Page 67 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

Fae healed more slowly with the blood and mud mixture applied to them, but it grounded their soul to their body. It made sure that they couldn’t die as they recovered, buying them the time they needed.

The klynna gave no sign that he understood my words, but he didn’t growl at me either.

Leaving my hands beside my head, I slowly moved closer to Dakota, one step at a time. I paused after each one, making sure the klynna could see that I wasn’t going to attack him.

Finally, I made it to her side, and kneeled in the mud next to her. I didn’t give a damn about the mess—but my stomach churned at the sight of the blood staining her skin, and coloring the goop on her body too. It was mixed unevenly, messily, but the slow rate of her breathing told me that it was doing its job.

I carefully began mixing more of the mud into the blood I could see beneath it. When it was the right color and consistency, I lifted it to her body, and carefully coated her chest and abdomen with it. I couldn’t see where she was injured, but even just layering the blood and mud would help guide Vevol’s magic to my female.

Rain fell on us lightly, but I leaned over her so it couldn’t wash away the mud that would keep her alive.

“You’re going to make it,” I told her, my voice certain despite the slight shake to it. “You’re too strong to let yourself fade, Thorns. Too strong to let this be your end. We have a future together, no matter how hard you might resist it or how much you fear it isn’t true. My heart belongs to you—and soon, yours will belong to me too.”

Though there was no sign that she’d heard me, no evidence of her recovery, I continued layering her skin in the mud.

And I continued speaking to her, just in case some part of her could hear me. Just in case my words would bring her back to me. “You’re mine, Thorns. Whether you like it or not, you belong to me. And I’ll fight like hell to make sure you know that, every day for the rest of our lives. I was in darkness, and you brought me light. You woke me up. Yousaved me. Now, nothing could take me from your side. Not your doubt, or your fear, or your memories. Because just as much as you belong to me, I belong to you too. You own me, body, heart, and soul. Permanently.”

I continued speaking to her and waiting for her, coating her in blood and mud, determined that she would wake up eventually.

I refused to accept any alternative, because as I’d told her, my heart belonged to her. Whether she realized it or not, hers belong to me too.

And that was something I’d cherish and hold tightly to, for the rest of our lives.

Eighteen

Dakota

A low,sexy voice was murmuring something to me when I regained consciousness. I couldn’t make out the words at first, but I felt the soft slide of hands on my skin, spreading something thick and wet over me.

The words became clearer as I remembered where I was and what had happened—that the klynna had hurt me. That we’d bonded, somehow. That I’d been dying, and now I was covered in mud.

“Your breathing changed,” Aev’s low, soft voice murmured.

My lips curved upward, just a little. “Of course you noticed.” The words came out as barely more than a mumble, but his chuckle told me he understood them anyway.

“Any idea why the klynna hasn’t attacked me, Thorns?” he asked me, still speaking quietly.

I wrestled my eyelids open for a minute, trying to see said klynna, but failed. They were too heavy. “I think we bonded,” I finally whispered. “Not a mate bond, obviously, but something else. I can feel its emotions when I look at it, and I think it can feel mine.”

There was a moment’s pause. Aev finally said, “Well, damn.”

A soft laugh escaped me. “Yeah.”

“Leave it to you to befriend a klynna, Sunshine.” The words were a little playful, and my lips curved upward a bit more.

“They’re just trying to protect their mates,” I told him, kind of worried he would be angry with me or otherwise unhappy. “They’re trying to keep their families safe. You trapped them, and they don’t want to be trapped again.”

Aev was quiet for a moment, but his hands were still moving slowly over my abdomen. I couldn’t feel any pain, but I didn’t know if that meant something or not, since I was still covered in blood and mud. “We knew they didn’t necessarily want to kill us,” Aev finally said. “But they kept attacking if any of us ventured into the skies. We understand possessiveness—I’d say that’s obvious. But we couldn’t stop attacking them when we knew they would take any opportunity to kill us. It was hunt or be hunted, kill or be killed.”

“I don’t blame you for doing what you did. I just thought you should know. If we can come to some sort of agreement with them, it’ll be better for all of us,” I said quietly. “We can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

“We most certainly cannot.” His words were quiet, but firm. “Where did it hurt you?”

“Its claw went through me,” I admitted. “I think I was dying.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.” I tried once again to wrestle my eyes open, and finally managed to squint up at the man.

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