“Guy, it’s fine. I brought Silvie, and it was important she come.” Faith held up a hand. “I’m after Hope. Did she come in here?”
“Yes. She’s down the corridor. One of the mares is in labor and she ran to check on her. Go, but be quiet.” He set the stirrup on his workbench, and the melted end oozed into a metallic puddle.
“How’d you melt that?” What he’d done was enthralling.
“It’s the spell of heat without fire. What’s your last name, Silvie?” His gaze traveled over me, not missing an inch. Strangely, I enjoyed it. Hold on. What was wrong with me? He was still a warrior.
“Carver,” Faith interrupted. “Guy, she’s in the know, like you are.” The girls had a tight inner circle of those they trusted. And since Guy kept Faith and Hope’s secret as I did, he had to be one of the few good ones. I must have sensed that. Somehow.
“Right.” He snorted then turned back to his workbench. “Take her away, Faith.”
“Come on.” Faith tugged my hand.
“No, I’d like to stay and get to know one of the warriors you trust so much. Go and find Hope. I’ll wait.” He completely intrigued me.
“You sure? He doesn’t sound like he wants you here.”
“If he’s in the know, then I’m safe. Just go.” I studied the warrior as he whispered a spell over the stirrup he’d set down.
“Okay, I’ll be as quick as I can.” Faith dashed away.
“You should have gone with her.” He cast me a sideways glance. “Carver, eh? Any relation to Hope’s mate, the protector Silas?”
“Maybe.” I advanced on him.
“You have the same blue eyes as Carver. Doesn’t he have a twin sister? One I’ve heard is close to Faith?” He slowly circled me. “Yeah, you’re her.”
“What’s your last name?”
His gaze flickered with frustration as he came nose to nose. “Moyer.”
My heartbeat thumped at his closeness. “The son of Gerritt, and the grandson of Gilles?”
“You’ve heard of my line?”
“Everyone has. Forty years ago, Gilles Moyer spelled the dome’s energy field into existence over Dralion.” Which meant this man was from one of Dralion’s strongest enchanting lines. Although, not the wisest since his father had been captured at the battle of Eventide two years ago and now resided within Peacio’s containment cells. A heavy weight settled in my chest and I couldn’t stop myself from touching his hand. “I’m sorry for your loss, your father.” Boy, why did I feel such a sudden connection with him?
“He still lives, and soon he’ll be freed. I’ll see to it.” He clamped his hand over mine. The silver in his eyes swirled to life, as if he were about to spell.
“Don’t even try it. I may be unskilled, but I’m tough.”
“There’s a spell which turns back time.” He tightened his grip on me. “We should never have met. Don’t you feel it?”
Inside me an urge to be even nearer burned, and I was quite close enough.
“The bond.” He threaded our fingers together. “You’re my mated one, and damn it. This shouldn’t be happening.”
Oh my goodness. The truth blazed in his eyes. That’s what this was. I’d never in my life felt an attraction to any man. Sure, I’d had plenty of male friends, but none had ever stirred me the way Guy had from the moment I’d seen him. We were mated, the soul-bond pulsing to life between us.
Crap.
I was mated to a warrior. Only half our people were soul-bound. “What do we do?”
He fisted his hands at his sides. “At times I’ve felt the male’s drive within the bond toward Earth, and at other times Magio. I expected my mated one was a Peacian since it’s only your people who have the freedom to travel. It’s why I stayed away.”
“So you decided to let our bond pass?”
“There’s a war, and we’d never suit. Wouldn’t you do the same?”
“I would have wanted to know, so at least—” I fluttered my fingers between us. “—I could move on.”
“You’re a friend of the girls. It isn’t going to be easy to move on.”
“Our meeting doesn’t have to change anything. I go to school in New Zealand and that’s a long way from here. Same with Peacio.”
“Then I doubt our paths will cross.” He rubbed his thumb along his chin. The cleft in the center added to his intense look. “Why would you go to an Earth school if you’re a Peacian?”
“I was charged with keeping an eye on Faith a very long time ago. I’m also attending culinary school there next year.”
“You favor the art of cooking?” He frowned. “My mother did too, before she passed. She made everything, from the bread each morning to the Sunday roast dripping in gravy. I was only small, but I’d pull up a stool to stand on and help her peel the vegetables.” He slowly reached out and caught a length of my hair. Gently, he wrapped one of the long spiral curls around his finger.