Page 134 of Commanding Flame and Shield
“Why does it sound like you’re jinxing us?”
I sighed. “Because Murphy is a bastard.”
“Perhaps,” he said as he grinned. “But I don’t need anything…spectacular to happen. I just. I want you. Just as you are. I want us, as we are. Whatever is revealed, I’ll take it.” He leaned in close, and my eyes fell closed. August brushed his lips across my eyelids with that heart-wrenching tenderness that melted my mind. His hands clasped either side of my cheeks, and I leaned into the touch, savoring the simplicity of it. The natural feel of him against me. Another part of that need I had buried deep last night stirred, a great beast that had awakened after alonghibernation. He seemed to sense it, perhaps scent it, as he pulled back grinning.
“Shush, you.”
He raised his hands in defense.
“Don’t be so smug.” I winked at him.
August snorted, and shook his head, only pressing a kiss to my forehead, before handing me my cup.
We ate, and discussed trivial, lighthearted things between stolen kisses. Our personal stories, mostly. Sharing details we somehow hadn’t in the long months in each other’s company. Relayed all the conversations about our relationship—Alec, Aren, Marcus, even the insinuations handed to me by Adrastos. Of what we were to each other. That my life had been spared under the pretense that it would destroy him if they claimed it.
“Now that,” August said, eyes solemn, “I believe.”
“I certainly don’t intend to exist without you.” I shook my head. A few topics back, we’d wound up horizontal on the bed, my boots now back on the floor in a heap. He’d sprawled out on his side, propping his head on a fist as I finished breakfast, leaving the perfect spot to cuddle in against his chest, my arm wrapped around his ribs, hand caressing patterns across his back. Our legs were happily tangled together, August’s fingers taking turns between stroking long lines down my arm or brushing through my hair. I studied the hard line of his stubbled jaw, his eyes half hooded with sleepy, contented desire, before submitting to the urge to trace his cheekbones, the tiny crook in his nose.
Nerves made it hard to swallow, voice softer than I’d like as I asked, “When did you know?”
August’s head tilted as he gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, a soft smile curling his lips. “That you were supposed to be mine?”
I nodded, smiling as his throat worked. He hummed thoughtfully, blinking as he pinched the end of a curl between his thumb and forefinger, studying it determinedly. Something like pride glimmered in his emeralds when they again met mine.
“I no longer remember a time when I didn’t.”
* * *
Aren was waiting for us, expectantly poised at the edge of the island when we entered the common room. So was everyone else, it seemed. I surveyed the coven, sprawled in chairs and loveseats, books and maps spread everywhere. Steaming cups of tea and coffee set on each surface. Heat flushed my face when I took in the knowing smile on Fae and Lana’s faces, the cozy grin on Alec’s, and those eternally prying eyes of Ansel. Oh, they scented it alright, or sensed it, or read it in what looked like August’s wide-open mind.
“Alright lovebirds.” Aren smirked at our joined hands. “About damn time.” He clapped August on the back, earning a wince twisted by glowing male satisfaction, followed by a chorus of laughter from the group. “Now. Let’s get down to it. Ally, tell us everything.”
So, I did.
After I finished the long and the short of my encounter with the brash, infuriatingly articulate Adrastos, I met six pairs of wide eyes. They all exchanged a long glance, and I realized their minds were whirring. Only. I still couldn’t hear them.
“Okay, so the mind-to-mind connection is annoying when you’re not a part of it,” I grumbled.
“Shit. Sorry!” Alec’s eyes widened, and he shook his head as if he could clear it. “We…uh…we’re a bit lost for words.”
“That would be a first.”
He chuckled, but his expression stayed solemn as he clarified, “So…uh…Adrastos is the dark side of your coin? He has the same…abilities?” Alec ran a hand through his tawny hair.
“As best as I can tell. If I get my gifts back, and can get near him, I guess I’ll know for sure. But he read my mind like it was spelled out in front of him. Certainly seems to have played with multiple threads of how all this plays out.”
“Which is why you’re alive.” Aren rubbed his hand over his stubbled jaw. “Because tearing August’s mate away would not have gotten him what he wanted.”
“Evidently, he believes we are so intensely intertwined that killing one is to kill the other.”
Everyone was quiet as the clock tick-tick-ticked away the minutes, and I just stared, unsure if they were still chatting between minds. Finally, I turned, searching for an answer from my sire.
“I’ve seen it before,” he said with a grimace. “Rare. So rare, that kind of soul bond.” Aren's brow furrowed.
“But…possible?” August’s feet collapsed from his perch on the ottoman, landing with a heavy thud. He leaned forward, glancing to me before schooling his expression back into neutrality.
Aren nodded grimly. “Yes. Should one of you be injured in battle, we must guard both of you. It’s a tether, if he’s telling the truth, to one world or the next. Your life cycles would be synchronized. I’ve only ever seen it once—only ever heard of it in two mutually ascended souls. Kingsley and Rosaleigh are soul bound.”
