Piper
Evander stood merely a couple of feet in front of me. Yet, it felt like he was inches away. With how close he was, I found it hard to find a response to his offer. I was too focused on the live heat radiating from him. The pulse beneath his neck sang to me like a siren drawing me in. I had control, but oh how it sang sweet temptations to me. My gums ached at the thought.
"That is, if you continue to be secretive of course. I don't want your kind knowing about me," Evander continued. I brought my focus back to what he was saying and cleared my throat, feeling the dull pain of my canines subside only a bit.
"Of course," I agreed, breathlessly for a moment. It was understandable he wanted to keep these encounters private. I still don't know how my kind would react if they found out about me sneaking off to go see this Warlock. I especially didn't know how my family would react.
Part of me wanted to keep this a secret. It was serene and only I knew about him being here. Keeping it to myself didn't seem like such a difficult thing to ask.
It was quiet for a long moment as we assessed each other. It wasn't awkward. The silence was calming, as was everything else about this place. Evander seemed just as warm and inviting as the rest of this haven.
"Can you tell me more?" He finally asked. I gave him a curious look in response.
"More about what exactly?" I asked in reply.
"Anything. Everything. About your current situation, about you," Evander verified. He seemed more curious than I thought he would be. When I gave him an odd look, he continued, "If I am going to invite you freely into my home, I would like it if you weren't a stranger."
"Very well," I said. He sat down in the chair that was set in his quaint living space. I proceeded to do the same, sitting in the small chair at his desk. I faced him, crossing my right leg over my left.
"Ask whatever you would like and I will answer," I told him. He sat back and watched me thoughtfully. It was a moment before he finally thought of the first question.
"What are you most concerned about with this... Soulmate bond?" Evander asked, testing the word Soulmate as he said it. It didn't surprise me that the concept would be foreign to him. As far as I knew, the Soulmate bond was only applicable to my kind. Mortals didn't experience it, and neither did any of the other species.
I shrugged.
"That I will be forced to love another artificially, who deep down I know the feelings are strictly instinctual," I answered honestly. The truth of it hurt and was heavy on my chest. Once I was bound to my Soulmate, my feelings wouldn't be real, they would be instinctual and pushed upon me. Nothing like what I had seen with my brother Alec and his Soulmate Raven.
"How can they force you to love someone?" He questioned further, his brows furrowed.
"Most of the time, the bond is instant. It's similar to Mortals when they have feelings for someone, but at the point we establish feelings for our Soulmate, we are instantaneously devoted to them. In my case, I most likely will not have this encounter. I will pick someone and both him and I will ceremoniously be bound to one another, initiating the devotion to each other," I tried to explain it as best I could. As I did, I could tell Evander was intrigued, but still confused.
"Does your kind ever have normal relationships?"
When he asked this, I thought back to the story of the princess and the peasant boy. Oh, how I wished to have a simple, Mortal love story such as theirs. Their love was real and built truthfully. It wasn't forced or arranged for them. When I thought of a normal relationship, I thought of theirs.
"Rarely. It is almost unheard of for our kind to have a gradual bond form. The devotion will develop over time until it reaches its peak and after that, the bond cannot be broken. But like I said, it's rare," I answered, hoping the disappointment wasn't clear in my voice.
Evander was quiet for a minute after I said that. He seemed to be assessing my words as well as my expression, searching for something. I wish I could be in his mind and know what he was looking for.
"Is that what you want?" He finally asked. I felt a lump form in my throat. It took me a moment to think about it, but I knew the answer.
"I cannot spend time thinking about impossibilities at this point," I murmured, looking down at my hands. I didn't want to see his expression, mostly because I wasn't searching for pity. I just knew the hard truth.
"That doesn't answer my question," Evander stated, his voice soft and far from annoyed or angered that I hadn't answered him. It prompted me to look back up to him and watch the fire in his eyes. It flared behind his dark pupils, waiting for my answer.
"Yes. That is what I want," I answered his question, my voice uneven and frail like his question had opened up a deep-set wound. I wondered if he had even heard me, my voice was so hushed.
It was true, I couldn't spend time thinking about things I couldn't achieve. It would only hurt worse when those things didn't happen. Acknowledging that I still wanted a normal love story like the children's tale pained me to even entertain the thought.
