I eyed the pendant still clutched in her hand, the hellfire opal seeming to pulse in time with her heartbeat. “And what happens now?”
“I don’t know. I fucked up. We knew Lydia worked some dirty shit, just notthisdirty. And she knew who I was the whole time.” Her voice cracked. “She called the royal guards, and now Javed knows where I am.”
“Then why come back for me?” I asked. “You had what you wanted. You could have disappeared.”
She looked away, water dripping from her eyelashes. “Francis works for Lydia. They knew I’d been seen with you. I couldn’t just...” Her voice trailed off.
“Leave me to die?” I finished for her.
“Yes.” She met my eyes again, something fierce and protective in her gaze. “I’ve used you twice. I wasn’t going to let you pay for my choices.”
“Noble of you.” I couldn’t keep the edge from my voice. “Especially after abandoning me at the market. And the inn.”
“It’s the truth.” She straightened, wincing as the movement pulled at her wound. “I’m sorry. For dragging you into this. For leaving you. But I’m not sorry for trying to save my own life.”
I studied her face, seeing beyond the defiance to the vulnerability beneath. The desperate need to prove her worth, to be valued for her skills rather than her bloodline or body. My chest tightened watching her. This fierce woman who’d taken on armed men and teleported through danger to save my ass, now revealing the cage she’d been fighting to escape.
I hadn’t expected this morning when she first shut me down that by nightfall I’d be hiding under a waterfall with my mate, plotting against royal ifrit. But the pull between us had grown teeth. Not just simple lust, this was a fierce need to stand between her and whatever came hunting.
“Pretty sure I dragged myself in.” I reached out, brushing wet hair from her face. She leaned into the touch before catching herself. “Though a heads up about the homicidal art dealer would’ve been nice.”
She huffed a laugh. “I’ll remember that for next time.”
“Next time? Planning to make a habit of stealing magical artifacts and drowning innocent orcs?” I raised an eyebrow. “How did you find me, anyway?”
“I just…” Rava glanced away, her tail curling around her leg. “I just knew where you’d be.”
“That’s not an answer.” I tilted her chin up with one finger, forcing her to meet my eyes. “You promised the truth, remember?”
Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t look away. “Fine. I jumped to the sense of you, okay? I didn’t know where you were exactly, just... felt you.”
A slow smile spread across my face. “Rava... are you admitting the mate bond brought you to me?”
“Don’t look so smug.” She shoved at my chest, but there was no real force behind it. “It was an idiotic decision. I could have jumped into you, or the lamppost or any?—”
“But you didn’t. You saved me.” I caught her hand against my chest, holding it there. Her palm was warm despite the cool water, her pulse racing beneath my fingers. “Are you lying to me or yourself when denying this pull between us? The one you’ve been fighting since the market?”
A lifetime ago, experienced in mere hours.
“It doesn’t matter what I feel.” She tried to pull away, but I held firm. “I can’t—I won’t be trapped by another bond I didn’t choose.”
“Is that what you think this is? A trap?” The idea stung more than it should have. “Mates aren’t prisoners, Red.”
“Aren’t they?” She laughed, a bitter sound that echoed against the stone. “My whole life has been decided by bonds I didn’t pick. Daughter. Sister. Princess. Bride.” She spat the last word like poison. “At least those chains were visible. This one...” She pressed her free hand to her chest. “This one sneaks inside you. Makes you want the cage.”
I released her wrist, stunned by the raw pain in her voice. This wasn’t just about me, or us. This was about a lifetime of having choices made for her.
Fate was just another unwanted master.
“You know what’s funny?” I leaned back against the rock wall, letting the spray from the falls cool my heated skin. “I never wanted a mate either.”
She blinked, clearly surprised by the admission. “Why not?”
“My parents died when I was small. The clan took me in, raised me alongside their own kids. Everyone had a hand in it. The chief taught me to hunt with his boys. The shaman put a carving knife in my hands.” I stared through the curtain of water at the moon-dappled forest beyond. “I was grateful, but I never really belonged. Not completely.
“And then my friends started finding their mates. Torain and Carissa. Galan and Hannah.” I shook my head, remembering the looks they shared, the private language of touches and glances that excluded everyone else. “They’re happy. But it’s like they’re in their own world now. And I’m still... extra.”
Her expression softened, understanding flickering in her eyes. “The perpetual third wheel.”
