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I nodded, still in disbelief that Spirits have been roaming the world bonded with the Worthy all this time and no one knew.
“Okay. So what now? How do I, or we, get back?”
“I can take us back to the Temple of Odes.”
“Will you be with me all of the time?” I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t necessarily like the idea of a Spirit being around me constantly. It would feel like I was being watched.
“Not all of the time. But a lot of it, yes. Especially until the bond is complete.”His wings flared out slightly before tucking back in. I felt a little relief at that but only a little.
“What does that mean, ‘until the bond is complete’?” I leaned my back against the mirror behind me, my legs tiring from standing still for so long.
“We are connected in more ways than one, Kya. We are a part of each other. You will need time to adjust to the magic you have gained from me.”
I pushed off the glass. “You share magic with me? I thought only the Gods did that. What magic?” The pitch of my voice raised an octave.
“They will manifest as our bond strengthens. You will need to train with it, and me.”
I let out a long exhale. “Alright.”
Odarum dipped his head. “It is time to return.”
Before I could say anything, he touched my chest with his muzzle and stomped his heavy hoof against the stone. Everything went black and cold, as we left the Spirit realm of Hylithria.
Chapter Sixteen
Ryker
The feeling was undeniable—a weak-yet-sharp throbbing in my chest that electrified my entire body, causing me to grunt as I jerked back in my seat. After so many years, I had started to doubt it would ever happen. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes at the overwhelming sensation. I felt the connection snap into place like it was always meant to be there, a perfect fit to a piece of my soul that I never realized was missing. Until now. And now that it was suddenly ingrained into everything that I was, I couldn’t imagine living without it. The bond.
My mate.
And I knew, with absolute certainty, who she was. It was one of the contestants. The precious little beauty with long brown hair and eyes a striking color of pine green.
When I saw her for the first time in the temple, I couldn’t tear my gaze from her. Her lightly freckled face and those plump pink lips had been at the forefront of my mind for days. And now I knew why.
She must have been chosen. That was the only thing that would explain the sudden surge of connection in a mating bond. She had become bound to one of the Spirits. That was how Iwas able to feel her from another realm. It also explained why the bond was so unsure before—her fate had yet to be sealed.
Like all those born Marked of the Trial, their fates were not known until they competed. She would return soon, and I prayed to Xareus that he did not betray me and choose my mate. If I was forced to challenge her, I’d throw myself into the Rip willingly. I didn’t even know the female, but the thought of having to fight someone who was now a part of me felt wrong and vile.
I had remained in my tent for days, pacing back and forth as I waited and waited for a Sage to collect me to challenge one of the Worthy. But they never came. Perhaps Xareus hadn’t chosen anyone, and if that was the case, I wanted to leave before the Challenges began. I had no interest in watching someone succumb to being thrown into the Rip—yet now, I needed to stay to make sure my mate survived.
The Sages forced the duelers to drink an elixir to temporarily nullify their abilities during the challenge. The goal during the challenge was simple: throw your opponent into the Rip and claim your right as Lord or Lady. Something I never wished to do again.
I grew tired of waiting for the Sages. I needed to be there when my mate returned. I needed to make sure she would survive whoever she had to challenge and hopefully it wasn’t me.
I stood from the chair in my tent and shook my head to clear my mind of her, taking a deep breath to gather myself before stepping back into the mask of a Lord—fearsome and powerful. I threw open the flap of my tent and stepped outside. Large tents of cloth and stone littered the grounds around the temple. I wove my way through them to the temple steps where the Sages were standing in a line like a barrier. No one was allowed back inside until all of the contestants—the ones who survived at least—returned. How the Sages knew was beyond me.
I placed my hands behind my back and raised my chin as a female Sage broke away from the line and met me at the bottom of the marble steps. She was in her ceremonial robes, the thin material doing little to hide the tall slender body beneath it, and it swayed in the warm wind as she descended. I had to fight to keep from rolling my eyes as she approached.
Of courseshehad to approach me.
“Lord Ryker,” Vicria greeted with a sultry tone, bowing at the waist before rising. I didn’t return the gesture. She deserved no respect from me. “I’m surprised to see that you’re still here.”
My eyebrows rose. “Why would I not still be here? I have yet to be informed that I am not due to challenge.”
The female batted her long eyelashes at me. “My apologies, Lord Ryker.” She blushed and placed her hand on her chest. “I had assumed that you had been told.” While Sages were forbidden from taking lovers, this one was often known to disregard her vows to get her way. I despised it, and I despised her. She was a disgrace to the Sages.
“Told me what?” My words were clipped and my lips curved into a sneer.
