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Bronze fell back into the pillows and cradled Clara higher against his chest. “Many months ago, a goddess prophesied that I would meet a woman who would challenge me. A woman of lycan heritage who was, and I quote, ‘so very fond of their games.’”
She laughed softly, though her reaction was tempered with notes of disbelief. “How remarkable.”
“Quite. Her name was Saulé, and she was a celestial goddess who had done quite the number on my brother Brass and his now-mate, Molly. But anyway, it was Saulé’s words that convinced me I was on the right path when I learned of your heritage. And even more so when the true origin of your moonstone relic was revealed as well.” He lifted the fang-like horn from between her breasts and examined it with no small amount of wonder. “This isn’t just a relic of your people, Clara. It’s a piece of the Empyrean.”
“The Empyrean? How is that possible? How would you know that?”
“Because Saulé showed me in my mind when you and I joined together and enacted the soul bond. What you and your people view as a crescent relic of your Moon Mother is actually a piece of the Empyrean’s gates, which had been severed from the structure at the time my brothers and I enacted the Sealing. Whatever dormant celestial magic was still contained in here was the very thing powerful enough to break the magical suppression of my soul’s spark among your lycan land so it could finally spring free and seek out the matching spark in your soul.” His throat tensed with the enormity of all the goddess had shown him, all he was now being forced to reveal to Clara. “This,” he said, swiping a thumb over her wrist with as much tenderness as a warrior like him was capable of, “is the mark of the soul bond, of eternal mates. And now that this is truly free, so is my angel fire and all my celestial powers.”
Of all the things Clara managed to snag onto, that got her attention. She bolted upright, nearly headbutting his chin in the process. “You have your powers back? Are you certain?”
“You didn’t feel that heat or see the blue flames surrounding you as my power recognized you as its own to protect and serve? Are you telling me you really didn’t notice catching on fire?”
She shook her head in disbelief, though her eyes hadn’t left the relic she now cradled.
And then, because he was a bastard and couldn’t resist, a teasing smile slowly split his face. “Did I just blow your mind to the point of actual memory loss?”
It wasn’t a headbutt, granted, but the slap to his chin still stung regardless.
“So, we are mates, then?” she asked. “True soul-bound mates?”
“Yup,” he said, sawing his jaw back and forth but smiling through it.
“But this relic is not of my people.”
“It is. Saulé assured me as much. Once it split from the Empyrean, it belonged to whoever claimed it. If it was your Moon Mother who blessed it thereafter and birthed the lycans, there is no taking away from that. It is yours, though whatever celestial magic that was in it has been spent in freeing the block on my power.”
That was another thing he’d have to dissect when his mind caught up to the events of the last few minutes. The relic was just that now. A true relic. An ancient artifact with no more power in it than whatever the lycans believed it to hold.
There was no going back to the Empyrean, not with that, at least. The stark reality of it all was almost laughable in its irony. He’d gotten the very thing he was meant to find, and yet he found no remorse in the change of course.
Fuck. His brothers, however, would not take well to the news. In that moment, though, with Clara curled safely against his chest and her body melting into the promise of his protection, there wasn’t a single regret to be mustered.
“I know,” Clara murmured, her voice growing heavy with the events of the day and all they’d learned. And then her slim hand came to settle on his chest, inches below his right collarbone. “I kind of figured something significant happened when Polina’s name disappeared before my eyes when we were in the shower.”
Saulé came to his mind again, pressing out the ripples of his anxiety even as Clara offered a revenant kiss to the spot on his pectoral once owned by another.
Your oath is fulfilled, warrior. Guard your lycan well. You have earned it.
As sleep cast a heavy pall over them both, he held his treasure close to his heart. He’d never earned anything in his life, and yet somehow, in the span of a week, he’d managed to win the world.
It was a lot to process and something he wondered whether he’d ever truly believe. But he was not one to dismiss fate, nor turn his nose up at what it offered.
So tomorrow, he’d tell his female exactly what was in his heart and dive headfirst into whatever awaited them.
Bronze yawned, clutched the covers up over the bare side of Clara’s head so she wouldn’t catch a chill, and cocooned her against his chest.
Yes, tomorrow.
Chapter 31
Clara swatted away Bronze’s hand for the third time since they’d left her bedchamber. “Stop that. If you keep rubbing at it, who’s to say it won’t up and disappear?”
“It doesn’t work like that, princess.” He’d managed to snatch her wrist back up and, with the stealthy skills of a ninja, press a tender kiss to the softly glowing mark there before she yanked it back again. It wasn’t a hard yank, mind you. She didn’t have that in her. But it was just enough to keep their private game alive.
The one where she pretended his devotion didn’t melt the tender bits inside of her and make her wolf want to pounce.
Soul bonds. True mates. It was all too much to wrap one’s head around, and the irony of the outcome had done far more than simply settling around her like the realization of their future.
