Page 27 of Stolen Thorn Bride

And with that, she stalked away from the fire, not sure quite what she intended except for a dignified exit.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere to go but the woods. The dark, unfamiliar woods, where, to be honest, she had no idea what might be lying in wait to eat her.

So she only went about a dozen steps before putting her back to the fire and sitting against a tree, where she surrendered to the weight of exhaustion and worry and fear that had been plaguing her all day.

Tears threatened, but she forced them back. She could not afford to cry. Could not afford to show weakness—not when Dechlan already saw her as useless.

So instead, she shifted her attention to her surroundings, trying desperately to absorb the peace and stillness of the forest until it overwhelmed her fear.

And itwaspeaceful. The rippling of the stream made it difficult to make out the smaller night sounds, but she did hear a night bird calling plaintively overhead and a slight breeze rustling the branches.

True, it was also cold, and the woods had not yet emerged from the grip of winter, but even so, as she dug her fingers into the earth beneath her, she could feel the small, quiet hum of life. Kasia focused on that hum, wondering how she had never heard it before, and then remembered the sense of peace she felt when she was up to her wrists in the deep, dark soil of Gianessa’s garden.

Perhaps she’d heard it then, too, and simply never allowed herself to notice.

So she went deeper, and was shocked when she realized the hum had its own individual voices. Some were bigger and darker, some older, some small and sleepy. Each one called her closer, and as she reached out to touch the smallest, brightest current of energy, something brushed against her sleeve.

Kasia jerked away and flung her hands up to protect her face, but as she did so, a bright light seared through the darkness. Her eyes slammed shut, and a surprised yelp escaped her as she fell sideways.

Rolling with the fall, she came to her feet, wishing for Gianessa’s stout walking stick so she could cudgel the dark form that now awaited her in the shadows.

“Kasia, are you all right?”

Dechlan. Somehow, she’d been so deeply focused on the forest, she hadn’t heard him approach.

“I’m fine,” she muttered, now feeling a surge of embarrassment. “You startled me, that’s all. Next time warn me before you throw that kind of magic around. It nearly blinded me.”

Even in the dark, she sensed his confusion.

“Kasia, the light that blinded you did not come from me,” he said.

Oh no.

“It came from you. Kasia, why did you not tell me you are a mage?”

Fear rippled through her at the word, and she bolted.

Chapter 8

Dechlan learned two things as his bondmate fled into the darkness, both of which stunned him to his core.

First was that his bondmate was far more terrified of her own magic than she was of the dark forest around them.

And second?

He only knew because he could feel her terror. Deep within him, the hot, bright spark of her emotions glowed like an unfamiliar star—small but intense. Irrefutable proof that their bond was real.

This human woman was not merely a means to his recovery. Not simply a burden he must adjust to because he owed her a debt. She was his bondmate in all truth.

Grief and hope struck him then, in equal measures. Grief, that he would be forced to share something so intimate with a near stranger. That he must fail Aureann once again by betraying the memory of her love.

And hope, as irrational as it was sudden. Hope that he would not always be alone.

True, this was not the deep, mutual intimacy he’d always believed would come with the soul-bond. But their connection was inescapable—he could feel his bondmate’s terror in his own heart and knew instinctively that he could follow it through the night.

He also realized almost immediately that if he told her, she might panic and flee him entirely.

And he did not want her to fear him. Despite everything, he did not even wish for her to avoid him.