Bound (Bound Trilogy) (25 page)

“You know me too well.”

“Can you?”

“I’ll try.”

“When all of this is over, what are you going to do?”

He raised one eyebrow. Maybe he’d been expecting a different question. “I suppose that depends on what you mean by ‘all of this,’ and even more on how it actually ends.”

“Would you go back to your old life if that were possible?”

“It wouldn’t be. But if in some other world Severn were willing to forgive me and let things go back to the way they were, rights and privileges reinstated, all is forgotten?”

I nodded, not wanting to speak and risk saying the wrong thing.

He looked down at his plate, thinking. I sipped my tea.

“No.” He looked up. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Why? You went back after you left Stone Ridge. You were going to betray me. Why not now?”

He took a sip of his own drink, but his eyes never left mine. “I don’t think I could. When I went back, I just wanted to forget about you. That was the plan. But then Severn made me tell him about you, and I’m ashamed to say that I turned you in to protect my own ass.” He lowered his gaze. “I think I was trying to prove something to myself, too. That I was strong enough to do what needed to be done, for Severn and Tyrea. And as much as I hated how much control Severn had over me, and the person he was turning me into, I did have a lot to protect. Family obligations aside, I had a good life in Luid.”

He reached up to rub the back of his neck. He seemed less certain and confident than I’d ever seen him. I stirred my tea, not wanting to push him to finish even as the waiting tore me apart. “But as I’ve spent more time away from that life,” he continued, “I’ve realized that it was killing me. I meant everything I said last night. I’m not a good person. But I hate what I’ve become. I thought the part of me that cared about what happened to you was weak. I’ve spent years trying to crush it. But I’m starting to think that maybe it’s worth hanging on to. If I went home again, the part of me that has appreciated your kindness and tried to keep you safe would die. I would become everything Severn was trying to make me. And I don’t want that.”

He looked up again and tried to smile, but it fell flat. “I think I’ve realized that I’d rather have a short life, even if it’s spent like this, than live hundreds of years the way I was before.”

I realized I’d been holding my breath, and let it out in a long sigh. “Good answer.”

He cleared his throat as hint of color touched his cheeks. “Thank you.”

We were silent for a minute, eating, and then the corners of his mouth twitched. “What would you have done if I’d said, ‘no, I can’t go back, because I plan to run away with you to a far-off land and live happily ever after?’”

I nearly choked on my eggs, then stared at him for a few seconds. I smiled sweetly. “Before, or after I ran outside and vomited?”

He leaned back in his chair and gave me that smile that creased the skin beside his eyes and set my heart pounding. “Excellent. You are as wise as you are beautiful.” I reached up to touch my pulled back, tangled hair and wondered how exactly I was supposed to take that.

After the food was gone and we took our dishes to the kitchen, Aren asked, “How did you sleep last night?”

“Fine. Strange dreams, but that’s normal for me.”

“That’s good. I didn’t think it would be a problem.”

“That what would be a problem? My dreams?”

“No, mine. You’ve never asked how I make people do things.”

I poured a cup of drinking water and went to sit on a soft armchair. “You didn’t say much about your magic or how you changed forms. I assumed you didn’t want to talk about those things.”

He took a seat close to me. “I don’t, but you should know. It’s something like pulling a person into a dream, but they’re not asleep. It’s difficult to do it when I’m awake, but when I’m sleeping it sometimes happens on its own, and I find myself in people’s dreams. Accidentally. I’ve never hurt or influenced anyone that way, but most people don’t want others to know what they dream about. After Dan found out about it, my brothers all refused to sleep anywhere near me. It’s the reason why Severn suggested I learn to control people’s minds. He knew I had a gift that could be developed.”

“Does that always happen?” Not a pleasant thought, given my dreams last night. I took a long sip of cold water.

“No. I don’t know if you’d even be affected. Your magic may protect your dreams, as it does your waking thoughts. I don’t think I could get inside of you if I tried to.” I choked on my water, nearly spitting it out. Aren held back a smile. “Your mind, I mean.”

