Page 147 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
I’d have hundreds of years with him. But then I’d have to watch my closest friends die.
“How does that work? Do I go back to my realm and tell him I accept the bond?” I questioned.
I watched as he swung his sword back and forth, side to side. Smooth movements that seem orchestrated.
“Is anything in life ever that easy?” he questioned.
When he thrust his sword forward, I edged away before he lunged.
His smile was alarming. Lethal. “Eyes on me, not my sword,” he reminded me.
I glared at him, ready to argue, but held my tongue.
“To accept the bond, you must let him bite you.”
My hands shook, but I clenched them and forced them up as I waited for his attack.
The memory of Elias’s fangs grazing my neck made some primal part of me yearn for that bite.
“When he bites you, your souls will bind together,” he said.
“So, what, he’s a dog, and I’m his favorite bone?”
He dipped his head back as he barked out a raucous laugh. “I do believe I’ll miss you when you go back.”
I couldn’t help smiling in return.
“The biting is supposed to be romantic and erotic.” There he went using that silky voice again.
I squirmed, but it was Elias’s face I saw. His teeth I pictured against my neck. Countless times, I’d read novels where biting during sex wasn’t just sexy but a euphoria like no other. Maybe fiction hadn’t gotten it all wrong.
“Your other question...why bind your souls together.” He drew a hand to his face where his long fingers moved along his jaw. “This has been in motion for millennia.”
Again, he thrust his sword forward, and I was able to move before he lunged.
He jutted his chin toward my feet. “Don’t step so high. Fighting is like a dance that requires smooth movement, not clomping feet.”
He demonstrated, moving his feet slowly as he lunged and retreated. I tried it several times, with him giving directions. He didn’t continue until he was happy with my retreats.
“Leanora has been telling you her story for three years now, so you know how the mages met their end,” he said. “But this?—”
“Wait, so what Leanora’s been telling me is true?” I asked. “Elias said?—”
“Elias was lied to,” Eiran said. “All of his people were lied to.” He paused, and when I didn’t ask further questions, he continued. “You and Elias were written in the stars long before that. While Elias is meant to be your realm’s salvation, you are to be his.”
I wrinkled my nose when he didn’t finish. “What does thatmean?”
Using his magic, he called my sword from the ground where I had left it and floated it to me. I took the offered hilt and readied my body for his attack.
“Take a moment to take in the sword’s weight and how it affects your stance and movement,” he said.
I focused on my center, on retreating and lunging while moving my sword in the various positions I’d learned from my fae friends.
When I stopped to take a breath, he came at me. This time, he made a small swipe against my cheek.
I touched the trickling blood, and through gritted teeth, I said, “Will you stop doing that?”
He smirked. “Make me.”
