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Ezra resumed his position at my side, his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me firm against him.

I told myself the possessive hold meant nothing. He was putting on a show.

I glanced up at Ash, who stood on my other side in silence.

How did he feel as my rightful bonded Nyrith?

16

DETOUR

ASH

Watching Ezra pretend to kiss Rae set my teeth on edge. Not because of jealousy. My Nyrith was his Nyrith. Jealousy wasn’t even a consideration.

What bothered me was knowing he wanted her and still refused to give in, even though he knew she belonged to all of us as much as we belonged to her.

How could he stand to look at her every day and not touch her?

I’d been going out of my mind since we’d arrived in Elyrdin, unable to show her more than surface-level affection.

Seeing her in her evening gown lit a fire inside of me, making me wonder if I’d choked her with my scent the moment I saw her in the hallway.

When Ezra held on to her while Cornaith played the role of a theatrical gnat behind us, I knew he was indulging in a fraction of what he wanted, using duty as an excuse to touch her.

Still, he didn’t kiss her. I doubted he would without her consent.

Kissing her for the first time in front of his parents and Elyrdin’s nobility didn’t seem right.

Cyn kept shifting his gaze from Rae to Zeke and back again. It wouldn’t be long before the pressure snapped. But I now understood he wouldn’t hurt Rae. Not anymore, at least. I wondered if he might be the next to bond with her instead of Zeke. They’d moved toward one another in a way I didn’t understand but wouldn’t question. Fate brought us together for a reason.

Each of us shared a different dynamic with Rae. The give-and-take in those relationships was unique to each bond.

Once satisfied that the people understood Ezra was Rae’s primary Nyrith—the only bond that mattered—Cornaith dismissed us to our table.

Zeke spoke up the moment we sat down. “Are you okay?”

Rae shook her head, replacing the despondent look on her face with a smile directed at him. “This is a lot.”

“Do we need to go home?”

“What? No, I’ll be fine. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

It surprised me that Zeke even suggested leaving with Cornaith’s ever-vigilant eye on us. I questioned whether the incomplete tether between him and Rae was playing a role in his decreased anxiety.

She pointed to the yellow-tailed belin on her plate. “What is this?”

“Fish,” Cyn said.

“You have fish here?”

“It’s Cyn’s favorite,” Zeke said.

“I remember.”

Cyn looked up from his plate at her, a momentary flicker of surprise crossing his face.

“We don’t have wild fish in the city,” I said. “But there are lakes all over Elyrdin.”