Evander seemed to think about it for a moment. He watched me as he had been for the past few minutes, analyzing my expression, almost like he was searching for any falsehood in my sentiments. Once he realized the truth of my answer, he changed the subject.
"What is your full name?" He turned the conversation to a more simple question. I was relieved.
"Piper Carina Gheata. Yours?" I asked in return, not wanting him to be a stranger as well.
"Evander Codrin Breban," Evander answered simply, not phased by my questioning manner. The name rolled off his tongue and, admittedly, the name was as handsome as the one that bore it.
It pleased me to have him answer in such an open manner, seeing as though he had been very closed off since I met him.
"Does it mean anything?" I asked.
"Evander was my father's name, and Codrin means 'of the woods,' symbolizing my family's heritage of mainly presiding in this forest," He told me.
"How long has your family lived here?"
"Centuries. My parents built this home after they got married in 1648," He replied, his response coming so easily. His voice was warm and deep, and I willingly admit that I loved hearing his replies mainly because I could listen to him talk for hours.
"You said you were named after your father, is he still alive?" I asked. This seemed to disrupt Evander's expression. He shrugged and let out a sigh.
"Couldn't tell you. He left a while after I was born. My mother never spoke of him after he left, so I don't know where he went or if he is alive or dead," Evander explained. He seemed so nonchalant about it, but deep in those eyes, I swore I could see either rage or pain. Maybe both. I frowned at his answer.
"I'm sorry I asked," I murmured, pushing a fallen strand of ink-black hair out of my face. His eyes momentarily flickered to the motion before he looked back to me and shook his head.
"Don't be. You couldn't have known," He replied, brushing it off. "What about your parents? Still alive and ruling I presume?" He asked. I nodded, feeling almost remorseful to still have my parents while his mother was dead and his father was missing and out of his life.
"Still alive and ruling," I affirmed, "Although, my brother is of age to ascend to the throne, so it's any day now that they will step down."
"I see. Is it your parents who are forcing you to meet with these potential suitors?" He brought the conversation right back to where it had begun. Obviously, he was quite curious about my current situation.
Now that I think about it, I hadn't said anything about meeting potential suitors.
I furrowed my brow and looked at him in confusion.
"How did you know they were making me meet with potential Soulmates?" I asked. I could see a flicker of shock twinge at his expression before it was gone. It was almost the look of someone who had been caught.
"Well, you said you were going to be paired with someone who is politically fit. I assumed-"
"I did in fact say that, but I said nothing of meeting with potential subjects," I said, now getting this strange feeling that he knew more than he was letting on.
Evander was quiet for a long second, his expression unchanging but stiffly set. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and tapped my forefinger against my arm as I waited for his response.
"Why do I get the feeling you know this because of one of your magical whims?" I asked, not knowing what else to call his skills in magic. His eyebrows furrowed and then he suddenly chuckled at my question.
"Magical whims?" He laughed. I set my annoyed expression onto him.
"Don't deflect from my question," I instructed him, waiting for his amusement to die down.
"Look, it's nothing invasive. All I saw were a few fleeting memories of random men and your anger with a woman I assume is your mother -" Evander began to say before I shot up out of my seat and looked at him stunned.
"What do you mean 'you saw'? Have you been reading my mind?!" I asked incredulously. Could he really be inside my mind? At any given moment?
"No, I have not been reading your mind. Even if I could, I respect your privacy. When I showed you my memories the other night, your mind - as well as mine - was open. Sometimes memories can slip from one mind to another," Evander explained. I mentally sighed with relief that he wasn't telepathic.
"Was that all you saw?" I asked, now worried about how much of my mind was open to him at that moment.
"Just the images of three men and your mother. I felt some of the angered and strained feelings attached to those memories but that was it," Evander replied. I trusted he was telling the truth by his level tone and steady heartbeat.
"So you can read memories as well as share them, is what you're saying."
"Yes." He responded simply. This piqued my curiosity.
"What else are you capable of?" I asked, unable to help myself from wondering out loud.
Evander gave a subtle smirk.
"I was wondering when you'd finally ask."
––––––––––•A/N•––––––––––
Skipped a week, but I'm glad I did because I've been watching the progress of this book!! It seems to be doing pretty well. I would love to get this sequel to the amount of exposure His Mortal Bride has.
Thank you so much for the support!
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