Page 10 of Hunted

Though my eyes were closed, I thought I could see lights dancing around us, glittering motes of magic hovering in the air inside of this small closet of a bedroom. I didn’t dare open my eyes again. I didn’t dare to even move! This was the most incredible thing I had ever done, and I could become a bigwolfwhenever I wanted to.

But the magic of the moment faded when, after a moment or so, I realized.

There wasn’t enough magic in him for me to open a portal… but therewassomething else in there. Something that made me recoil and snap my hand away from his. Something that had absolutely terrified me. Something that had surprised me and caught me off guard, even though it shouldn’t have because all the signs were there, and had been for a long time.

“What’s wrong?” Valerian asked, confused.

I shot to my feet. “Nothing,” I said, “There’s… uh, there isn’t enough magic in you for us to open a portal back to Arcadia.”

“There isn’t?”

“No.” I backed away a step. “My grandmothers will help. We’ll just have to wait for them.”

“Amara… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said, putting on my best, Royal smile. “Get some sleep… we’ll talk in the morning.”

I left his room quickly. I basically fled. I didn’t know which way to go or what to do after I left. I wasn’t used to this house, and even though it was small, finding my way to my mother’s old room took longer than I would’ve liked.

I spilled into the bedroom, shut the door after me, and threw the lock into place. When I was safely behind it, I let my head fall against the door and tried to get my breathing under control.

“This can’t be happening,” I said to myself. “Thiscannotbe happening.”

“Aha,” came Tallin’s voice, which made me practically jump out of my skin. “So, the penny has finally dropped.”

I spun around to look at him. “You scared the hell out of me,” I breathed.

“Not as much asthatjust did, I bet.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your Fate bond with Valerian. It’s about time you acknowledged it.”

CHAPTERFOUR

And there it was, aFate bond.It had been staring me in the face, waving frantically at me ever since Valerian and I first met. I had done my best to ignore it, but there was nowhere left for me to run, no matter how much I wanted to.

And I really,reallywanted to.

“This can’t be happening,” I said.

“I sensed it the moment I saw you both together for the first time,” Tallin said.

“You did?”

“The Fae can’t see Fate bonds… not naturally, anyway. But I can.” Tallin sat upright on the bed, making himself look a little taller, a little more regal. “They’re beautiful, really, and they’re rarely different. I can see ours right now… a small, thin, golden thread that goes from my right paw to your left hand.”

I looked down at my hand. I couldn’t see it. “And with him?”

“Yours goes from your chest to his.”

All the blood drained from my face. “No,” I said, “No, no, no.Why. Why me?”

“Who knows?”

“Isn’t forging a Fate bond the whole point of the Royal Selection? I shouldn’t already have abelore! I don’t even want one!”

“Your mother and father had a similar… problem. They were bound to each other before the Selection even began. I would venture this kind of thing is probably way more common than anyone cares to admit.”