Page 217 of Primal Bonds

His jaw set. “Look, you want back in, and I have to return—so why don’t we work together? I’ll escort you into the castle, and then you can give me the slip. That should give you a chance to do whatever you need to do.”

“No fucking way.” She kept going.

“Bloody-minded woman.” He followed her as she made her way back to the surface. When the passage narrowed, this time he bent his knees so his shoulders wouldn’t get stuck, and squeezed his way through.

When they emerged from the boulders, the rising sun washed the sky a pale pink and gold. To the north, Sindre’s magic hid the castle from the human world, but as a member of the court, Fane could see it hunched on the tundra, dark and brooding.

He grabbed Marjani’s arm. “Please don’t go back there.” He desperately tried to come up with an argument that would keep her safe, but he had nothing.

And the geas had sunk its talons deep now. If he walked in any direction but toward the castle, it would get stronger until he literally couldn’t take another step except in the way Sindre wished him to go.

Marjani’s eyes changed to blue frost. She bared her teeth. “Let. Me. Go,” she said in a guttural, barely human voice.

Wariness slid up his spine. He loosened his grip, uncomfortably aware he was dealing with a woman who could change into a large, predatory cat. But some stubborn part of him refused to believe she’d attack him.

“At least promise you won’t take the king’s bargain.”

Some of the brown seeped back into her irises. She set a hand on his cheek. “I can’t promise that. Luc is clan, one of my brother’s lieutenants. But more than that—we grew up together. I won’t leave without him. Not when it’s my fault he’s here.”

“The hell it’s your fault. He’s an adult; he makes his own choices. And I’d bet if he was here right now, he’d tell you to save yourself.”

“Maybe. But…” She moved a shoulder. “He’s in love with me. I knew he’d follow me, but I just had to prove I could do this.”

Something dark made his fingers tighten on her arm. “Is he your mate?”

“No.” Her gaze flew to him, startled. “I…don’t feel the same.”

That was something, at least. He blew out a breath. “Look, I have to go back anyway. At least let me get you safely inside. But we have to hurry. The best time to slip through the portals undetected is at dawn or dusk when the guard changes.”

“No. Now let me go.” She looked pointedly at his hand.

He hesitated, knowing he should let her go and yet unable to. And the awful thing was, he wasn’t sure how much was him and how much was the geas.

“Goodbye, Fane.” She wrenched herself from his grip and took a step back, her eyes sad but determined.

He opened his mouth and then shut it again as the truth struck him like a boot to the gut. She didn’t trust him. And she was right, because he wasn’t sure how far he could go before the geas made him betray her.

Sorrow stabbed through him. His throat felt too thick to breathe.

In accepting the geas, he’d lost her before he’d ever even had her.

He curled his fingers into his palms to keep himself from reaching for her. “Go, then,” he said through numb lips.

She set off for the castle at a jog. He watched her go with the hungry eyes of a man who’d lost everything, including his self-respect.

Suddenly, she stilled, slim body taut, her eyes trained on a slight rise a hundred yards away. She’d never appeared so catlike.

His scalp lifted. “Jani? What is it?”

She slashed her hand downward. “Quiet.”

A high-pitched, excited shrieking came on the wind. Goblins.

What the fuck? Why would the king order Fane to return and then allow Blaer to send her little fiends after them? But there was no time to ponder that.

He raced across the grass, scooped up Marjani and turned to run back to the cavern. But they were surrounded, the small, fur-clad beings hurtling at them from every direction.

“We have to fight.” She twisted out of his arms. “Here.” She shoved the dagger into his hand and stood back to back with him, her switchblade ready.

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