The silence dragged on for longer than I meant it to. “Well. Good to know you weren’t just changing at night because you were sick of me. You didn’t dream about dancing last night, did you?”

“Dancing? No.” His smile disappeared. “But sometimes it’s best if I don’t dream, anyway.” He stood and went to wash the dishes, and I left him to it. I had more questions, but I also had a lot of answers to digest. It felt like there were mysteries buried in everything he said, and for once I needed a break as much as he did. I decided to do more exploring.

The upstairs wardrobes were filled with clothing, both men’s and women’s. Mostly summer things, but I found some sweaters, thick pants and a wool skirt on a high shelf, set away for the cold days that must have come to a northern lake even during the hottest months. I didn’t find anything in the bedrooms that told me who owned the house, though.

I was about to go back downstairs with my armload of clothes when Aren called, “I’m going down to the lake to check on something. If you want to go for a swim, you should do it soon. It looks like the snow is coming.” I imagined how cold the lake must be, and shivered.

“You’re crazy!” I called after him.

After he was gone, I dug my dragon scale out of the bottom of my bag. I hadn’t thought to look at it since I put it away after we left Ruby’s cave. One of the dragon’s smaller scales, certainly, but larger than my hand. I balanced the curve of it in my palm and admired the way the light reflected off of it, changing the colors as I turned it over.
Far more beautiful than any treasure
. I set it on the table in the sitting area.

Next I looked over the books on the shelf. There weren’t many—a few romance stories that must have been someone’s light summer reading, and a “Pictorial Guide to the Flora and Fauna of Glass Lake.” The lowest shelf held a dusty toy horse, a miniature wooden boat, and a heavy volume entitled simply, “Child’s Tales.” I sat in an armchair and rested the book on my crossed legs as I flipped slowly through the stories.

Detailed pictures burst from the pages in brilliant color, bringing the stories to life. The girl trapped in an ogre-guarded castle looked familiar, though the man waiting to climb to her seemed more sinister than any I remembered.

On another page a woman stood on a mountaintop, bathed in light that seemed to pool in her hands, black hair swirling around her, a sword sheathed at her waist. It was an impressive weapon, but it was her magic that she chose to wield against the purple dragon that hovered before her.

I think I could get to like Tyrea
, I thought, and flipped the page again.

I was engrossed in a story about a king who made a fateful deal with a sea serpent when Aren returned. Water dripped from his hair, but his clothes were only wet in spots, as though he’d gone swimming without them and put them back on without drying off first.

“Very refreshing,” he said. “Should have taken a towel.” He wandered off to an upstairs room, leaving a trail of water droplets on the floor behind him.

“You’re a strange person,” I told him when he came back down.

“You should go out.”

“Should I, now? I’m not partial to freezing water. There must be a tub here somewhere that I can use to wash up. In warm water. Indoors.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself, but that seems like a lot of extra work. The water is nice, really. There are hot springs in the lake. Not right here, but they keep things from freezing. I was colder coming back up here than I was in the water. Besides, I left soap down there for you. You’re going to have to go get it, anyway.” He rocked back on his heels and waited for me to answer.

“Now there’s a logical argument if ever I heard one.” I snapped the book closed and placed it on the table. “Is it safe? No man or woman-eating monsters? It’s a big lake.”

“Not as far as I know. I’ll come down and keep an eye on things if you want. As an eagle, I mean. Wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“What, because you don’t have eyes when you’re an eagle?”

He shrugged and leaned against the door-post. “Because I don’t care what I see when I’m in a body that’s not human. I still have my own thoughts, but that body doesn’t seem to have human emotions. Or desires. It can be useful.”

The thought of him seeing me naked, whether he cared or not, was terrifying and yet strangely exciting. I grabbed a towel for my body and one for my hair from the closet and picked my way down the rocky path to the lake, with Aren following close behind. I stopped short, and he had to step sideways to keep from running into me. “But when you change back, you’ll still remember everything you saw, won’t you?”

He grinned. “Yeah, I can’t do anything about that. But if it makes you feel any better, I won’t look. Not even a little.”

