Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(15)
He smiled sadly and continued, “If you bond with me tonight you will know exactly how I feel about you, and I offer those feelings freely. Only you are the important one to know how I feel. I may not speak them openly and I will most likely infuriate you more because I keep them hidden inside, but you will be able to feel them.” He grabbed my hand and placed it over his heart. “In here,” he added.
I didn’t know I was holding my breath until I had the sudden urge to release it. The anger I felt before had diminished with each word that came out of his mouth, and all I felt was … excitement, love. I was shocked and completely taken aback. He spoke the truth and I didn’t need to have the guardian bond to know that he was genuine. We were both so different, yet so much alike in ways. The last thing I wanted was to attach myself to him knowing I had a dark fate ahead of me.
Unfortunately, I had no choice.
Was I selfish that I wanted to bond to him even though I was going to leave him? Yes, I was selfish, but in a way I wanted to experience what it was like to be bonded before my life ended. I wanted to know what it was like to be my sisters and have someone love me unconditionally.
A tear escaped the corner of my eye, and when I turned my head, Brayden took my chin and gently pulled me back while wiping the tear away with the pad of his thumb. He lowered down on his knees and muttered softly, “Will you accept me as your guardian, Ariella? I don’t know what this is going to mean for you, but for me it’ll be a great honor to protect you … to protect the woman that completes my soul.”
I knew what I had to do. I was scared as hell, and even if I was ready or not it was something that had to be done.
“Yes,” I breathed. “I accept you as my guardian.”
INSTEAD OF DOING the Blood Ritual in my father’s study, I decided it would be best to finish it in my bedroom. If things were going to change, I wanted to be able to be away from the eyes of others if we had to leave. Brayden and I snuck through the hallways until we reached my bedroom. When I opened the door, he smirked and lifted a questioning brow.
Sighing, I rolled my eyes and waited for him to enter. “I didn’t bring you here for that, Brayden. I just wanted to make sure we had some privacy.”
He walked past me into my room and gazed around. My room was filled with shades of blue and silver, and now that I thought about it, it reminded me of the Winter Court. Subconsciously, I guess I was always thinking of Winter without ever knowing it. Brayden strolled around my room and spent a lot of extra time on the paintings I had hung on my walls. I didn’t visit the mortal realm much, but when I did I always brought back a piece from my favorite artists.
“Did you paint these?” he asked, sounding amazed. “If you did, they’re amazing.”
When he turned back to me I shook my head and laughed incredulously. “Oh, no. I wish I could paint like that, but I don’t have the skills. When I go to the mortal realm I always find a new piece to bring home.”
He furrowed his brows. “Do you go to the mortal realm a lot?”
I shook my head. “No, not often. Maybe a couple of times a month to find some new paintings. I never ventured off like Calista did. Her and her friends loved to go there all the time. Why, do you go out there a lot?”
His answer was immediate, “No, I prefer the magic and beauty of our land. There’s too much suffering in the mortal realm.”
I crossed the floor to stand beside him, suddenly feeling nervous and hopeful, as we stood there staring at the paintings. I prayed to the heavens that this bonding would be what we needed to defeat the dark sorcerer.
“Are you ready to do this, Princess?”
I’m ready to end the evil at whatever cost, I thought. Gazing up into his chocolate brown eyes, I nodded my head and sighed. “I’m ready.”
I walked over to my bed and sat down, setting the box with the dagger in it on my lap. Brayden came and stood in front of me as I pulled it out. With his arms crossed at the chest, he gave me an accusatory glare.
“Why are you giving in so easily? I can see it in your eyes that there’s more to this bonding than you’re letting on. There’s an ulterior motive here and I want to know what it is. You may be able to trick your friends and your warriors, but I can see right through it. Tell me,” he demanded.
“And if I don’t tell you?” I countered, just trying to gauge his reaction.
The energy in the room spiked hotter than Hell as Brayden unleashed his fire along with his anger. My body grew flush with sweat and the heat actually made me begin to feel dizzy. How could that be? I was Summer. I could withstand countless amounts of heat.
“Trust me, Princess. You want to tell me,” he warned with a glint in his eye.
“Fine,” I gave in, standing up to hand him the dagger. “Just dial down the heat, will you?”
Instantly, the room went back to normal and it was as if the temperature hadn’t been changed at all. If Brayden wanted to know the truth there was no reason not to tell him, so I explained, “Once we bond tonight, Elvena thinks that it’ll be enough of a change for us to forge the weapon to defeat the dark sorcerer. So instead of us having to consummate the relationship we can do the guardian bond and everything will be right in the world. There’s no rush or even a reason for us to have to complete the marriage bond now. This should be enough to save our land without having to wait on us.”