Page 218 of Golden Queen
"What?" I asked, feeling eyes on us as the shadows finally dissipated.
"You have too much pent-up magic. You let most of it out, but you need to let out a little more. If you let it out into me, it can't harm anyone.
"Will that...hurt you?" I asked, gritting my teeth. "Will it burn you?"
"No, not even close. Now do it."
I put my hands up, but hesitated at the thought that he might be lying. He would take those burns for me. I knew it.
"Do it, Sera. Now. It won't hurt me. You already surrounded me in your fire."
I laid my hands on his cheeks and immediately felt some relief wash through me as the pressure in my chest receded. My body stopped vibrating as some part of me flowed into him.
His lips curved up. He liked the way it felt.
"That was so much more than I was expecting. You’re more powerful than I imagined—more powerful than me. I felt it. And Sera, darling, I know you don't quite comprehend what that means, but it’s a fucking lot of magic.”
He kissed me sweetly, tenderly. I could feel his excitement at the prospect of my magic.
I didn't have the time or the ability to think about what that meant for me, but the idea that it delighted him, well that really fucking delighted me.
I had never known a single man—a single person, for that matter, my dear cousin included—who would have beenthathappy to find themselves outdone so spectacularly by anyone—let alone a woman.
He loved me...because I was his mate. Wasn’t I? I should know that, but I didn’t. I didn’t feel it. The realization sent a shock-wave through me that seemed to tip the foundations of the world.
Everything counted on that. All the plans for our future—avoiding hostility and war with his brother, getting him to agree to help us take back Windemere. It all depended on us being mates—a bond so sacred that its validity would be upheld no matter what.
I began to shake—not from that dread power in me, since my hands were no longer on fire, but from worry, fear, uncertainty.
Someone pushed their way through the crowd of people gathered around us.
"Are you alright?" Aben asked, his big frame crouching down next to us. "What the fuck happened here?"
"Sera got her bracelets off," Io told him, proudly, motioning toward my now bare wrists.
Aben picked them up, studying the ring of paler flesh where the cuffs had been. "Well, fuck me," he said, with a grin. "I got here just in time. Congratulations."
He looked around at the red-robed scholars, plain-clothesed students, and black-robed masters crowding around us. "You two are attracting a crowd. Let's maybe get out of here."
I was suddenly aware that I was sitting in Io’s lap, my body nearly wrapped around him.
He kissed me again, lightly, and then stood, pulling me up with him.
The crowd of onlookers hung back, most of them peeking from around the three arched doorways that led into the chamber.
They were increasingly being pushed forward into the room by the arrival of more people drawn to the commotion.
I tried to hide behind Io, but they surrounded us on all sides.
Aben's jaw set into a hard line. "Let's...get out of here," he said again.
Io was not deterred. He clapped Aben on the back. "Soon, cousin. For now, we have an appointment with Master Cassius to confirm the mating bond."
Aben's eyes went to me with such...relief and understanding that I wanted to back away. I wanted to run from them all again. But this time I would not stop until I was all the way to Athelen.
Io wassosure, and I still didn’t feel it. I loved him—more than anything—more than I thought should be possible, but I didn't feel any of what I should have if we were mates. I didn't feelhim.
Master Cassius rushed into the chamber, looking between me and Io, and then to the sword that lay back on its plinth. I wondered if he could tell it had been disturbed.
