“Correct. My kind does not choose to mate often, though marriage is common practice. To bond with your true mate—the one whose soul yours chose—is actually quite rare. Because, a lot of times, even if we do find our mate, we won’t complete the pairing.”
“Why?”
“If you complete the pairing, you become irrevocably tied to the other being. Meaning if they feel something, you feel it. If they die—”
“You die. That’s so sad.”
“It is our way. Having a true mate is a weakness, and as you can see, my kind does not like to feel weak.”
“But to spend eternity with someone who is not your soulmate, and knowing your actual soulmate is there, that must be so sad.”
“Sometimes. But fae tend to be selfish creatures, as I imagine you’ve noticed. If they choose to marry someone who is not their true mate, they’ve chosen to remain untethered. At least in that sense.”
“Taranus and Conary certainly are. Selfish,” I add.
Rafferty’s mood shifts, altering the very air around us. “Conary killed his mate before they had the chance to form a union.”
I gasp. Surprised that I am, well—surprised. It’s not that the bastard has been anything but a monster. “That’s awful.”
“It was. He will die a painful death. I assure you that.”
“You hate him.”
“More than you can even begin to imagine.”
“Well, when I get you the key and we get the hell out of here, I’ll help you come back and kill him. Maybe it’s him you saw me light on fire.”
Rafferty chuckles. “You do not have a violent bone in your petite frame, Ember.”
“You’d be surprised. I’ve broken quite a few noses in my life.”
“Oh?” Crossing both arms, he leans against the bars. “Tell me of these broken noses.”
“Well, to start, there was Levi Karlon. He pinched my butt in the ninth grade.”
Rafferty laughs as I continue recanting my first trip to the principal’s office. It’s so easy to talk to him—so easy that before I know it, sunlight begins to illuminate the stairs. It carries down, making tiny dust particles visible throughout the dungeon.
“You’d better get going,” Rafferty tells me. “Everyone will be waking soon if they aren’t already.”
“Are you going to be okay?” I’m hesitant to leave him, hesitant to go anywhere he’s not.
“I’ll be fine,” he tells me. “I assure you.”
“I’ll come back tonight.”
“You need to be cautious, Ember. If they catch you—”
“They won’t. Sneaking around happens to be one of my specialties.”
He pauses for a moment then finally nods. “I would love to see you again.”
“Then I’ll be back. And I’ll bring more of this.” I hold up the vial before tucking it down in between my breasts. I do it without thinking, so when I glance back at him and notice the way he’s watching me—the dilation of his pupils, the heaviness of his breathing—it spurs my own lust. Something I think he realizes.
“You’d better go.” His tone is gravelly now—as if strained—so without another word, I turn and head back up the stairs.
After checking the hall and being grateful there’s no one there, I step out.
I haven’t made it five steps before I hear a deep voice behind me. “What are you doing up this early, I wonder?”