Chapter 50

The sun is beginning its' decent down behind the trees as Damion guides me up the path from the bridge.

In spite of my curiosity over the elves' city and what the notorious Elfhame looks like, I find that I barely notice the buildings or the people we pass as we make our way through the winding streets. My mind is still reeling over everything Damion had just admitted to me on the bridge and my heart is thumping so wildly in my chest I fear that it's going to dive out of my skin.

I don't even ask where we're going, finding that I trust Damion implicitly as he guides me up the unfamiliar paths. After a few turns he leads us into the side entrance of a building, carved into the cliffside-reminiscent of the shifter's castle carved through the mountain.

The hallway he guides me into is dim, lit only by flickering silver lights embedded into the walls that I assume is some sort of elven magic. He pulls out a key from his back pocket and inserts it into the lock of the smooth arched doorway. When the door swings open, he holds it open for me, gesturing for me to go through ahead of him into the small, darkened room.

The small bedroom is nice, but is very obviously a room for temporary guests with no personal touches or artwork on the walls.

"Is this the room where you're staying?" I ask, curiously, turning back to him to watch as he taps a few crystal lights on the walls. They light up instantly as he brushes against them, bringing the previously darkened space into focus.

He nods as he continues lighting the glass lights around the room, "Elder Elandorr stopped by to give me the keys while I was waiting along the bridge. I was told that you, Xavier, and Arden have rooms nearby as well."

I look around as the space is lit up finding that the room is done up in earthy tones-deep greens, and browns, and shades of grey. There's a pool of water in the corner of the room that appears to be for bathing, and an arched doorway in the corner that looks to lead to a small sitting area. I wander over to the window in the corner, pulling the dark curtain back to get a peek outside.

The view out the window shows an attached garden that looks beautifully maintained and I feel the urge to go out and get a closer look at the rows of gorgeous blooming greenery at some point.

Damion comes up to stand behind me, peering out into the sunsetting through the treetops as well.

"I'll take you exploring through the gardens tomorrow," he promises with a smile in his voice.

I turn to look at him over my shoulder, facing him with a surprised laugh slipping past my lips, as I say, "How did you know that's what I was thinking?"

His eyes flash with the deep, bright shade of yellow that tells me he's amused, "I *have* picked up a few things about you in our weeks together."

I suppose that was true. He really had picked up a few things about me the same way I had picked up a few things about him. Like the way he knew what to put in my room he had made up for me in order to make me more comfortable. The same way I knew he'd do just about anything to protect the people who rely on him. That despite the rumors flowing about how monstrous and cruel he is, I've come to know that he's only monstrous to those who prove to be a threat to those he cares about.

We aren''t strangers anymore. Not at all. And remembering that fact eases away whatever tension I had been feeling before.

"What happens now?" I ask him, feeling that same heated flutter in my stomach as I peer up into the sharp angles of his beautiful face.

His dark eyes flicker over me, taking stock of every emotion that passes through my eyes, the same way I'm studying the changes in his.

"Whatever we want to happen," he tells me with a calm confidence that steadies my own nerves, "I'm sorry that you had to find out about our Bond from Aelrie rather than from me. I didn't want to push what I was feeling on you, or push the Bond on you when you're already processing so much. The last thing I want you to feel is trapped into anything."

I nod, chewing worriedly on the inside of my bottom lip. I want to tell him that I don't feel trapped, but that *had* been something I had been worried about when I'd learned about the connection between us. I had been anxious about all of the expectations surrounding Bonds. About the expectations from both the elves *and* the shifters. Worried that we'd be pushed into something without any say in the matter.

"I don't want you to feel trapped into anything either," I say, "It's not exactly something you were expecting either."

The thick black slashes of his eyebrows come together, his expression suddenly turning more serious than I'd ever seen it, "It may not be something I'd ever expected for myself, Lily, but that doesn't keep me from wanting it any less. Wanting *you* any less. The last thing I want is for you to think that because it was unexpected that I don't want what's happening between us now."

There's a low growl in his voice, the intensity of his dark gaze overwhelming, "Before the bond ever snapped into place-before there was any reason to it-I felt drawn to you in a way that I've never felt before. So I don't want you to think or worry that I feel trapped in any way. You make me feel things I never even knew were possible."

His words make me feel light headed, like I'm floating outside of my body.

*He *wants* to be bonded to me.* He felt something for me before he even knew the extent of the connection between us. That knowledge makes my heart pound like a wild drum, the rapid beats reverberating through my chest as adrenaline surges through my veins, fueling my anticipation. A thrill of relief simmers through me, mixing with a crackling electricity- the atmosphere buzzing with anticipation of what was to come infusing the small space between our bodies.

This monstrous, terrifying king who captured me *wants* me the way that I want him. Not out of guilt or any feeling of responsibility on his part, but because of *me*. He wanted me before he even had a reason to.

All I can do is blink up at him, eyes widening with my shock. And as the moment drags out, I see a hint of purple swirl in his eyes. *Worry*. He's worried about me.

"I didn't tell you all of that so you feel any obligations or feel trapped." He says again, "I just want you to know that you don't have to worry that I'm going anywhere. We'll go at your pace while you figure out what you want. We have all the time in the world-there's no rush or expectations from me. We can figure out the bond after you've had time to figure everything else out-"

*He thinks I feel trapped*, I realize. The same way I was worried that he did. *Do I feel trapped?* No, I realize, I don't. When I focus in on the emotions rolling through me, the *last* thing I feel is trapped. I don't know the extent of everything that it means to be bonded to someone, but what I do know is that I want *him*.

I've lived the majority of my life on the outside looking in, an outsider. But the male in front of me makes me feel like anything *but* an outsider. He brought me into his world and wasted no time in making me the center of it. He travelled with me to the elves in order to have me healed even with all of his other responsibilities. He had put me and my needs first. Even before the bond had settled into place, I had been his first stop when the earth storm had been wrecking havoc on his castle. I'd been the person he'd protected.

He'd saved me over and over again. *Because he wants me in his life*.

And if I'm being honest with myself, I want him too.

I'm feeling too overwhelmed to find words for any of what I was feeling, though. Too engulfed by my emotions. So I do the one thing that doesn't require any words or explanation.

I lean up toward him, rising up onto the tips of my toes and kiss him.