Page 54 of Maleen

Vasari snorts. “Give her a moment, feathered rat… But you should open it sooner rather than later.”

“See, the giant cranky lizard even agrees with me,” he cajoles, pecking the cover of the book and flipping it open. “See that wasn’t so hard.”

“Are we reading or what?” Vasari sasses.

I look toward the ceiling and pray to the Fates to give me patience with these two before I flip the book to the first chapter. My eyes skim the pages, looking for any new information that I haven’t figured out or learned myself.

Nero peers over my arm watching the pages as I flip through them, and I feel Vasari waiting a bit impatiently at the back of my mind. I come across a paragraph telling me what we learned about mate bonds and even familiar and beastly bonds: never being able to cause the death of each other, or harm without the other’s consent. The soul knows when you truly mean harm. I store the chapter and page number away in the back of my mind in case Killian needs or wants further reassurance in the future.

The Initial Fated Bond

​Fated Mates, woven in the stars by the Fates themselves, are never wrong. These bonds should be cherished, as they survived great peril to even have the beginning of bonds marked upon their flesh. Where near-death experiences show the soul at its weakest point, and with the center’s bonds nearby, the center will survive and be marked. The Fates use these marks to pull mates towards their centers, but they never force feelings that aren’t already there to begin with. The bond can only be sealed through mating. The number of mates depends on the center’s soul needs and can be different for everyone, although it’s noted that the queen always has four. The reason is still unknown. Fae mates can range from any number from one to five from what has been documented.

“Rav… when you fell off Vasari…” Nero whispers in a small voice and it clicks.

All my mates were there and I almost died, from what Vasari and Nero told me of that day. I almost hit the ground. This book says I would have survived because of the bonding, but what if I didn’t? Is this how all bonds come about? I shake my head, wondering how my mother was bonded to my fathers…

I let out a heavy sigh. There’s no way I’ll get that answer now—no point in focusing on it—so I keep reading. I note that there’s nothing new about familiar bonds, but as I come across beastly bonds I feel Vasari perk up.

Mating Frenzy

Bonding with beasts, such as gryphons and dragons, is blessed by the Fates but not fated. It is a choice between two sentient beings to bind their souls together: a soul contract. With that, if both bond and beast have fated mates of their own, when the bond is sealed, a mating frenzy can occur, permanently cementing the bonds, destined to find each other in the next lifetime. The Fates have woven and chosen these bonds at the beginning of time, and disruption of the natural way of things can lead to massive consequences that can disrupt the natural law, plunging the realm as we know it into chaos. Once the mating frenzy has begun, there will be three nights of sleeplessness. This is a blessed and celebrated time. Those who find themselves bonded with beasts, please note that your beast cannot be wholly mated to their mate without their fae counterpart having completed theirs, as everything needs balance. Unlike unmated fae pregnancies, females can only get pregnant after being blessed by the Fates through a mating ceremony, held by Templer Reverends. Pregnancy occurs during frenzies—without any needed ceremony—which can happen once a year. A tonic will prevent this if wanted.

What the… Does that mean what I think it does?

Vasari’s excitement bursts down the bond. “I knew there was a reason I didn’t feel the urge to bond with Voissor. Well, not that there wasn’t an urge. I was hoping there was something in that dusty book that would answer my question. Now, Ravina, be a good little fae and go grab that male of yours. I wish to be bound to mine.”

Nero gags. “I do not need to know about any of your sex lives. You’re like my sisters, if one was massive and deformed.”

Vasari ignores Nero, her focus all on me with her longing and eagerness.

“He’s not ready,” I remind her. “Plus, it mentions a frenzy that will last three days! We don’t have time for that! What if we are attacked? Our guard will be down, and Killian definitely won’t go for that.”

A strong sense of annoyance comes down the bond before she blocks her emotions. “We will see.” And then she’s gone. Ugh, that does not bode well for me. She’s going to be cranky until she gets her queenly way, I just know it.

I should probably tell the others about what I just read, so they have a heads up, and I should do it in person since I can’t contact Killian mentally unless I’m seeing him with my own eyes.

A book thuds on the table and Roz groans. “I don’t know if I can read any more without my eyeballs falling out of my head.”

Nero perks up, focusing a bit too intently on Roz all of a sudden.

“Same,” Lennox murmurs, pushing his scroll away from him.

Ember runs her hand through her hair. “Anyone find anything interesting or of use or…?”

Mumbles of ‘no’ and ‘nothing’ answer her.

“I did, but nothing of use to our current situation,” I say, pushing the book away from me. As good as three days full of unrelenting, realm-shattering sex with my males sounds, it can’t happen until the threat is gone.

“What was it?” Cynder asks, eyeing the book curiously.

My cheeks tint pink. “Just some bond stuff,” I choke, not knowing how to answer my younger sister. Are these things sisters talk about? I don’t think we are that close…yet. But as her face falls slightly, I push the book closer towards her. “Read it; it can probably explain whatever I just read better than I can explain.”

She smiles. “Okay, thanks.” As she takes the book, slowly reading over the cover.

Suddenly Nero darts across the table and my eyes widen and a screech leaves my mouth. I scramble to get up just as my familiar swallows a spider whole. I gag while the others scramble away too, checking their surroundings for more creepy crawlies.

Roz shivers. “I know we need the library for more information, but I vote we burn down this entire section of the castle. Fuck spiders.”