Page 26 of Tethered
“How can we be more joined than that?” Her eyes widened, and she paused. Blood rushed to her cheeks, coloring her entire face and the back of her neck red as she stumbled over her words. “Unless you mean… when we… if we… they want to watch us… together…”
I knew exactly where she was going with this.
“No,” I said firmly.
She let out a ragged breath. “Because if that were the case—”
“It’s not,” I said gruffly. “The Binding is not… like that. It is a sharing of blood that will connect us.”
She pursed her lips and I could seeher thinking behind her brown eyes. “Is it like a mating bond? I’ve read about those, and I know they bind two people. But I always thought mating bonds were gifts from the gods, not something that could be forced on others.”
Her words hung in the air, and I heard the unspoken ones that followed.Like this Binding is being forced on me.
This probably wasn’t the time to tell her that I, too, was being forced to Bind with her. Running my fingers through my hair, I yanked off my crown and tossed it onto a settee.
I groaned, “Not exactly. The Binding isn’t like a mating bond. Vampires don’t mate. At least not in that sense. This ceremony will join us, Binding us together, and extend your life to match mine. When two vampires Bind themselves to each other, it makes it so they don’t need another Source, but when one of the participants is a human—”
Footsteps came from the hallway outside, and I shut my mouth. Shifting back into my wings, I released the shadows and let them curl around my legs as I clenched my fists. My heart pounded and my wings flared as the door flung open, slamming against the wall. Hiding Luna from sight, I turned towards whoever dared enter without knocking first.
“It’s just me, Prince,” Ciro smirked. “Are you ready?”
Delaying would only make the inevitable take longer. I nodded. “We are.”
No sooner had the words left my lips than a stern “we are not!” came from behind me. Fear still scented the air, but clearly, this human had a healthy dose of courage. I respected that.
The priest huffed in amusement.
Crossing my arms, I pulled back my wings and met Luna’s stubborn glare over my shoulder. That red tinge to her skin was back, but this time, her nostrils were flared.
I raised a brow, meeting Luna’s gaze. “We. Are.”
Something poked me in the side, and I glanced down as she came to stand next to me.
“Don’t speak for me, you—”
Reaching out, I put my finger on her soft lips. She looked so shocked by the movement that her words dried up. Leaning in slowly, I relished the shocked look on her face as I spread my wings, blocking her from the priest’s view.
When my mouth was hovering over her ear, I whispered, “I’ll answer the rest of your questions later, but the sun is coming up and time is running out.”
If we did not complete the Binding, Mother would kill us both. Memories of Athena’s bloody, dismembered corpse flashed before my eyes, and I shivered.
Luna gulped, and her lips moved around my finger. “Are you serious?” she whispered. “I heard what your mother said, but I thought it was an empty threat. You really believe she would—”
“Yes.” I cut Luna off, pulling my finger away from her mouth. “Without a doubt. She would.”
A long moment passed as the two of us studied each other. Then Luna’s brown eyes hardened, and she squared her shoulders.
“All right,” she said. Looking around the curve of my wing, she met Ciro’s gaze. “I’m ready.”
“Good,” the priest crooned. Placing the chalice and dagger on a dresser, he eyed the weapon in Luna’s hands. “Is that really necessary, Princess?”
“It is,” I growled. “If it makes her happy, she can keep it.”
Besides, it would take something a lot worse than her chosen weapon to injure me.
Luna sent me a grateful look as she shifted her grip around the largest part of the candelabra. “Thank you.”
Placing my hand on the small of Luna’s back, I tucked her back into the safety of my wings. Together, we moved toward the priest. When we were a few feet away, standing between the two settees, I stopped. “That’s close enough.”
