Then, as my eyes fell to the key glittering against her skin, it dawned on me.
She’d… tricked me?
Her grip on my chin strengthened, and there was more resolve in her gaze than I was used to. “Weneedthem.”
The words were relief and panic all colliding in one.
I didn’t know if I was ready.
It was a truth I’d been fleeing.
Vandle sat on the blankets beside us, eyes fixed on me as he lifted a hand to brush a knuckle along her bare arm.
I couldn’t protect her from them.
I couldn’t protectthem…
I wasn’t enough, trapped in the impossible, never sure where I fit or what I was supposed to be. I was in free fall, failing at all of it.
“Don’t touch her!” The words slipped out before I could stop them, the command so easily locking into place. Vandle’s hand withdrew.
“Sin!” Crescent sounded wounded. “Let it go.”
I couldn’t.
“That’s okay, Princess.”
Vandle’s jaw was clenched as he tried again, lifting his hand. He hesitated a moment and I could practically feel him steeling himself through the bond. It made me pause, a bubble of annoyance rising up as he pushed against the command.
Hewouldn’t.
But as I watched, he shifted behind her. A low growl rose in his chest as he violated the order, whole body tense as he cupped her neck, lips pressing to her shoulder, red and white eyes fixed on me.
I couldn’t feel the pain he was feeling right now, the agony that fighting the command would cause him, but I could feel how unsettled he was through the bond.
Our… bond…
“I love you, and there isnothingthat will keep me from you during heat,” he growled.
I blinked at the conviction in those words, and I’d let go of the command before I realized, instincts finding reprieve at last.
Vandle relaxed.
As I allowed my side of the bond to open further, I couldfeelthe truth of what he’d said.
I swear Crescent’s eyes flashed in the low light, a smile tugging on her lips as she watched me. Her palm pressed to my chest, thumb gently tracing my skin, comforting… encouraging.
It was hard, like a stiff door that had never been tried before. I’d always felt them there—taken comfort in feeling their presence. But I’d never truly let them in.
Not like this.
Not like I needed to.
Finally, in this place of peace, free of threats and uncertainty, I saw the truth of my bond. How distant I was from them now I had her to compare myself to.
Since the day I’d been trapped down in Anarchy, since I’d almost been claimed for my designation alone, I’d been on lockdown. Even when Vandle, Phantom, and Karma had saved me, I’d never truly felt safe enough to let them in. As if, the moment I did, I might lose them.
I’d fought for her, and for them, and I hadn’t won alone—we’dwon.