Page 4 of Kissed By the Sun

One which I was determined to ignore.

“If we don’t confirm the bond repeatedly will it weaken?” Thorn asked, his tone carefully neutral.

I couldn’t deny that his words stung. Seemed like rejection was the theme of my life sometimes.

The thought made me realize I was falling into pitying myself, which was something I thought I’d grown out of longago. I vaguely heard the healer’s answer, but as I lay down all I could think was that it sounded complicated.

I rolled onto my side, facing away from them, and listened as it felt like they talked about things I wouldn’t understand. Their voices became nothing more than wind whispering through the trees to me, and finally I allowed sleep to pull me under. This time I could only hope I didn’t dream.

Chapter

Three

Senara

The impactof Thorn’s sword on my own sent the power of the impact traveling up my arm and forced me to stumble backward. I barely had the strength to swing the sword these days, let alone handle an attack from someone as strong as him. The time apart had weakened me more than anyone expected.

Healer Kalum had said I was probably overly sensitive to magic because of my lack of exposure to it while I was growing up. Apparently, magic was generally referred to as mana by the fae and was considered part of their life force, which was why I was so weak.

Being separated from Thorn had literally been draining the life from me.

My body had started to waste away, but upon reunion with Thorn, I’d started to regain some of what I’d lost, which was why we were now in the practice arena together. It was the only place we saw each other regularly since, though he stayed close; he always managed to be somewhere else.

I drew on the magic that had begun to accumulate within me once again and pushed it into my limbs like Thorn had taught me. It was akin to a tingling sensation but deeper ,as though I could feel the power that lay just underneath. I pulled on it even more as I lunged toward him, slashing out with my sword.

The clash of steel on steel was deafening in my overly sensitive ears. Everything since I’d reconnected with Thorn had been more intense, as though I was getting double the information from my senses. I didn’t want to whine about it when there were other things that needed more attention, but it was starting to get a little overwhelming, something which happened altogether too often for my liking.

Thorn easily dodged my second swing and came in close, wrapping a hand around my dominant wrist and yanking so I had no choice but to release the sword, which, in turn, had it falling to the ground. A snarl twisted his lips as he looked down at me. “Is that all you’ve got, little one?”

“Still recovering over here,” I snapped back.

“Recover faster. You’ve got more than that in you, I know it.” The glint in his eyes had me wondering whether he was just talking about my energy or about the quick solo afternoon delight I’d had before practice. Had he been able to sense that? I knew if I was going to be around him it helped not to have my need gnawing at me like a termite on wood, so I’d taken to trying to relieve some of that desire before our training sessions. Still, nothing would be the same as being with him. The thought sent a shiver of need through me that converged on my core.

His pupils dilated. “Whatever you’re thinking about, stop it.” He paused and looked at me seriously before drawing closer still, so his lips brushed against my cheek as he spoke into my ear, “Unless you want me to fuck you right here and now, in front of everyone in the room.”

Part of me wanted to say yes, that if I could just live the rest of my life fucking him and taking care of my basic needs I’d be happy, but according to everything I’d been told that was just the bond exacting it’s revenge for being denied for so long.

Healer Kalum had theorized that if we gave in to the bond’s demands then at some point we’d reach an equilibrium where we didn’t need to have quite so much sex, but until that happened even the slightest suggestion had my body ready to go and my mind happily skipping down filthy paths of thought.

“Don’t test me, Senara. I can barely hold myself in check as it is.”

His words echoed through my mind, the need in them making my skin tingle with anticipation.

A large part of me wanted to snap that he was the one still fighting the bond, the one avoiding me when we weren’t training, but I knew that would start an argument, or at the very least reveal some truths I wasn’t sure I was prepared to hear. Still, we hadn’t had sex since we’d been reunited, which had been Thorn’s decision, not that he’d consulted me about it. He’d just been gone when I woke up after falling asleep to him and Healer Kalum talking. I’d known he was close by, but when he never came and found me, I figured it was for a reason.

I gathered enough willpower together to shove him back and refocus. With some distance between us I felt like I could breathe again, though I wasn’t rid of the aching need in my body. I could at least think past it now, though.

With careful steps I backed up even further, watching Thorn as he turned to face me, keeping himself stationed over my weapon and giving me no choice but to go to him if I wanted to get it back. We’d talked about using magic as a diversion, but I still didn’t understand how to do that. I couldn’t manifest my magic like most fae. Not yet, at least.

It was hard not to be resentful of the lack of experience I had when it came to magic. Everyone else had so many more skills and could do so much, whereas I struggled just to give my strength an extra boost in my limbs, something which most fae learned to do as children.

Their schooling was as much dedicated to their magic as it was to their general knowledge. The amount of schooling I’d had consisted of two years: one when I was at the Chantry and the other when I was studying to get into the military. They hadn’t required much, thankfully, but I’d needed to prove I could read and write and understand basic concepts. The Chantry had barely taught me how to write my name and only to read the holy texts. Everything else was foreign.

To say I felt less skilled than more children around all these fae that had schooling as a standard part of their lives was an understatement. At least I had finely-honed instincts, though, years of living on the streets and struggling for survival, combined with years of fighting on the front lines had made those instincts as sharp as a knife’s edge.

It was exactly that which led me to jumping out of the way as Thorn lunged toward me, intent on capturing me. I could feel his own need battering at me like the wind against a sail. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him, and if I had any say in the matter as soon as we were done training we’d be naked in the showers together, him pressing me against the wall as he fucked me senseless.

Only that wasn’t what would happen.