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Calm water surrounded the guesthouse, flowing in circular patterns carved into the stone. The setting sun glinted off the surface and Arianna counted step after agonizing step. Rion’s body was moving now, but his limbs were still too cold. The danger hadn’t yet passed. And those damned shackles. Every sound from them set her on edge.
Arianna threw ice at the door, splintering the wood as it crashed open. She focused her energy on the swirling lines of water in the stone and shot it skyward, freezing the liquid midair to create a barrier separating them from the outside world. They entered the safety of the small front room. She let Eoghan take Rion’s full weight, and she ran for blankets, tossing them onto the floor in giant piles before returning to keep her magic flowing.
“I can light the fire,” Eoghan said.
She nodded and pulled Rion’s shirt from his body, the material dripping as she tossed it in the corner. Eoghan had the fire roaring moments later. He bowed to her. “If there’s anything else you need, I’ll be right outside.” Guarding her door as he’d always done.
“Keys,” she said.
Eoghan glanced at Rion’s bound wrists and ankles and bowed. “You’ll have them shortly.” Arianna didn’t stop to think about how he’d convince her father to hand over those keys. Nor did she think about what the female had revealed about her abilities. Rion was all she cared about now.
When Eoghan closed the door, Arianna stripped off Rion’s pants then removed her own clothes. She guided him toward the fire then helped lower him to the floor and wrapped them both in the blankets she’d piled there.
His skin was too pale, still too cold to the touch, but his blood was moving, his body warming with each passing minute. And his heart had started to beat right again. Was starting to race as she wrapped her body around his, desperate to keep him alive.
Those voices approached, but one growl from Eoghan had their scents retreating, or at the very least, keeping their distance. Another growl vibrated through her as she thought about their hands on Rion and the ice they’d made crawl through his body.
They’d been so close. Had she arrived a few minutes later, she might have lost him forever. And then she’d have nothing, absolutely nothing.
Rion’s hand shifted, the chains rattled, and her head snapped toward it, watching his trembling fingertips as they moved toward her face and cupped her cheek. He drew her eyes to his and Arianna’s heart fluttered, that unrelenting anger melting to a deep ache.
Tears formed in her eyes again. She’d almost lost him. Almost lost her mate before she’d even realized she had one.
She gripped his icy fingers with her own. “Can you feel it?”
Those once fierce, green eyes misted over. “This isn’t possible.”
She gave him a small smile, not quite believing it herself. “Apparently, it is.”
“And you’re,” he paused, choking on the words, “you’re okay with this?”
Arianna nuzzled his neck then captured his lips with her own. Rion gasped, returning her vigor, and pushed her down into the pillows she’d scattered around them. He wrapped one leg around hers as if he couldn’t pull her close enough.
Mate.
Had she always known? Is that why she’d been so drawn to him even during those first frightening days? Was that why she could never seem to get enough of him?
Rion broke their kiss leaving her breathless and wanting. He propped himself up on one elbow and wiped her hair from her face. “I swear to you. I never hurt her.” His voice cracked, but somehow, she felt his words and the truth in them.
Her gaze traveled to the iron around his wrists. “I don’t understand.” Had the meeting turned into a fight? Had they caught him? And if so how?
He looked away and swallowed hard. “I couldn’t bear living without you.”
Living without—
“You,” she began, her throat going dry. “You let them?” He truly felt so unworthy, so unloved that he’d allow himself to be taken from the world. And after she’d ran from him. They hadn’t even had a chance to talk. Not really.
Arianna reached for his face, but he gripped her fingers, pressing them to his lips instead. “I need you to listen to me for a minute. The bond,” his voice shook, “it takes time to settle. Sometimes as long as a year.” His eyes closed. “I might not have killed your mother, but I’ve killed others. I’m not—I’m not a good person, Arianna.”
“It doesn’t—”
“Please, just let me say this.” She fell silent. “The severing of the bond is painful, but if it slowly dissipates, it won’t hurt like that.” He took another unsteady breath. “I can run. I can do whatever you need me to do so you don’t suffer.”
“I thought you said you could feel the bond?” He could, couldn’t he? “Would—would it not be as hard for you?”
Rion’s lips were over hers then, consuming her with such desperation she thought she might split in half. She moved with him, the ache in her soul wanting to claim him in every way. Rion trailed kisses down her neck and to her ear where he whispered, “The time I’ve spent without you has tormented my soul.”
Arianna’s hand traveled up his back, wanting to feel more of him. “Then why would you say—”
