I didn’t get a chance to see what the servers were bringing before Graff’s hand came down on my forearm and we were whisked away by wind and anger.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Fletcher was sitting back in a chair at Aldris’s bare dinner table when I rode Graff’s wind to him. His long legs were sprawled out, his hands crumpled in his lap, and his eyes sunken. An empty shot glass held his unfocused gaze to the center of the table. His wavy locks were rumpled to the side haphazardly as a shallow breath sped in and out of his chest.
“Fletcher,” I breathed out, twisting my arm free from Graff’s grip.
Fletcher’s gaze darted to me, darkness shredding to relief. “Rip—Ripley!” He got up from the table so fast that the chair toppled behind him. He practically stumbled the few yards between us before his arms wrapped around me with such speed and force, I couldn’t bear the tightness. He pulled away to take my head in his hands, thumbs rubbing my cheeks and his eyes assessing my expression. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
I grinned while breathing in his smell of spices mixed with the sharp bite of hard liquor. “No, I’m fine.”
“You’re here.” A smile ripped over his face as he stroked the flyaways back with the palm of his hand. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“I’m here.”
“I haven’t been able to communicate with you using magic since the ceremony.”
My eyes darted from his left eye to his right, tears filling between them. “What do you mean?”
His jaw feathered, cinnamon eyes deepening. “I-I-I don’t feel you anymore. The marriage has broken my bond to you and you have some sort of wall that won’t let magic through.”
Graff huffed from the corner. “Hang on. I’ll fix that.”
Confusion twinged with blooming worry rattled through my body. “Y-you’re not bonded to me anymore?”
He shook his head as his hand cupped my cheek. “I’m not.”
The tears clawed up my throat as my heart sank. “What?”
“I don’t feel you anymore.”
My mouth went arid with panic. “Does this mean you’ll find a bond with someone else? Are-are you not in love with me anymore?”
He shook his head with a sad smile. “Oh no. Don’t you worry. Nothing else has changed.”
I fell into his chest, and his arms wrapped around me. “Are you sure?”
His hand curled around my head as he kissed my temple. “Yes.”
“But, I want you to feel me. I want the bond back.”
“Maybe one day. But for now, I assume it will be Graff who still feels you.”
I turned over my shoulder to glance at him as tears burned a trail over my face. How would my life be with this stranger knowing each and every emotion Ihad? I pulled away from Fletcher who was gazing at me with all the love I would ever need. “No! No! No, Fletcher!”
Graff shuffled behind me and rasped, “Whoa, easy. I need to get used to you, Ripley. Our bond is way stronger than it was before.”
I hoped Graff could feel the knife carving up my heart and the daggers I threw at him.
Fletcher bared his teeth and growled at Graff.
“I lowered the queen’s magic barricade for you. You’re welcome,” he sneered.
Swirls of my aqua magic came down Fletcher’s beautiful olive skin.Can you hear me?
I nodded with a relieved grin.
