Page 77 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

Though the klynnas were so much bigger and stronger than the fae, the fae had trapped them. And they had made them afraid for a long, long time, as far as I understood.

“I know you may need time to consider it, but if you’re interested, we can also offer something bigger,” I said. “The promise of protection. If you would be willing to do the same for us, then should your people come under attack by any of the creatures in Vevol, we would be willing to help. We aren’t as big as you, but we excel at working together.”

I added, “I know it’ll take time before you trust us, after how long the male fae had you trapped. But I know we all want peace, so I hope you’ll consider it.”

A few heads dipped.

No one was fully agreeing to it yet, but Rerrwyn’s emotions told me that eventually, they would. They hadn’t realized before meeting us that the fae felt the same way they did—that they had families they were trying to protect, and that they were afraid for their lives.

“We need to get back to our people,” I said, giving the klynnas a quick, small smile. “But thank you for hearing us out. And thank you for agreeing to stop the fighting. I’ll bring some of our life-bringers to bond with more of you in a few weeks, for more confirmation that you can trust us.”

The klynnas bowed their heads again, and Aev squeezed my hand before I shifted forms. He leaned against me as I turned slowly and then took to the sky.

The wind rustled my feathers as I soared over the forest. Though I didn’t think the klynnas would follow me, I wasn’t going to land until we were a little bit further away, just in case.

When I glanced back and could no longer see the gleaming colors of the creatures on the cliffs, I finally dove down toward the forest. Aev’s hands were soft in my feathers, and having his warm, strong body pressed against my back was really, really nice.

I landed smoothly on a thick tree branch, and he pulled me into his arms as I let out a heavy breath. “I think we did it,” I said, against his chest.

“I thinkyoudid it, Thorns.” His lips brushed the top of my head, and his arms tightened around me. “I’m dying to make you mine.”

The words were low, but deeply honest.

“How about we wait until we get back to our house? Then, it’ll have been long enough that I know the bond isn’t affecting you, and I can warn Teris.”

He sighed, but agreed. “I’ll get you home first.”

His hand slid over my ass, and a soft laugh escaped me when he squeezed.

I smiled. “What agentleman.”

He chuckled. “I never claimed to be that.” He squeezed my ass again. “We’d better get moving, before I convince you to strip right here.”

“What happened to being the king?” I teased him.

He growled playfully at me. “Before I strip these clothes off you, then.” He squeezed my butt one more time before he towed me onto his back, shifting forms and taking off into the forest. I buried my face into his fur, holding him tightly as he ran.

We stoppedfor the night a few hours later. I’d been drifting off for a while, and it was already the middle of the night, but I assumed Aev wanted to put more space between us and the klynnas before stopping. And I really didn’t blame him for that.

We’d made peace with them, but it was still tentative. When more of them were bonded to more of us, we would all feel more secure in that peace.

After we ate way, way too much fruit, we collapsed in each other’s arms. Aev pulled me on top of him before he drifted off, and I decided I loved falling asleep with him.

We woke up when the sun rose, and were back on the road again soon after. Though he stopped running partway through to ask me if I wanted to fly, I turned him down.

I loved running with him. And honestly, I was still a little tired from spending most of the day before in the sky.

We weren’t far from home when we stopped for the second night, but decided we’d rather snuggle up than run for a few more hours. So, we ate, and stayed up late talking before we fell asleep again.

The next morning, we ran the last handful of hours back home. Most of the fae were still gathered together, ready for a fight, but I noticed some of the new human women walking around. The older ones were with them, showing them around and being friendly—even Ana.

Aev and I made a quick announcement about the klynnas. After everyone cheered, I headed over to my best friend, who stood off to the side of the group, grinning massively.

Summer hugged me tightly, and I hugged her back just as fiercely. “You look happy,” she declared.

“I feel happy,” I admitted. “Do you know where Teris is? Aev and I are going to seal our bond, but I want to warn him, first.”

“He followed Naomi when she left a few days ago,” Summer said.

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