When he finally pulled away enough for me to speak, his thoughts and emotions were a discombobulated mess. I couldn’t tell any of them apart. “I was truly worried I’d lose you before I had you,Nioche.”
“Yeah, well, I have a knack for surviving,” was my mumbled reply. “It’s sort of a skill of mine.”
“It appears so,” he said with another brush of his lips, the rich tenor of his laughter putting winged beasts inside my stomach.
It was odd to be barely a room away from everyone and in the arms of my enemy. Or the guy who was supposed to be my enemy, anyway. I didn’t know anymore. The last few events had been a whirlwind. To be fair, ever since Phillip showed up, my life was one fucked up moment to the next. It’d become the new norm.
“And everyone came out of it okay? Didn’t your brothers take a few hits?” I asked, feeling oddly childlike dangling over the floor. But being manhandled was the least of my worries right now.
I was flooded with his affection for me and a never-ending stream of fantasies of getting me alone and naked on the bed two feet away from us. It nearly drove me to violence. Or sex. Or both. I couldn’t blame the Season anymore, not at least while back in my realm, so I wasn’t too sure at this point. I was hot and bothered, but what I hoped was mostly bothered.
“They were here for the first week, but our bond exposed a problem in need of fixing, so they returned to ensure it was done,” Aram explained to my continued confusion.
First week? How long had I been out?
With too many things to address, I stuck with the basics. “A problem? Our bond? What gobbledygook are you spouting, Aram?”
His confusion radiated inside my head, and it was a source of pride for me that he didn’t have a fucking clue what language I was speaking. “The enslavement of humans, of course. And yes, our bond. It fully formed when we fought Hera. I’m now privy to a thought or two of yours here and there, though I’m afraid not to the extent you are mine.”
Thank fuck for that. A girl needed her privacy, or shit was about to be awkward and extra complicated.
“Oh.” I really didn’t know what else to say until I realized what he’d said. “Wait, human enslavement?”
“You were right to bring attention to it. I’d been rather removed from what the Fae did to the humans in my realm, and my brothers have returned to set it right in my place. Consider it a bonding gift.”
Oh, right. The end of human enslavement was a totally normal gift to give someone. I couldn’t even with these weird supernatural monsters.
“Right…” At least that was one problem solved. “Thanks.” I glanced at the floor, still several feet below me. “Do you mind, uh, putting me down?”
His radiant smile nearly blinded me as he set me on the floor. “Apologies,Nioche.”
I had to crank my neck to look at the giant beast in front of me, whose wings were tucked away wherever he put them when he didn’t want them to be seen. “So, when will you go back?”
“Go back?” he parroted.
“To your realm.”
His confusion was intense. He couldn’t fathom a reason I’d ask. “I thought you preferred this realm, but if that’s the case, then I’m happy to—”
“I do prefer it, but I thought…you’re a king and this bond doesn’t mean anything. I’m okay now, so you don’t have to stay here.”
His rage made my head pound. “That’s where you’re wrong, little mate. This bond is everything. You’re my perfect match, my fate, my entire world, and nothing and no one can convince me otherwise. Even that traitorous bastard in the other room couldn’t refute my claim. Where you are is where I’ll be.”
I couldn’t pretend to understand bonds or their impact on the Fae, but by the way they talked about them, it seemed they were pretty important.
I’d be lying if I didn’t feel attached to him. I’d been relieved to see Aram when I woke up, though I’d argue it was because I felt indebted to him. Hehadhelped me save everyone from Hera. But I’d also immediately searched my connection for Cash and Jo, noting both marks still there. So, clearly, these bonds meant something. I was attached to them in ways I wasn’t with anyone else.
“But you have a kingdom to run,” I countered, rubbing circles into my temple. I needed a cup of coffee. It was impossible to think straight and argue with a giant Fae under these conditions.
Aram put a finger under my chin and forced me to look at him. “And I remember telling you that you are my kingdom, V. You were right, the realm needs a guiding hand and not another terrifying ruler. We haven’t been any better than the Originals, and that needs to change.”
I blinked at him, still not following. “I don’t want to rule a realm, Aram. I want to live my life here with everyone I care about.”
“Then you will,” he agreed a little too quickly.
“So…you’ll go back—”
“My brothers will handle the realm without me. I’ll aid them in all the ways I can, but I’ll stay here with you. If this is where you most want to be, then it’s where I’ll be as well.”
