Page 91 of Thorns & Fire
She attempted to cry out his name again as she tipped over the edge she’d kissed several times already, her orgasm crashing down around her in a wave of blinding white.His cock in her mouth muffled her scream, and as Wren came, so did he.
Torj spilled his release on her tongue, jerking beneath her with a carnal groan.
Still trembling as the aftershocks of her climax shuddered through her, Wren took him deep in her throat, stroking him through the final waves of his orgasm.
When she rolled off him and nestled herself against his side, the Bear Slayer shook his head in wonder.‘Holy fuck, Embers...’
And Wren laughed, as a glimmer of gold danced between them.
CHAPTER 35
Wren
‘An alchemist must always trust in themself.Good instincts are vital for their own protection in what can often be a deadly art’
– Drevenor Academy Handbook
WREN LOOKED FROMthe flecks of gold to the beautiful Warsword before her.‘How can you say weweresoul bonded?’she asked in wonder.‘This is proof right here...’
Torj’s throat bobbed, and he reached for the nearest piece of clothing, which caused unease to ripple through Wren.She pulled her dress over her head, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
When they were both dressed, she sat down on his bed, where she didn’t fail to notice the little bundle of dried lavender on his windowsill, from when they’d harvested the herb during her novice training.Her heart seized.
I want you so badly I can’t breathe.
Torj didn’t sit.He paced the length of his room.Once, then twice, passing a hand over his face as though he needed to gather himself to get through this next part.
‘I didn’t believe it at first,’ he murmured, his hand drifting to the scars on his chest.‘Even when I saw glimmers of it, even when I feltthings between us that pointed right to that fucking book.Those who are soul bonded are drawn together, across time and distance.They can share dreams and visions.They can sense one another’s emotions.It manifests as a gold thread, linking the pair...’
Though she knew it already, as Torj spoke the words, it was like a piece of a life-long puzzle was clicking into place.Wren felt the truth of it echoing in her bones, in the lightning that sang beneath her skin, that called out to her from the scars over Torj’s heart.
She stared at him, her voice hoarse as she said, ‘That’s us...’
‘It was.’
Wren gnawed on the inside of her cheek, a knot forming in her stomach.‘Why wouldn’t you want to believe it?Was it so terrible?The thought of being connected to me in that way?’It came out as a whisper, a tremor of insecurity barely hidden.
Torj’s gaze shot to her, realization dawning on his handsome face.He rushed to her, falling to his knees before her where she sat on the edge of his bed.‘No,’ he murmured, brushing her hair behind her ear.‘Of course not.’
‘Then why deny it?Why not tell me about it?’she asked, freezing beneath his touch, torn between the desire to lean into his warmth and the need to protect herself.
Torj closed his eyes, as though bracing himself.When he opened them, they were filled with a pain that mirrored her own.‘Because there are negative consequences to a connection like that.Consequences I didn’t want to face, didn’t want to force on you.’
‘Force on me?’Wren echoed, her voice rising.‘I was already part of this, as much as you.’
‘I was trying to protect you, Embers...’His voice was raw, pleading.
‘What happened?’she demanded, her stomach turning to lead.‘What happened to the golden thread?What happened to our soul bond?’
‘The day of the attack at Drevenor—’ Torj took a trembling breath.‘I severed it.’
Wren blinked at him.She was sure she was missing something, that there was some part she hadn’t understood.‘You did what...?’
Torj clutched her hands in his.‘When I was wounded...we were connected.That pain you felt?That wasmypain.You were bleeding because of me.You were dying because of me...’His voice broke.‘I had a warrior’s second, a mere breath between life and death, to make that choice...to make my actions mean something.’
Wren remembered the lancing pain through her chest, as though she had been speared with a red-hot knife.She remembered not understanding, not knowing why there was crimson flowing from her breast or why she was screaming.When she had come to, there had been no mark.No evidence of that agony.An invisible lie.
Wren pushed his hands away.‘And you thought that instead of telling me all this, it was better to break my heart?Better to lie?Better to make me question everything we had felt for one another?’
