Page 19 of Magic Hunted
“I…” My body was a mix of pounding throbs and aches, but it faded into insignificance because Savvas was alive. He hadn’t drowned. He wasn’t dead. I launched myself into his arms, clambering into his lap and clutching him to me.
He caught me, groaning. He bent over me, putting his nose into my neck and inhaling deeply. His arms trembled, or maybe it was me, but none of that mattered because I clung to him, breath choppy and fighting back tears.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered over and over again like a prayer.
Heat built in my chest, swelling my throat and making my eyes sting. Because he did have me. No one had held me for a long time. I’d been on my own since my parents’ death. I’d survived because I had to. It wasn’t through choice, but through circumstance. I was strong because I had to be, but now three little words sailed through into that part of me I’d trained myself to ignore, hitting dead center and shattering me apart.
I’ve got you. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.
And it was too late to stop him. To stop me.
The bond barrier splintered, the cracks webbing. His red soul-light seeped through a miniscule gap and a wisp of his essence brushed against mine. He’d slipped through easily.Too easily. With three words, he’d cracked through my defenses as though there wasn’t even a bond barrier and I couldn’t blame magic. This was on me. My fault.
The need deep inside me that yearned for love, the selfish part that didn’t understand why it could never be, had shattered the barrier. The one and only thing standing in the way of our souls fully, irreversibly merging.
Savvas’ palms stilled on my waist, his fingers denting my skin. “I feel your soul-light. I feelyou.” His words echoed his awe. I felt it through his essence and my stomach churned because I couldn’t return it. I didn’t dare.
“Savvas…this…we can’t…” This was everything I’d ever wanted. Everything I couldn’t have. Feeling his essence, even a touch, only made it worse.
Why had it been so easy for him to breach the bond barrier?
No matter how easily it had been done, now it was too late. I felt his soul. His essence. A temptation I had to refuse.
He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against mine. “It’s okay, my heart. Give me what you can. I won’t ask for any more than that.”
I choked on a sob.Why did he have to be so understanding? Why wasn’t he pressing for more? Why wasn’t he giving me a reason to reject him because I didn’t know if I could ever give him what he would need in return?
“I’ve got you.” He repeated the same words that had broken me and it only made it worse because he did. He really had me. Truth resonated in his soul-light and the most heart-breaking thing about it was he would have me in any way I could give.
“You’ll regret me, Savvas,” I whispered.
He merely kissed my forehead. “Let me worry about what I may or may not regret. I meant what I said before. I’ll not rush you. I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
“Why, Savvas? Why would you do that?” This was a zero-sum world. Life annihilated soft hearts and Savvas had the gentlest soul I’d ever seen. This was more than a bond. He had to see that, and if he didn’t, I’d have to make him. This wasn’t a full bond. For whatever reason the barrier had only cracked. There was still a chance I could stop it without it breaking more. It would just be harder.
“You’re worth the wait, Haera. Even if it takes a lifetime, one moment is enough for me,” he whispered.
His soul-light brushed against mine, steady, solid. Too trusting. I wanted to believe him, but in the end this could never be. I wouldn’t be responsible for a bond making them sacrifice themselves.
“We only have to take one step at a time, and the first step is working out where we are,” Savvas said.
I took a steeling breath, taking in the small stone embankment we were perched on. The rock ceiling was so low we wouldn’t be able to stand upright. Strands of moss grew in this cave system from jagged hollows, thankfully allowing a small amount of illumination. The water was black. Impenetrable. I shivered from a combination of the chill in the air and my wet skin, wondering what else the water might hide.
“Gods. Ashir. Dias.” The last impression of Ashir’s horrified expression and Dias running toward us as the elves descended on them hollowed my chest. The reel of the elf slamming his sword into Ashir’s temple replayed in my mind. Ashir had sacrificed himself. The bond was too strong for him to stop. There was already blood on my hands because of it.
Savvas’ brow folded, and he rubbed his palm over his chest. “They’re still alive. I can feel them. They’re angry. Furious,” he said.
They’d been completely outnumbered. We’d barely managed to escape one bug when more than twenty had poured through the rock. The elves had been dressed for war, covered in blades and weapons. They clearly had those evil bugs tamed, while Ashir and Dias had only their fists and their panthers.
I might not want to be mated to the alphas but they were Savvas’ bond brothers. Closer than blood, they were his chosen family. His pain sliced through me as my own. His hands firmed about my waist, brows drawn up in worry. He held onto me for the comfort I offered, which was…strange.
No one had reached to me for comfort and I’d gone out of my way not to seek it from anyone. Eventually, it became normal to be alone. I’d sunk into the shadows so that Titan couldn’t use people against me.
I hadn’t always been like this. Once I’d been happy. Memories of my fathers playing with me slipped into my mind. Teaching me to run and fish while my mother had taught me how to bake my favorite cookies.
“You have no need to worry, my heart. Ashir and Dias are tough. Those elves will have a fight on their hands,” he said.
My shoulder half loosened as relief seeped into me. I needed to reject them, but I didn’t want them hurt. Or dead.
