Page 4 of Lifebound

“I was,” her brother said. “And he was eight years old.”

“You know he’s always been more powerful than anyone.” She waved a hand—this was not something that surprised her. Her son had been not only powerful enough to create a life-bond, but well acquainted with all ancient rituals and spells of the fae since he began his tutoring at the age of five.

“We’ll know more once the seer is back to herself, but it matters little what I believe now,” the queen said and turned to Helid. Though she was inches shorter, she’d mastered the art of looking down at him since they were children. “That mortal, if she truly exists, might be our last chance.”

“She looks so much like the Ice Queen,” her brother said, as confused as her by the fact.

“Coincidence, perhaps?” the queen offered, though she knew there was no such thing. Not in Verenthia.

“If you say so, My Queen.” Helid bowed his head deeply, and she touched the top of his smooth hair.

“Itmustbe,” she whispered, like she were arguing with her own self. “We would never survive another Icefall. You’ve heard the stories.”

“I’ve read all the books,” Helid said. “The Icefall nearly destroyed the Courts the first time. I couldn’t imagine another…”

The hair on the queen’s arm stood at attention.

Right now, she couldn’t afford to think about anything other than her son, so she pulled her thoughts in order and stepped back.

“Go, brother. Bring her to me.”

“I will,” Helid said and immediately started for the door.

But before he walked outside, the queen called his name again. “Make sure the marked bastard doesn’t find out she exists. He must be kept away from her at all costs.”

His eyes widened in surprise once more. “But the prophecy is over…is it not?”

The queen had no answer. “It is safer if he never finds out she exists, brother.Go.”

With another bow of his head, the fae turned around and walked out the door, and an hour later, he was on his way to the other side of the continent so he could cross over to Earth.

He was Prince Lyall’s last chance.

one

Nilah Dune

Ignoringpeople was kind of my thing. I’d been doing it since forever that it came as easy as breathing to me now.

You’reright thereon the sidewalk as I walk by?No, you’re not.

You’re at the grocery store in line behind me?Probably imagined it.

You waved at me from across the street and called my name?Must have been someone else ‘cuz it wasn’t me.

But I saw those middle fingers, Sam! I saw you, you fucking insufferable, pimple-covered, brain-dead leech.

Those words remained inside me, though. I didn’t say them out loud.

But, yes, ignoring people—who called me names and blew on my hair from behind when I was standing in line at Target or who waved their middle fingers at me for all to see—was my thing, but going after the people I cared about?

That’s when things changed. Forget ignoring—we had arealproblem then.

“Hold on, let me get some ice,” I said, putting Dad’s hand over the kitchen towel I’d used to wipe the blood from his nose, but he still had a Ping-Pong-sized swelling around his left eye, and I could have sworn that it was getting bigger.

So, I grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and slapped it on the side of his face, which then made him hiss. “Ow—watch it, Nilah!”

I grabbed the towel from his hands and threw it in the sink—I’d have to wash it by hand with cold water first.

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