Why doesn’t it beat like that now?
Because I lost the ny’chora.
“Bonded?” I whispered.
He nodded. “If you weren’t glamoured, Prince Thorne would’ve recognized you the moment he laid eyes on you, but even so, he was still drawn to you and vice versa. That is how powerful the link is.”
“You’re saying that the gods bond a mortal to a Deminyen at birth?” I swallowed. “Why?”
“Because once the bond is completed, the Deminyen gains their ny’chora— their connection to humanity. The ny’chora keeps them— ”
“Humane. Compassionate,” I whispered.
Lord Samriel nodded. “The gods found that necessary after, well, that is a conversation for a different day.”
I thought I already knew what conversation he spoke of. The Great War. Based on what Thorne had told me, the Deminyens had gone to rest because they’d been losing their ability to connect to mankind and when many awoke they did so without compassion.
My gods, I didn’t . . . I didn’t know what to think about that— any of that. It was almost too much to consider. “How is that bond completed?” I asked.
“A few ways, but that’s not what you need to worry about,” he said, and I started to open my senses to him. The white wall shielding his thoughts throbbed as he leaned forward suddenly, his movements severing the connection. “The completion of the bond will not happen.”
I looked away. Just for a few seconds. “Why . . . why would he need to kill me to survive?”
“Because the ny’seraph can be a strength to a Deminyen, but also their greatest weakness,” Lord Samriel explained, his tone gentle once more. “Through you, he can be killed.”
My lips parted as my breath caught.
“But we won’t allow that.” He rose. “Prince Rohan will want all of this confirmed, just to be sure. You should rest till then.”
Rest? Was he serious? I stayed seated as he crossed to the door, treading over the smear of blood there. “And then what?”
“Then you will be taken to Augustine,” Lord Samriel said. “And you will be given to King Euros.”
CHAPTER 37
Unsure of how much time I had, I didn’t want to risk anyone returning for me while I was undressed, so I grabbed the robe from the bedchamber, cinching it tightly around my waist. I kept the lunea blade on me, but moved it to my ankle. Having this on me was a risk. I doubted the Hyhborn would take kindly to seeing it, and the last thing I wanted to do was jeopardize Grady.
But I needed something to defend myself.
I hastily washed the cut on my foot. It had stopped bleeding, but I wrapped it with a piece of gauze. I returned to the antechamber, limping slightly. My scattered thoughts immediately went to Lord Samriel’s parting words.
I was to be given to the King? In what manner? Without my intuition, my imagination went to all sorts of places. I dragged a trembling hand through my tangled hair and stopped by the window. I pulled the curtain back. My bedchamber faced a part of the gardens and the front of the manor. Only a faint gleam of moonlight cast light over the dark grounds. There weren’t even any sōls in the distance, but I could make out just the hint of . . . of lumps scattered about the grounds. Bodies. I swallowed thickly. I couldn’t see the stables. Was Iris okay? I knew it seemed wrong to worry for a horse with the loss of so much life, but animals were often the most vulnerable.
Letting the curtain slip back in place, I closed my eyes, but the horror and the confusion still found me. I wasn’t so shocked that I hadn’t been able to read between what I already knew and what Lord Samriel had said. It made sense and yet didn’t.
What I didn’t understand was how Thorne was a risk to me despite what Lord Samriel had shared. How I could feel safe with him yet he would kill me to survive. I couldn’t believe it.
But Hyhborn couldn’t lie.
They spoke the truth. A shaky breath left me as I pressed my balled hand against my chest, where my heart . . . it ached from the loss, from the fear, and from the knowledge that . . . that Thorne would harm me, and I didn’t even understand why that would affect me so. I barely knew him. He wasn’t anything to me. . . .
Except that thought had never felt right.
Maybe it was because of this . . . this bond. Maybe it was something more. I didn’t know, but I had started to feel—
The chamber door suddenly opened, spinning me around as my heart lurched into my throat. It wasn’t a Hyhborn who entered and closed the door.