d had to ask.

I thought about it for a moment and Terrund let me. At last, I said, “So you’re saying I’m your fated mate?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you known?”

“Since the beginning. I sensed it as soon as I was freed from my tree.”

“Huh.”

Terrund looked unsure. “Are you cross with me for not telling you?”

“I guess not. I can’t be mad about that because I know why you didn’t tell me – you can’t go around talking about magic unless you’re sure the other person knows about it already. But… when were you going to tell me?”

“As soon as I could convince you that magic is real. I didn’t realise you already believed in magic; I thought I’d have to prove it and I wasn’t strong enough to do that yet. I admit, I was also afraid.”

“Of me?”

“No! Of you leaving. I thought perhaps you’d just get in your van and drive away, as you described to me the first time we spoke. I was afraid that I’d scare you away and I wouldn’t be able to follow you.”

I held Terrund tighter, sorting through all that information in my head. I was comfortable with magic being real, so that wasn’t a problem. Once the rest of them hadstopped cutting me out and hiding things from me, I had felt at home here. I’d felt… happy.

And a big part of that was to do with Terrund.

But soulmates?

Was I Terrund’s soulmate?

The reason I hesitated to accept it was because it seemed too good to be true and I’d learned over the years that, if it looked too good to be true, it probably was. I wanted to be married to Terrund. That sounded great.

“How is a claiming different from marriage?”

“Ah, well, it’s more… biological.”

I stood back to look at him, forcing Terrund to meet my eyes.

He looked uncomfortable, but he wasn’t leaning away from me or anything.

“Go on,” I said.

“Well, you see, it is a physical connection between a magical being and their mate. It requires a certain… trade.”

“Like wedding rings?”

“No, not like that. Like I said, it’s more biological than that.”

“Not blood?”

“No, not blood. Not for an earth spirit. It’s…”

I restrained a smile. “You know, if you want to do this with me, you’re going to have to tell me what it is.”

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