12

~Vaela

Adria's aged hands are searing hot as they clasp either side of my face.

My gaze focuses on her one milky eye, before my vision goes cloudy, and I'm staring into an ivory mist. I jolt back, but her sharp fingernails dig into my skin, holding me in place.

"Calm girl. Accept the process." Her raspy voice sounds distant, puncturing the void I have been plunged into. Anxiety swells in my chest, my throat tightening, but I still, splaying my sweaty hands out over my thighs.

"I see a lot of uncertainty in your future." Her faint voice drifts through in waves.

"Do you find a way out of this?" It's Hale speaking now.

"Shh. Let me explore."

The mist shrouding my vision suddenly turns to acid, my head burning to the point of unbearable pain. Somewhere in the distance, I can feel hot tears running down my face, my breathing rapidly increasing with my panic.

And then it's gone.

Adria releases me from her clutches, and the mist dissipates, and I can see again. Lurching forward, I clutch either side of my head, gasping as I rock myself back and forth. The pain eddies away slowly, leaving me a quivering shell of myself for the moment.

"Vae, you okay?" Hale is out of his seat in a moment, but is promptly swatted back by the Gaze Reader.

"Get back, Pureblood," she demands, unbothered by the power he could potentially unleash upon her.

Hale seems reluctant to accept her dismissal. "She's hurt."

His eyes burn as he studies me, gaze tracing the tears that glide slowly down my cheeks. His fingers are rolled up into fists, as he holds himself back, arms stiff, shoulder's rigid.

For a Sin, his empathy is overwhelming. The wince on his face suggests watching me experience pain is causing his own.

"Gaze Reading is taxing on mortals. She will be fine," Adria grumbles, opening the thick book once discarded on the floor, beginning to scribble incoherently within it. Her brow is furrowed, aged skin creased.

"What's that look?" I ask warily.

"There is nothing, about whether you can become immortal again," she announces, once she had finished jotting down her results. She slams the book shut, dust billowing out, which I fan my hand through irritably.

"Seriously?"

"It appears to be barred by magic. This is a very unfamiliar territory, I don't think the wisest of Gaze Readers could navigate this." She gets up, shuffling over the creaking floorboards.

Hale stands also, looking between Adria and I. "How do we stop her from dying in the meantime?"

"It's simple, in theory," she mumbles, shoving the book violently back onto the shelf.

"Tell me," I demand.

"You must find your mate, forge a strong bond with them. That way, part of them can carry the strain of this magic and relieve you of what, as a mortal, is making you ill." She waves her hand as she speaks, golden jewellery glistening.

I stiffen. Forge a strong bond?

"I...I don't know who my mate is," I tell her. She should know, she scoured through my mind.

Adria turns, looking thoughtful. "Then I would hurry in finding them."

Great. How helpful.

"A mate bond is not just something you can find. You have to stumble across it in a fated way." I've waited far too many years to find my mate, wanting it since I was a young woman.

Now, of all times, they are expected to simply show up?

Adria scuttles around the chair, not amused by my predicament. "You do not have that luxury."

"So what, I'm supposed to go around and touch everyone in this realm?" My mate could be on the opposite side, oblivious to my frantic need.

"No. It will come to you sooner than you think. I can see that in your vision," she explains.

Hale stands silently next to me, eyes vacant, lost in thought. Once I find my mate, he won't have to guard my life as though it's a precious diamond. He must be relieved.

"What if my mate is mortal and can't shoulder my pain?" I doubt my mate is in the mortal realm, as he would have to die and complete his time in Death's realm before coming here. But it's a worry nevertheless.

There is no way I could survive that long, so if fate isn't cruel, my mate must be near enough.

Adria looks off out the window. "I wouldn't worry about that until you find your mate."

It suddenly dawns on me why she is being so cryptic, picking the information she shares with me carefully.

"You know who my mate is," I whisper.

Her eyes blaze like emerald fire. "Do not ask me to share that information with you. I cannot interfere with such matters. The consequences would be vast, especially with Fate involved."

"But it could save my life," I insist. How can she stand there and at least not allude to who he is. Hale was right when he said she isn't likeable.

She waves her hand dismissively. "I have done enough. Find your mate, forge the bond, and you will not die."

Having decided she's imparted enough information, she wastes no time in hustling us from the shack, slamming the door so hard behind us, the entire foundation shuddering.

Sighing hopelessly, I hop down the stairs, shoes sinking into the sand as I trudge solemnly toward the fence.

"Do you know what forging the bond entails?" Hale asks suggestively.

The humour in his expression has me rolling my eyes.

"Unfortunately."

He draws to a stop, holding his gloved hand out to me, sunlight making the leather gleam. I hesitate, convinced he's going to take me somewhere to torment me some more.

"Come on," he insists.

"Where are we going?" The heat of the sun beats down upon my back, sweat clinging to my skin. For once, I'm not freezing cold.

"To find your mate, so you can spread your pretty legs for him and be cured." His smile is pure seduction and desire, my stomach fluttering at both his words and his look. He says it as if he is going to be the recipient of my desperation to be cured of this horrid feeling.

My jaw clenches, and I start walking, completely without direction. "You're not funny."

He falls into step beside me. "Who said I'm joking?"

"I'm not just going to spread my legs for a stranger when I finally do meet him," I grumble. Sure, I'm going to want my life saved as soon as possible, but I want to have at least a small amount of time between meeting my mate and sleeping with him.

"He's your mate. You're going to want him to-"

I hold my hand up, not wanting to hear it come out of his mouth. "Don't say it."

He looks far too amused for my liking. "Say what? That you're going to want him to fuck-"

"Hale!"

"Sorry, you're going to want him to make sweet, gentle love to you," he says sweetly.

I make to hit him, but he dodges out of my way at the last minute. His laugh is the most human thing about him, raw and completely real. Were I not so irritated by what he is insinuating, I might enjoy his mirth.

"Oh stop. You're speaking to me like I'm a virgin," I admonish. The mention of being intimate with my mate may not usually upset me, but there is something especially uncomfortable hearing Hale mention it.

Mainly because I've thought about us intimately too.

"You sounded...intimidated." Despite the smile still flirting with his lips, his eyes burn with wild emotion, that if I were to decipher, would bring me to my knees.

I stare off into the distance, waves of heat distorting the line of the horizon. "It's weird to think about sex with someone you haven't met yet."

"It will be natural. You can only deny that part of you so long until it drives you mad."

Only a few weeks ago I would have snorted and dismissed such a thing. Nobody can be that compelled by some magical bond, nor be so enticed by someone. And yet since meeting Hale, I can easily see how someone may find themselves desperate for intimacy with another.

I rub the back of my neck. "Mmm."

"In the presence of your mate, I mean," he clarifies. "It seems daunting, but once you're with him, until you've first been together, it will be all you can think about."

I narrow my eyes, wanting to slap that look off his face. "I'm more civilised than that, thank you very much."

He smirks in reply. "We'll see."

"You won't be seeing anything," I growl. Once I've found my mate, the distance between Hale and I will be lengthy. Especially when it comes to forging the bond.

His gaze lingers on me for a moment, before he grabs my arm to transport us away. "Alright, Vaela."