When my nails dug into Finn’s skin, he rolled us until I was on top. “I won’t force you, but you need to know that I accept you, Lucinda. All of you.”
All I had to do was push up onto my feet and there would be no bond between me and Finn. Just one simple movement and I would keep my freedom. Except I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The call of the bond was soothing and powerful. There was a strength within it that calmed my heart in a way I’d never felt before.
Lucinda, no! my inner voice screamed, but it changed nothing for me.
As I locked gazes with Finn, I decided to accept the challenge fate had thrown my way. I might regret it later, but bonds could be broken, and curiosity got the better of me as I let my instincts take over.
Mine, a voice sounded in my mind that wasn’t the one I was used to. Instead of fighting against the singular word that held enough power to ruin me, I found myself drawn to it and repeating the same.
Mine, I agreed, and Finn’s chest rumbled as we both came together and lay tangled around each other.
Minutes passed before he rose up and stroked my cheek. “I had no idea that we would…”
“Bond? Yeah, bit of a shocker there,” I replied, already wondering if I’d made the right choice as the sex fog began to lift.
A commitment like this wasn’t something the normal me would be okay with, but there was a euphoria in me that had never been there before, and I couldn’t deny it was a nice change.
Comfortable silence settled between us as I pretended that we were just two fae on a beach. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Is this really what you wanted?” he asked hesitantly.
‘No’ was at the tip of my tongue as I rolled over to face him. I wouldn’t lie to Finn. It served no purpose. He knew who I was, and if he’d been telling the truth before about accepting all of me, then he wouldn’t appreciate anything less than the truth.
“It wasn’t what I wanted, but it happened, and I can see this being a benefit,” I said, even if my inner voice had yelled otherwise.
Finn turned toward me with a smile on his face. “Thank you for not lying.”
“What about you? You’re now tied to me, and I haven’t changed, Finn. I’m still going to do whatever it takes to end King Zephyr, and I won’t let anyone get in the way of that. Not even what happened today.”
My chest constricted at the thought of hurting him, and I wanted to smack myself. Though, I wasn’t sure if that was for pretending I couldn’t compromise or for caring so much. I knew I had more obstacles in front of me now, but maybe Finn really could understand my side of things with the bond in place. It would sure as hell make me want to punch him less.
He leaned closer to me again, his fingers reaching to play with the ends of my hair. “I’ve learned to accept you for who you are already. Mosi helped me to see the other side of things. Once I did, he made me promise to keep you alive, no matter the cost. Though, I had no idea this would happen if I succeeded.”
I moved away from him, sitting up straighter, still naked and uncaring. “What do you mean?”
“Mosi came to me the night before we all went to the castle together. He can see pieces of the future and interferes when he can. He is actually the reason why I went to find you in the first place. During our last meeting, I was so angry with you. Mosi painted things in a way that I could understand your perspective, and the irritation lifted.”
“What about keeping me alive?” I asked, more curious how that played into our situation.
“He told me you were our only chance at saving Ivy. I had to choose your life over hers, which was a lot easier to do when I could understand your actions more.”
A fae who could see the future? I’d never heard of such a thing, but he also had feathered wings like me. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I knew I couldn’t deny the possibility. There was too much unknown about fae like us.
“Tell me everything Mosi said to you before the fight,” I demanded as Finn reached for his pants and tossed me the cotton dress. I could have magicked myself some regular clothes, but it was hot as hell under the sun on this island. The dress didn’t sound so bad for the time being.
“He said there would be a battle and I’d have to choose between you and Ivy. That in order to save my sister, I’d have to stand by your side and do things I normally wouldn’t, like kill other fae without asking questions first.”
My mind flashed back first to the battle at the farm and then to the castle when Finn had arrived and began attacking the guards like a madman. Finn’s statement might have given some women doubts about his choices, but not me. He’d been up front since the beginning that he needed to save his sister, and I wouldn’t hold his actions against him.
“Well, you certainly had no problem acclimating to that. And here I thought it was because I’d rubbed off on you,” I said with a grin.
He stood and finished getting dressed. When his face reappeared after his shirt was on, he fought a grin. “I think it was a little of both. Like I said, I didn’t choose to accept my feelings after I found out about saving Ivy. I chose you first. Mosi is smart like that.”
As I slipped the dress over my head, I knew I couldn’t argue with him. The order in which Finn made his choices did help me to believe he wasn’t using me only to save his sister.
Finn stepped closer and reached for me. “All of my choices have been mine alone. If you walked away from ending the king and saving Ivy, I still wouldn’t regret what happened today. A part of me already knew there was something special about you. I fought against it, because you…” Finn grimaced, unable to find the right words.
“Because I’m me, and who I am goes against everything you believe in. It’s okay, Finn. I don’t expect us to pretend anything has changed about our views just because fate decided we should be bonded. We are who we are, and you don’t have to agree with everything that I am. The bond shouldn’t force either of us to be someone different.”
Finn gently pushed the wild strands of my hair back behind my ear before speaking. “You were raised by horrid fae, but the things they made you do don’t have to dictate who you are. The Lucinda I see now is one who took a screwed-up situation and used it to help other people.”
I snorted and glanced at the water in front of us, needing space from his intense gaze. “For a price. I didn’t do it out of the kindness of my heart.”
He sighed, then softly forced my gaze back to his. “Not always, but the times you did, even if you didn’t realize it, count for something.”
A power pulsed around us, and I itched to wrap my body around him again. Slowly, the gap between us closed as the air sizzled and I grabbed on to his biceps. “Finn…”
“I know.”
The emotions were overpowering. I was drowning in them, and that scared the shit out of me. My heart pounded in my chest as I squeezed tighter and he brought his forehead to mine. “It’s going to be okay, Lucy.”
I didn’t quite believe him but chose to focus on what had happened while I was unconscious instead.
“Where are we, and why was I magically restrained when I woke up?” I asked, glancing around again.
In front of me was only ocean for as far as the eye could see, and behind us was nothing more than a tropical forest. The sun warmed my skin from above, and I inhaled the scent of saltwater once more, this time also sensing magic. Lots of it.