Page 80 of A Dance With Fire
“Hey cat, where you been?”
His fingers stroked down the slick fur of her back. He hadn’t named her; it didn’t feel right to treat her like a pet. She was her own being and, while she was his bonded beast, he had no control over her or what she did.
The Fae valued animals as much as they valued nature, and bonding with one was as rare as finding a mate. Rarer, even. The connections were obviously vastly different. Bonding with a familiar was a friendly connection, a subtle magic that allowed a Fae and its animal to communicate sometimes mind-to-mind. A gift freely given by Mana.
While a connection to a fated mate was…
Ryker didn’t know what it was, but he’d heard rumors that it was phenomenal. It was an explosion of sensations and emotions. It was finding your other half. Instant love. Instant attraction.
Like Orna and Des.
Ryker had met few fated mates in his time, and they’d appeared happy.
He didn’t want to think about that, though.
He wanted to go back to his room and sleep because the day left him feeling dead inside. It had gifted him with memories of Mairin. Of her laughter, her smile, and everything in between.
Thinking about her was hell.
Perhaps Valerio was right and it was time to let go of the pain. But as long as that Fire Dancer was around, he’d never be able to let it go. Because she reminded him of a different time. A time when the war was just beginning.
And the Fae betrayed their own.
28
King of the Fae
Shula spent the rest of the night in a shared room with other Fae from the procession. It made it hard to sleep, and when she could no longer stave off exhaustion, she fell into a nightmare-filled slumber that had her jolting awake the next morning in a cold sweat with the single sheet entangled around her legs.
Digging the heels of her hands into her closed eyes, she groaned, trying to push away the images she’d seen in her dreams. Orna’s broken body, her horrific screams, chains of iron, robes of white and red…
She sat up in bed and dared to look around. Her room companions still slept; the quiet was almost a peaceful sound, were it not for her rolling thoughts.
After she left Ryker in the hall, she’d stupidly dared to go find Clay and let him know of his stubborn friend’s wound. Clay had then led her to her room, where a change of clothes had been waiting for her. Once alone, she’d changed and slipped into the single cot that served as a bed and stared at the blank wall, lost in her thoughts.
Everything had spiraled out of control, and it had all started when those markings had appeared on her back. They still ached, but the pain seemed far away now, miniscule compared to everything else that was happening around her.
Her life had irrevocably changed, and she wasn’t sure where to go from here. She was in the snowy mountains of Tuath, and it wasn’t like she was an expert navigator. She wasn’t even an expert at hiding. All her life she’d relied on hiding in plain sight, but if the Emperor of Illyk so desperately wanted her like everyone claimed, then she had no doubt her face was now plastered against every WANTED sign around Illyk. Now, if she wanted to hide, she’d have to become a solitary nomad.
The problem was escaping her captors, a feat she knew was almost impossible. They had her and didn’t plan on letting her go. It seemed hopeless to want her freedom now.
A weak part of herself said that she should just give in to their demands. To stay. They were in the mountains, far away from the humans that wanted them dead. She was among her own kind. She could be safe here.
Safe?
She didn’t know the meaning of the word.
A soft purring had her ripping herself from those thoughts. She looked down to find Ryker’s cat sitting on her feet and staring at her with those bright eyes.
“Hey, little cat.” Her voice was gruff with sleep. “What are you doing in here?”
Meow.
Shula chuckled and ran her fingers across the creature’s head. It purred harder, angling its body so it was closer to Shula. It was calming, to be on the receiving end of affection and of giving it, too.
Meow.
“What’s wrong, girl?”
