Durandal’s expression tightens, but he nods curtly. “I understand the bond. But it does not make this easier.” His gaze flicks to me, frustration evident along with something that hurts my gut—longing. But he says nothing more.
We gather supplies quickly, and Solan packs essentials while I saddle Geralt, who’d since been brought into Harith’s private outbuildings. I can feel Durandal’s eyes on me the entire time, but I ignore him, focussing on the task at hand. When everything is ready, I throw my cloak over my shoulders, hiding my human features from prying eyes.
As we set out through a hidden route that Harith directed us to go, the tension finally starts to ease. I glance at Solan, whose determined expression softens slightly when he catches my eye. “You ready for this?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.
He smirks. “Always. Let us hunt.” Then, with a sly grin, he adds in an exaggerated accent, “Come with me if you want to live.”
I burst out laughing, the sound echoing through the trees as we head towards the Youlander Pass. Was it really only a few days ago that he said those words to me after saving my life? Even in the midst of danger, Solan manages to make my heart feel a little lighter.
The chill of the alien dawn swirls around us as we step out onto the cracked, violet-hued landscape. Towering trees with crystalline leaves are scattered across the horizon, their shimmering branches casting fractured rainbows across the jagged terrain. The air hums faintly, charged with an energy that makes the hair on my arms stand on end.
Solan walks a step ahead of me, his stride confident but tense. His silence stretches, the weight of Durandal’s visit still pressing against us.
I can’t let it go. Not yet. “So, are we going to talk about what happened back there?”
He glances back at me, his expression unreadable. “What do you wish to know?”
I let out a slow breath, shoving my hands into the pockets of my cloak. “Everything, I guess. Starting with Durandal. You were holding back, weren’t you?”
Solan slows, his golden eyes scanning the horizon before he turns to face me fully. “Durandal and I… we have history. Before the rift, he sought to bond with me.”
The words hit like a punch to the gut even though I’d suspected as much. I’m not sure why it stings so much, but it does. “And you considered it?”
He nods, his expression grave. “It is not the same as what we have. A bonded union not ordained by fate lacks the depth, the permanence. But it is… functional.”
“Functional?” I snort, trying to mask the wave of jealousy rolling through me. “Sounds romantic.”
Solan’s brow furrows, his gaze searching mine. “I did not love him, if that is your concern. But I was… tempted. Without a mate, there are limitations. Restrictions.”
I don’t like the sound of that. “What kind of restrictions?”
“No lasting connection. No real unity,” he says, his tone steady but tinged with something bitter. “I could never share my full strength, my full self. Loneliness lingers, no matter how many temporary bonds one forges. It is not… the same.”
His words twist something in my chest. A forced bonding might have squashed the edges of that loneliness, but it would never fill the void. I hate everything he’s saying, but then again, I’m a man who’s fucked his way through life, rarely feeling lonely—though that’s not technically true. More like I’ve been able to lose myself in a man, in dating. It’s a bitter thought, one that makes me glance away for a moment.
“Are you two the only ones of your kind in Terrafeara?” I ask, changing the subject.
He hesitates, his steps slowing. “No. I have heard of others. Met some along the way. We are scattered, some in hiding.”
That revelation sinks in as we continue walking, the path beneath us uneven and sharp. After several moments, I bring us back to the pressing matter. “Youlander Pass. That’s where we’ll find Jamie, right?”
“That is where we are to meet, yes,” Solan replies.
I’m watching his face as I ask the next question. “What about the mercenaries? Do you intend to find them first? Stop them?”
His jaw tightens, and for the first time, I see genuine conflict in his expression. He exhales slowly, his breath misting in the air. It’s far from cold, but with Solan’s temperature burning so hot, it’s not a surprise. “My protective instincts demand it. For you. For Jamie. Ending their lives would ensure safety. But more than that….” His gaze locks with mine, unflinching. “I want you safe. Whatever it takes.”
The fierceness in his voice is unlike anything I’ve encountered before. His golden eyes, which I’m used to being calm and measured, burn with an intensity that makes me take a step back. I’ve seen him kill before, witnessed the precision of his bow and arrow as he struck down a monster without hesitation. But this… this is different. His resolve is terrifying, but not because it feels alien. It’s the kind of raw, unrelenting protectiveness that shakes something loose in me.
“You mean that,” I say, more a statement than a question.
“With every part of me,” he replies, his voice low and edged with steel. “If they harm you or Jamie, I will destroy them.”
The sincerity in his voice, in his eyes, makes it hard to breathe. “So, you’ll wait and see?”
He nods. “For now.”
The conversation lulls as the landscape stretches ahead, surreal and beautiful in its strangeness. The cracked terrain glitters faintly in the pale light, and the trees seem to hum in response, their crystalline leaves swaying as if alive. The air grows heavier, the faint tang of minerals coating my tongue with each breath. The beauty is undeniable, but there’s a tension to it, as though the world itself is holding its breath.
