Page 63 of Bound Paths
“I think we’re past that.”His voice was a purr through her thoughts.“I’m yours, and you’re mine. Our paths are bound.”
“I’m sorry… I left you,” Rose said, the words tightening her throat as they spilled out. If this was all she got of him, she would use it to at least speak her heart. With the thought, something shifted in the lake. The stone came alive as it expanded deeper into the lakebed. It took over every inch of land, magic pulsing with each new slice it claimed.
She let it.
Rose wanted the stone to take more. She wanted no distance between herself and Luc. Every additional section of onyx brought a frenzied beat in her chest. She dared not hope for what she really wanted—this place to be theirs, a place they could connect, no matter what separated them.
The stone agreed. The water swirled with more force as the onyx base of her lake expanded. Rose desperately wanted an open connection to not just Luc’s magic but to the male himself. She didn’t know if whatever the stone was doing wouldaccomplish her aim, but she felt sure it understood what she wanted.
She wanted Luc here—with her.
The more she tested their connection, the surer she was of her plan. When she was here, she could smell and feel his magic—why not the fae himself? The realm had a physicality to it she didn’t understand, but she planned to leverage.
Her eyes lit as the stone cracked in a way that only a Suden could provoke. The base of her lake didn’t fall into a tunnel of Luc’s magic but parted to open for something more tangible. Familiar black tendrils of power swirled up through the opening first, holding the water in place. Rose didn’t have to think twice as she cast her own magic toward the opening. Ensuring he would have separation from the water to breathe when he came through—and sheknewhe would come through.
She didn’t have to wait much longer as fingers crested the edge of the split. The tendrils of magic tossed Luc into the heart of Rose’s magic.
His face looked strained at the effort. But it cleared quickly, his gaze seeking and holding hers. His mouth opened, and a wicked smile crossed his face as he realized he could breathe beneath the water.
“Your magic missed me,” he said.
She didn’t deny it. Her magic accepted and protected him as soon as he crossed the threshold.
He moved slowly toward her underwater. Hesitance stilted his movements. With his decision this afternoon, he seemed unsure of his reception.
“I was a little nervous that wouldn’t work—that you wouldn’t want me here.” The exhaustion was still evident on his face, but his eyes were alert and focused on her.
She didn’t make him wait. Holding his hand today as they ran through the castle dungeon wasn’t enough. She neededto feel him. Her water pushed her forward. He caught her without hesitation, solid around her, relief apparent in the sag of his shoulders as his arms encircled her. The rightness of the moment was more than she could verbalize.
“I always want you here, you self-sacrificing idiot. I want my bound partner with me always.” Her hands roamed his skin, absorbing the physical connection she’d longed for.
“Say it again,” he replied, pulling away slightly to see her face. Pure satisfaction lit up his every feature.
She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, her legs wrapped around him of their own volition. “We’re bound.”
His low chuckle danced along her skin, shooting straight to her core as she finally—finally—had hold of him. She wasn’t letting go. Her magic pushed the water away from them enough to lean close to his neck and bury her nose against it. Pine and cinnamon rushed her senses. The scent was a part of him, and she’d missed its constant presence as much as she’d missed the fae himself. Her mouth wasn’t far behind her nose as she dragged her lips along the edge of his jaw.
“Are you going to lick me again?” he asked. “I always knew that was a good sign for us,” his voice held a smile that warmed her thoroughly, even as they were soaking wet beneath the water.
She pushed back slightly so she could pound her fists on his chest, but her legs wouldn’t let him go. “No, I’m going to kill you. Why did you do that?” She was angry at herself for not being able to enjoy this. He was solid, and he was here. Why did her brain spiral toward…everything else?
Luc didn’t try to stop her fists as they pushed against his solid chest. “I know your magic won’t strain at this,” Luc said, gesturing that they were still at the bottom of the lake, “but do you want to have this conversation somewhere else?”
“Can you leave the water?” Rose asked. She wasn’t sure of the rules, and she wouldn’t risk him being sucked back into his magic. She’d rather they have the conversation right here.
“I can go anywhere you let me, Rose,” he said cautiously. “It’s always been your choice.”
She tugged him to the surface, her magic ushering them where she wanted them and drying them as they moved. They fell onto the small beach beside her lake, surrounded by trees. It felt remarkably similar to the woods where they first fought at the Lake of the Gods.
Rose lay on her back. She propped herself up on her elbows to see where Luc had landed. He had crashed onto shore on his hands and knees—maybe that was intentional from her magic. He breathed deeply like he’d been starved for air, though she knew that wasn’t the case.
“Rosewood and vanilla,” he crooned as he crawled toward her—the scent of Rose’s magic. “I’ve dreamed of its scent every day I’ve been gone.”
Rose’s heartbeat spiked with every inch he moved forward. The curve of his lip tilted impossibly higher as he tracked her reaction. “I told you I’d spend the rest of our existence making it up to you.” He hovered above her now. “I might as well start now.”
She could feel his weight settle over her as he lowered himself. The rightness of their bodies sliding against each other had her head falling back and her breathing uneven.
“I knew I had to get to you,” he whispered, his hand sliding down the side of her face. “Your look this afternoon…” He let his head hang. “I knew you’d blame yourself for not bringing me back. I had to find a way to make sure you understood, to make sure you knew that I would throw myself into the unknown time and time again for you. That,” he said pointedly, “is my choice.”
