Page 84 of Lifebound

“I’ll need a moment to free us. We’re in her trap,” said Rune, and I didn’t see a trap anywhere, but then I remembered this was Verenthia. They didn’t use rope and nets for traps here—they used magic. They made magnets out of the ground and didn’t even let you stand up!

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I whispered because trying to calm down was having the opposite effect on me right now.

The woman came closer, faster.

She was possibly a few inches shorter than me, with chestnut hair falling in big waves around her shoulders, and she wore a pink dress that looked very different from what I’d seen people around here wear. The fabric looked soft and pressed, the stitches exactly right—but I digress. She had blush on her round cheeks—because there was no way that was a natural color—and her smile might be the most genuine smile I’d seen since I came through the Aetherway.

Which confused the shit out of my instincts.

“Tell me, who are you, beautiful girl? You don’t look familiar. I haven’t seen you around before,” she said, waving that stick around, and the heavy smell of the smoke filled my nostrils.

Of course, I was going to give her a fake name because Rune had already warned me, and I already regretted telling it to the Twinborn. But when I spoke with the name of a girl in my class in mind, the actual words that came out of my mouth were, “Nilah Dune.”

What the actual fuck.

I turned to Rune, and he wasn’t surprised, not in the least. Instead, he had his hands pressed to the ground where he sat, trying to sit up higher but struggling to even keep his shoulders up.

“Nilah Dune, welcome to Cloakwood. I’m Miriam, pleased to make your acquaintance.” And waving her stick around, she bowed toward me. “Tell me, who are you and what are you doing here?”

Oh, God…

I looked at Rune again, and this time I didn’t even care if I looked terrified—I was. Because there were words in the pit of my stomach marching up my torso to come out of my mouth, words that werethe truth.The same truth I was not supposed to reveal to anyone here, yet I couldn’t stop it, just like I couldn’t push myself off the ground no matter how hard I tried.

“I’m…I-I-I…”I clamped my mouth shut, and at the same second, a sharp pain went right through my skull, like a knife cutting my brain in fucking half.

“It’s okay,” Rune said when I bit my tongue to stop from both screaming and talking. “It’s fine—don’t fight it. We’re almost as good as free.”

And I could see now, even in the daylight, that his hands were lit from within. He was using his magic against whatever was holding us down.

“Answer me, Nilah Dune,” the woman said again. She waved that stick at my face, and the urge to speak became twice as strong instantly.

“I’m a human from Earth. I’m the Seelie Prince’s Lifebound and I’m here to heal him of his disease.”

All these words left me as if they were in a hurry, and I brought both hands in front of my mouth, but it was too late.

What the hell is going on?!

“Oh—ooh!” the woman said, clapping her hands and smiling even wider. “The prince’s bride!”

I beg your fucking pardon?

Even Rune paused for a heartbeat.

“She isnothis bride,” he said, his voice dangerously low.

The woman waved her stick at him. “But she will be! You know how life-bindings of opposite genders work—they always end up wed!”

She laughed.

I looked at Rune, but he only had eyes for her, a murderous look in them. I wanted to say,is it true? Is what she just said true?

And also,is it too late to take me back home now? I really want to go back home…

Butthosewords refused to come out of me.

“Give me one moment to unlock the trap—I will be right with you,” the woman said, and she turned around and hurried to the other side, between the trees and to what looked like a house in the distance.

The same second, Rune raised his hands from the ground and the light that came out of his palm was blinding. It didn’t last longer than a second, though. Somethingsnappedand the air released like a lid had been opened somewhere, and then Rune was on his feet, reaching out his hands for mine.

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