Warrior (Princesses of Myth #2)

I tugged off my gritty clothes and tossed them aside. In the tub, I stood with just enough room to cup the water and drizzle it over me. Not the best, but it would do. After I dressed in the white miniskirt and soft-pleated cream blouse with silver buttons he’d brought, I tipped my toes into Silvie’s flat leather sandals. It was lucky we were the same size.

Waiting for him, I perched on the pelts, running my hands over their furry surface. My thoughts turned to all I’d learnt, and the predominant one that I could now merge with Silas from a distance raced through my mind.

This changed things between us. Being with me because he’d accepted that as his only alternative was no longer the case.

I could survive without him. Indefinitely, as Elizara had said.

A swirl of air lifted the strands of my hair and fluttered over my skin. Looking as delectable as ever, Silas wavered into sight. His hair was damp, and he’d changed into tan pants and a short-sleeved, white-collared shirt.

“While you’ve been gone, I’ve thought about this mind-merge through our telepathic link.” I stood.

“Me too.”

“What do you think of this?” Nervousness made my stomach clench, and I clasped my hands. Because of our bond, I was driven to give him what he truly desired. He still had to come first.

“Hey, just tell me.” He took my hands, pulled them apart and held them firmly within his.

“You drew the short straw.” My heart thumped so loudly he must hear it. He’d definitely feel it.

“No, I don’t wish to speak of that. Not this soon.” He tugged me outside where it was dark, the night sky twinkling with a million diamond-like stars. Oil lamps swung high from metal rods pushed deep into the ground. The beaming light provided just enough coverage to guide our way.

Silas led me toward the center of camp, where the sounds of others carried on the breeze.

“You still need to listen.” I kept pace with him.

“No, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“We need to discuss what’s happened tonight. You never had a choice, and now you do.”

“I said no.” One full-on glare.

“Silas, stop.”

He swiveled around, hands on his hips. “Katerin Sol merged with another and took control of his mind. The man died. Do you want to merge with someone other than me?”

“No, and I’m not suffering from a mental illness as she did. I can control my reactions. I’ll never take over another’s mind because I have no desire to merge. That only comes with you.”

His lips thinned into a tight line.

“We need to consider our new options, Silas. I can connect through our telepathic link and we need never even speak. You’ve already released me, and I you. That decision can still stand. Ours is a non-relationship, remember?”

Arms crossed, he stared at me, his eyes deepened to the darkest blue. “You want me to leave?”

To make sure I wouldn’t reach for him, I shoved my hands behind my back. “I want to give you the chance to change the course of your life. It doesn’t have to be with me. You could make that faceless image of the woman real.”

He was stone-cold quiet.

A pin could have dropped in the sand, and I swear I would have heard it.

He pointed over my shoulder, and I turned to find we were the center of attention. At least two-hundred people gathered in the large clearing around a roaring fire thirty feet away, a fat pig turning on a metal spit in the center, watched us.

Whoa. How had I missed that?

“If you still want me to go, I will.” His fists clenched and un-clenched at his sides.

I slowly nodded. I had to see this through. “I want you to have this choice.” It was the honest truth, and he couldn’t miss seeing that.

“Then let’s try this. Perhaps I’ve even been waiting for just such an opportunity.” Giving me a curt bow, he clipped his heels together. “Goodbye, Hope. A long life to you.”

His form wavered and blinked away.

I stared at where he should have been. Was he really gone?

Ice crawled through my veins, freezing me in place.

He’d really left? Just like that?

My chest ached, the center deepening to such a throbbing ball of pain I wasn’t sure I could stand it.

I shuddered as someone’s arm came around my shoulders. Elizara.

“He’ll return. That man looks at you in a way even he doesn’t understand. You gave him a choice, and not many would. I’m proud of you for that.”

“W-we’ve not had an easy time since we met.”

“Not all mated couples do. The bond is a given, but we must work at the relationship.” She led me to the closest group, and motioned for me to sit between Maslin and his grandmother, Merie.

“You heard?” Tears welled in my eyes and Maslin’s image blurred.

He bumped his shoulder into mine. “Hard not to, but you did the right thing.”

I wanted to curl up and cry. “I had to set him free. I think it’s what he’s always wanted.”

“You’re better off among your own.”

Tears leaked out and I swiped at them. I was. I must never forget.

The fire crackled, and a few of the men dressed in desert robes of white moved to bank the edges of the roaring flames and taper them inward. Further away from the fire, mothers led their children to a wide mat and handed them plates.

“Wait here. I’ll get you some food.”