Page 109 of The Enemy to the Living
“Yes.”
“And if I bonded with him, could that kill me, too?”
The Huntsman purses his lips for a moment in thought. “I am unsure. I have my doubts, considering you have the beginnings of a bond already and appear to be well. There are risks in everything, Asher, but this may be foolhardy on your part.”
I shrug. “He’s my mate. You knew what I was when you extended your offer.”
“Part of me had hoped you would never find him.”
I flinch at the faint words, the truth that rings out in them. When the Huntsman doesn’t speak again, I narrow my eyes. I don’t know much about fae bonds, but…
“You knew my mate was out there?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck. You can always tell?”
The Huntsman levels me with a flat look. “I am high fae,” he says. “Bond magic is our specialty. It is what gives us our power. The blessing I gave you—gave to all of you—bonds us, which is why you serve the Hunt. Through that bond, I see the others that tie you all together.”
“So, Maurice and Njáll…”
“Yes. A true bond.”
“What about Jeremiah and Paxton, then? Can’t they—”
“I would not recommend it,” the Huntsman says and shakes his head when I move to speak again. “Just not now. Fae bonds are powerful. They tie people together in the most unbreakable way. And that means that if one half of the bond were to die…”
“If Maurice dies, Njáll will go too?”
“I believe not immediately. He will fade, as the fae queen is fading.”
“Fuck. And you couldn’t have told us this earlier?”
The Huntsman frowns. “I told Vladimir all of this when he presented his fledgling to me.”
What? I stare at the Huntsman for a full ten seconds, mouth agape. “No, you—He would have…”
“He did not inform you?”
“No.”
“Hm. Well, he has his own bond. Be careful with yours, Asher. With any luck, we will discover that your magic and that of your mate is not being used for such a nefarious purpose. But I fear we are not out of the woods yet.”
“I will,” I say, still reeling at the other revelation.
The Huntsman nods, then turns and walks away without another word. I watch until he disappears from view, taking one deep breath before I whirl around and storm back into the house.
Everyone is just where I left them, though they all fall silent when I come into the room. Vlad frowns when I look at him. Why wouldn’t he tell us about this?
“You know about fae bonds,” I say, and he closes his eyes in resignation.
Maurice frowns. “We all know about fae bonds, don’t we? Did you forget?”
“No. Vlad knows something the rest of us don’t.”
“What did he tell you?” Vlad asks. Grant sits up on the sofa properly, watching his sire with a confused frown.
“He knows of our bonds. Any of them. All of them. Our blessings bind us to him.”
