Page 257 of Primal Bonds

His gaze probed hers. “So one of you is…mistaken.” He muttered an incantation.

Marjani froze. Blaer must have shared the secret with Sindre.

The North African fae who’d help create the original earth fada had gifted the quartz and its special energy to them alone. But like most fae gifts, it came with an edge—with the right incantation, an earth fada’s quartz could be used to compel him or her to obey a fae.

And the king had the complicated phrase correct in every particular.

She forced herself to shrug. She was damned if she’d help Sindre puzzle this out. “I guess it’s Lady Blaer, then.”

With a shrug, he pocketed the quartz. “I don’t need tricks like this anyway.” He moved closer, his voice deepening. “Marjani. Are you sure you want to do this?”

She opened and closed her mouth like a beached fish. The man was so beautiful, she couldn’t tear her eyes away. His white-blond hair glimmered, his eyes a brilliant silver.

He smiled, and her knees went weak. Those chiseled lips promised so much pleasure. She could almost feel them tracing over her naked breasts, making their way down to her clit…

“Why do I want you so much?” he murmured, almost to himself. “I think it’s because you’re so serious. Life means something to you.”

She somehow managed to find her voice. He might be beautiful, but he wasn’t Fane. “And it doesn’t to you?”

He moved a shoulder. “I prefer it to death.”

She stared up at him. This isn’t real. You’re not my mate.

The bastard was using a glamour on her. She growled and the spell broke.

The wall across from them wavered. Fane stalked through, hair dusted with snow and deep smudges beneath his eyes. His shirt had lost a few buttons, and he was breathing hard. Dark stubble had sprung up on his jaw. He looked exhausted and primitive in a way that stole her breath—and not in the artificial way that Sindre had.

He hauled her up against him. “Get away from her, you bastard.”

Sindre did a double take, then his brow flicked up. “You’re more powerful than I realized. Perhaps I could still use you after all.”

“Go to Hades. I’m leaving.” He squeezed her shoulders. “With my mate.”

The king’s jaw loosened. His gaze swung to her. “You’d choose him over me?”

“I already have.” She leaned into Fane. He was her man. Her mate.

Something cold whispered over her skin. Sindre was pissed off.

That told her more than anything that this was it, their final test. They had to pass it—or they were fucked.

“Get out of our way,” Fane ground out. “Let the game play out—or forfeit.”

Smart. Marjani could tell the king didn’t want to appear a poor sport, especially since other fae had bet on the outcome.

Sindre inclined his head and then muttered a short incantation. The air around him warped in a dizzying way as he ’ported out of there.

“We’re close.” Fane nuzzled her cheek and then released her. “He wouldn’t have interfered if we weren’t. I think you’re right—you need to shift.”

With a nod, she brought her quartz to her heart. Fane winked at her, his confidence in her palpable.

Closing her eyes, she drew on the quartz’s energy—and let the change take her.

It was a hard shift. She’d shifted too many times in too short of a period, but at least her quartz’s energy level had reached seventy-five percent.

She determinedly maintained her focus. This wasn’t just for her, it was for Fane. She couldn’t stand the thought of him being in Sindre’s power for another day, let alone another century plus however many years he still had to serve of the first geas.

Energy rippled over her, and then she landed on all fours. She stowed the quartz in the pocket of her cheek and looked around with her cat’s keen vision. The maze was still there, but she could see a straight line to the outer edge, as if the maze were a patchy white mist overlaying the true path.

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