Page 65 of A Baron of Bonds
I bit my lips, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly through my mouth.
Ninah returned with a pitcher and two cups, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of us before shrugging and turning away.
“Wood,” he sighed, his black eyes glinting in the dim tavern lights as he tapped the table.
“Wood?”
He nodded. “There’s always some kind of wood between us, not letting me get close enough to you.”
I looked down at the worn surface, dented and marked from thousands of tankards and plates over many years. “Like your desk?”
“Like my desk.”
I rose and walked around the table’s edge, slipping onto the bench where he sat. I pulled his arm around my shoulder and nestled into him, getting that sultry scent of earth and pine needles freshly snapped. “What’s a piece of wood between two lovers?”
He lifted my chin and kissed me soft and sweet.
“There’s something I’ve been wondering. Remember how you said that you thought our bond was so strong because we are both powerful?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“I had another thought. What if what the Blightress said was true and we both carry what was once her power with us? What if the reason our bond connects our emotions, our very thoughts at times, is because we wield the same power that came from her?”
He tilted his head back against the wall to our quiet corner. “I don’t know. She could have been lying about her power. Maybe we don’t yet understand her motives.”
“But you know this isn’t typical. You know bonded companions don’t feel this deeply. What if two pieces of her power are now combined again and that’s why we sense each other like we do?”
“If that were true, wouldn’t you have felt more of a bond with Heimlen?”
I thought for a moment. “There was certainly...something. Not love, but a mentorship. His magic was leaving him anyway. The only reason he was still alive was from siphoning life from Sylva.” I shuddered, remembering the moment he took the rest of her life with a kiss. “You were already growing in power by the time we met. What if our magic from the Blightress was calling out to the other, bringing us together like this.”
“You might be right about the bond. It’s possible her magic embedded into you and if a Baron’s power originally came from her as she claims, the two sources combined would make something already strong, stronger.”
He tightened his grip on my shoulder, bending his forehead to mine. “But I have no doubts that no matter who you were or what I became, I would have loved you regardless.”
I nodded, kissing him long and slow.
“Here you are—fresh, hot fisherman’s pie.”
Ninah set an enormous pie and two forks on the table, and before she turned to leave, she warned, “Careful, loves. It’s hot.” She winked before leaving us to our meal.
“Are we that obvious?” I laughed, picking up my fork and handing his over.
“How could we not be?”
I turned to the pie in front of us, ready to dig in. This pie was different from what I’d usually choose when Geyrand, Philius, and I would sneak off to eat here in secret, away from our lives in the castle.
I had always been a pastry lover. Flaky crusts, creamy sauces in the middle, enhancing the richness of the vegetables and meats inside. Even Lia’s cinnamon buns were my favorite sweets to devour, but this fisherman’s pie, I realized, was a bit different.
Its round surface was topped—not with pastry—but a thick layer of potatoes, boiled, seasoned, and mashed before it had been baked in the brick oven at the front of the tavern.
Each tiny peak of potato was golden brown, covering the surface and crusting on the edge of the pie tin. Each valley of the creamy mass of root vegetable was a soft yellow. Steam rose from the dish, seeping into my nose as I leaned over, inhaling more of the savory aroma.
“Mmm,” I lilted, biting my lip and poising my fork to dig in.
Rev shifted next to me, adjusting in his seat and craning his neck to look across the tavern.
I followed his gaze. “What is it?”