“Right. I’m sure you’re always a perfect gentleman.” His grin widened, and I wondered what he was like with women when he was at home. Powerful, a king’s son, deadly attractive, and terribly charming when he wanted to be?
God help the women of Luid.

I started walking again, and he fell behind as we reached the dock. There was a soft rustling sound behind me, and a feathered body flew past me and up to the top of a high, bare spruce branch near the water’s edge. He made himself comfortable, then twisted his neck to study the darkening clouds overhead, making it very clear that he wasn’t looking at me.

I’d have liked a few moments to watch him, to appreciate the magic he’d just performed so casually, but I decided I should get into the water before he started to wonder what was taking so long. I stripped my clothes off and set them on one of the wooden crates that were nailed to the dock. He didn’t look down once, not so much as a glance.

You are not disappointed in his lack of interest, human or eagle,
I told myself as I dipped a toe in the water. It wasn’t as cold as I’d expected. The air was freezing, though, and a sharp breeze blew in from across the water. I took my chances and made a shallow dive.

The water under the surface wasn’t as cold as a lake should have been in late autumn, but was still cool enough to shock my fire-warmed body. I yelled, sending a flurry of bubbles toward the surface. I arched my back to bring me back to the air and shouted, “It’s not exactly warm!”

Aren glanced down, held his wings out to the side in an “I never said it was” gesture, and went back to studying the clouds.

The soap wasn’t as fancy as the stuff at the inn, but clean was clean, and it felt wonderful. The water did, too, once I was used to it. I’d been swimming naked more times than I could count when I was a child, but hadn’t done so in years, and never with someone like Aren around. I’d forgotten the feeling of cool, silky water slipping over my skin.

I took a deep breath, ducked under the surface, and kicked farther out into the lake, pulling myself along with my arms and relishing the power in my muscles. I’d always loved the water, the way it surrounded me and supported me. It was like flying in a way, suspended between ground and surface. I swam until my lungs burned for air, and came up far from shore. When I looked up, Aren was alert and searching the water for me. I waved to him, and he shook his head and settled back down to preen his feathers, clearly trying to communicate that he wasn’t worried. I laughed and started my swim back toward the shore.

I took a deep breath and prepared to dive under again. My breath caught in my throat as something wrapped around my ankle and tugged, pulling me straight down. I barely had time to scream before my head was underwater, the light of the surface moving swiftly away from me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Aren

S
he didn’t need to scream. I saw her pulled under. I lifted off and plunged toward the water before I thought about what I was doing, and realized that my eagle’s body wasn’t made for swimming. I would have to change. I’d never done it while I was moving so quickly, and for a second I wondered what would happen if I lost track of where I was and couldn’t call my body back to me. There was no time to think. I did it as quickly as I could, and felt the familiar weight of my body rushing back to me before I hit the water. It wasn’t a graceful dive, but the fall pushed me deep into the lake.

When the water slowed me, I opened my eyes. The lake water was clear, but with the sun hidden I could hardly see anything. A pale, blurry shape moved below me, struggling as it moved farther away. I kicked my legs, but she was going too quickly. She twisted, and was suddenly pulling herself toward the surface. I continued downward to try to catch a glimpse of whatever had grabbed her, hoping it wasn’t what I thought, but it was gone. I turned to follow Rowan.

She was holding onto the dock when I surfaced, her arms shaking as she struggled to pull herself up. I looked away. Keeping a casual eye on things when I was an eagle was very different from doing it now. Under other circumstances I might have offered to help, but I didn’t need things to be any more awkward between us than they already were. I watched the lake for signs of trouble, but there was nothing. It was as calm and flat as it had been when I swam earlier.

“Aren?” I turned back to the dock, where she stood wrapped in a red towel that did a barely-decent job of covering her body, holding another out for me.

“I think it’s gone,” I said. I took her place holding on to the side of the dock while I caught my breath. Gooseflesh broke out on my skin where it was exposed to the cold air.

“What was that?” she asked.