Caelan Nightshade's Arc

Chapter 4 of 3

Caelan came back to the bookshop at dusk. He had spent the day on the ridge, testing every method he knew to sever the bond. None worked. The pull under his ribs stayed. He had no cure, and Aldric was close. So he chose the only thing left. He would take her somewhere Aldric could not reach. Kensie was locking the door when he stepped from the shadows. She did not jump. She only turned the key and faced him. "You left this morning without paying for the story you told," she said. "Now you're back. Say it plain." "You're in danger," Caelan said. "The prophecy is real. A rival prince is hunting the woman named as my mate. That woman is you." She crossed her arms. "I told you. I don't believe in fate. Or mates. And I certainly don’t believe I am your mate." "He does. He'll kill you to keep me from the throne. This village has no walls and no guards. You can't fight off fae here. And you are my mate like it or not, don’t you feel that warm pull in your chest?" Her jaw set. She looked down the empty street, at the dark windows, the low fences. He watched the truth land on her face. She was smart enough to count the odds. "So what," she said. "You take me. To where." "My home. Nightshade Castle. It has walls he can't break." "And a fae prince who kidnaps a woman he just met." "I'm not asking to court you," Caelan said. "I'm asking to keep you alive until I find a way to end this." Kensie studied him a long moment. "You still want to break the bond." "Yes." "Honest, at least." She pulled the key from the lock. "I have a shop. A life. You want me to leave it because of a rope you can't see." "The rope isn't the danger. He is." She was quiet. Then she looked at the shop she owned, the one she ran alone, and something in her shoulders gave. "One condition," she said. "When it's over, you send me home. No fate. No bond. I go back to my books." "Agreed." They rode through the night. Caelan kept to the valley shadows, away from any road Aldric's scouts might watch. By first light the castle rose ahead of them, dark towers and colored windows against a gray sky. The gates opened. They closed behind her. Kensie stood in the great hall and looked up at the high stone. She did not look afraid. She looked like a woman taking measure of a cage. "It's safe here," Caelan said. "For me," she said. "What about you." He had no answer. He had pulled the one person his enemies wanted straight into his own walls. If Aldric learned where she was, the castle became a map to her, and a trap for them both. Caelan had bought her safety by binding her fate to his roof. The bond he came to cut was now closer than ever.