Page 111 of Forged Bonds

He flushed, sitting back. We were both on the floor, while Oswald and Emmett had decided to be civilized and sit on the couches. It might have had more to do with how big they were and how uncomfortable the floor would be with that much mass.

I pointed at a line near the bottom of the scroll, the words hand-written with a heavy stroke. “According to this, I have to form the image I want to implant in my mind in excruciating detail, and it has to be done in a way the recipient of the memory wouldn’t question. I’ve got to get inside Grey’s head without getting inside his head. Our trip to Zemterra might be helpful after all, so I can see what it’s like in the demon realm.”

“We’re not going to Zemterra,” Emmett objected.

He’d barely stopped touching me since Caspian and Shan had been taken. When I’d been getting my mind off things with Nolan and Ozzy, he’d been waiting for the moment we finished so he could come to me again. His presence was a constant in my head as well, despite how empty my bond with Caspian was right now. He was holding it, desperately waiting for the moment Cas broke free of his beast again.

“We need the carneliclase crystal.” I reached up to wind my fingers through his where they rested on my shoulder.

“Nolan said Julian would send some for us.”

While Julian appeared nice enough, I wasn’t keen to wait for him to do every little task. We were already waiting on him to send plans of the mansion and where we could find swords for hire. I wanted the stone as early as possible so I could practice channeling through it. Some witches used stones for their practice all the time. I wasn’t one of them. My wand was the extent of the magical accessories I was proficient in, and even then I didn’t use it half the time. Only when I wanted a spell to have a very specific focus.

“I’d like to have options. He could send us a crystal with bad energy, and then we would have to waste time finding more when we already have everything we need. Besides,” I said, glancing to Nolan and hoping he would back me up. “If we venture to Zemterra, I might be able to do a sensing spell to see if Altair and Sky escaped to the other realm. We still have no idea where they went, and it’s been two days.”

Emmett’s eyebrows stayed drawn together, his expression fretful. Bringing his hand to my lips I kissed the back of it and leaned against his legs, looking up to him. “We’ll be fine. I have my scent dampener here and we’ll all be disguised by my magic. It’ll be one small trek through the streets of Eimburn. Perfectly safe.”

Nolan snorted a laugh, his attention coming back to us and off the scroll he couldn’t read. “Darling, it’s obvious you’ve never been to Eimburn. There’s nothing safe about it. I’d agree with Emmett that waiting might be safer, but I also don’t trust Julian to send you the purest stone for the spell. He doesn’t know fuck all about rocks.”

“It’s not really a rock.”

“To him it is, which is entirely my point. One trip to Eimburn may be dangerous, but I think it’s worth the risk, whether or not you’re able to figure anything out about Altair and Sky.”

“Oswald, what do you think?”

My other mate was lounging sideways on the opposite couch, staying silent and watching us. There was something stormy about his honey brown eyes, his scent sharper than usual. “The idea of you in Eimburn makes my stomach churn,” he said, surprisingly serious. “But I can’t fully trust a Duke either. I say we go.”

Emmett was officially outvoted, and I turned to face him. Leaning my cheek against his knee, I tried to send soothing vibes through the bond. For once, I wasn’t gloating about us going with my idea. If Shan had been here, I would have, but with Em… he wasn’t aggressively overprotective. He was sad and worried as fuck.

I was trying to come up with comforting words, but he spoke first.

“If we’re doing that, I need you to mark me.”

Staring blankly up at him, I tried to comprehend what he meant. “We’re already bonded,” I said. “You’ve marked me.”

“It’s not strong enough. I can’t… I can’t lose you. I need the bond to be unbreakable.”

My heart pounded and my scent perfumed the room. As I watched, his cock created a bulge in his jeans. “Our bond is strong. I feel everything you feel. We can speak to each other telepathically. My Omega bite isn’t necessary.”

“Our bond is unconsummated,”Emmett said, bringing the conversation into our minds.“If I lost you, it could snap.”

“It won’t.”

“I refuse to fucking risk it. Mark me, Freya.”

A flash of doubt sliced through me, so intense I couldn’t stop him from feeling it. Not when he was in my head. His grip on me tightened, negative emotions warring inside him, and I blurted out the explanation for my feelings, though I was hesitant to give it.

“Is this only because of Caspian? I’ll mark you either way, but I know I’m your only link to him. If our bond broke, you two wouldn’t be connected either.”

I sounded needy, which I fucking hated, but I’d been trying to form a connection with Emmett for weeks now. If he only had me bond him because of his love for Cas, I wouldn’t deny him that. But I couldn’t allow myself to hope he cared for me too.

Instead of answering, he let out a little growl and stood from the couch. I was hoisted up into his arms princess-style, and he marched us toward the small attached bathroom. Oswald and Nolan watched in keen interest, continuing to lounge and fiddle with the scroll despite the complete turmoil going through my mind right now.

Em kicked the bathroom door shut behind us and placed me down on the wide, immaculately clean marble counter. His nose was buried in my neck a second later, large body slotted between my thighs. His cock pressed against my thigh and I clung to him, unsure what this meant. Of course he would bring me in here for me to mark him. It was an intimate gesture, and I was well aware Emmett preferred his intimacy in private.

Was he going to answer my damn question, or did he just expect me to bite him?

He skimmed his hands up my body once he was certain I was secure on the counter, only stopping when he got to my face. Pulling back, he cupped both my cheeks. “Fuck, Freya. It’s not only because of Caspian. I know it’s been slow going compared to your other mates, but I’m falling in love with you. You’re my mate, and my Omega, and if something happened to you and our bond broke…”

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