Chapter 48

I find Damion's distant shadowed profile exactly where elder Aelrie had told me I would. I walk slowly up the short walkway from the dressing rooms to the narrow wooden bridge I had seen in passing earlier. The skirts of my silk elven robes brush and glide across my bare legs as I pick my way across the wooded winding trail. The path transitions from packed dirt to smoothly worn wooden steps beneath my bare feet.

Damion's back is turned toward me when I step onto the bridge. He stands alone, staring off into the river of water I can hear roaring and tumbling its way under the bridge. Even from this distance I can see that he's in a clean pair of black riding leathers and they cling to his muscular form in a way that has my stomach flipping and my heart stuttering in my chest.

At the quiet sound of my feet brushing against the wooden boards of the bridge, he turns to face me.

The simple sight of him takes my breath away.

His raven hair is damp from our time in the springs together. I fight down a blush as the memories of the way that dark hair had felt gliding between my fingers as my lips had tangled with his only a short time ago. He looks tired, grey circles darken the pale skin beneath his eyes reminding me of how many sleepless nights he had ridden in order to get me here.

To get me help. To keep me safe.

His black eyes flash a deep shade of gold as his gaze settles on me, and the sharp lines of his face soften around the edges.

Suddenly, all the things I had been worried about-all the unknowns and the questions that had felt so daunting on my walk over here fade away to black. All my anxiety evaporates and a warmth spreads through me taking its place.

Without making the conscious decision, I cross the space between us, making my way across the bridge toward him before I realize I had even taken the first step. Drawn to him like a moth to the light.

"There you are," he says, lip tilting up in the corner in a tired smile, "I was about to go hunt you down."

"You think you could?" I ask, shooting him a playful smile. The lightness I feel at the mere sight of him making me almost giddy.

I slow my steps, pausing as I near him. I settle into the space beside him on the narrow walkway of the bridge and lean against the railing beside him. I stand close enough to touch him if I lean a little in his direction, but I force myself not to. Instead, I hold to that sliver of distance no matter how desperately I may want to close it.

"I'm feeling a lot stronger than I did before," I smirk up at him, teasingly, "I may be able to outrun you now."

His amused smile widens, "Oh, I could catch you, darling. There's nowhere you could go that I wouldn't find you. Though you're welcome to test it if you'd like. I'd enjoy the chase."

Heat scorches through me, down my spine and low into my stomach.

I'd probably enjoy it too, honestly. Too much, if my racing heart rate is any indication.

Any tension I had been feeling before is replaced with an entirely new sort of tension. A tension that threatens to bowl me over from the force of it if I let it. As if sensing the sudden shift in my mood, Damion's chin tilts in my direction dark eyes roaming over me.

"The elfin style suits you," he says gesturing down at the flowing robes that I'd been given with a hint of a smile. His gaze lingers on my bare feet and his eyes flash yellow again. Amused.

I snort, rolling my eyes, "Thank you."

That smile stretches to a grin, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I say, "A *lot* better actually. I feel good for the first time in-I don't even know how long, honestly."

A trickle of a breeze blows past my face and I let it calm me as I breathe in the scent of simmering life all around me. The world feels calmer and clearer than it ever has. Colors brighter, smells stronger.

"You had me worried there for a while," he admits, tugging a tired hand through his dark hair, ruffling the already messy strands. I have to fight the urge to reach up and smooth them for him, clenching my fingers into the wooden railing to keep from closing that small gap of space between us.

It's like now that my energy is flowing through me more easily-able to do more than struggle to keep my body going-it wants to go to *him*. Its focus has gone from working to simply keep me functioning to now wanting to shift away from me entirely and zero completely in on Damion. Every part of me feels an unearthly tug toward him-like he's the sun and every second that passes I'm getting pulled further and further into his orbit.

Elder Aelrie's words whisper in the back of my mind again-like they have been since the moment she said them to me.

*Soul-Bonded.*

The need to know hits me again and I chew on the inside of my cheek, letting my weight settle into the bridge's wooden railing.

*This is it, no turning back now*.

I take a deep, steadying breath and force out my next words.

"Elder Aelrie told me something," I hesitate, clearing my throat. Unable to meet his eyes, I look out over the side of the bridge and watch the flowing river passing beneath our feet. "About us."

I feel rather than see him stiffen beside me. From my peripheral I see how his hands grip the railing in front of us.

"And what did she say?" He says, voice preternaturally calm.

"She said that she can read people's energy. And that when she first saw us she noticed that our energies are blending," I admit quietly, "She says that you and I are *connected*."

"Lily-" he starts.

But I have to get the question out before I lose my nerve. I keep going and say, "Did you know?About the connection between us? About the possibility of us being"

"Soul Bonded?" He finishes for me.

"Yes," I nod, "Did you know?"