Resonant

Chapter 12

Fen

I wasn't sure what Zale meant when he asked me to stay, and I didn't get a chance to ask for clarification, because there was a feeling building up in my chest, piercing and warm. It lit up the bond between myself and Zale in a way I had honestly given up on ever experiencing.

"Zale?"

He was letting me in. Just a little, but it was enough to strengthen what was between us, and judging from the way he pressed a palm to his chest, he felt it too.

"What's happening?" he asked.

It wasn't an accusation like last time, when I revealed our bond to him. Then, he hadn't had much to say other than "No," over and over as if one utterance hadn't hurt me enough. Now, he just looked surprised and confused.

But how to explain? "I didn't do anything," I told him. And it was the truth. Fae bonds were like living things. They started out as potential, and they grew as our connection grew. "This is normal," I said, though that wasn't really an explanation either.

"You feel it too?"

I wanted to laugh, or maybe cry. I had always felt it. My affinity for bond magic meant that I felt my own bond more strongly. It felt to me like it would if it ever reached its maximum potential. It always had. But Zale was waiting for an answer, and I didn't want to explain all that. I would only seem pathetic. "Yeah, I feel it."

"This is... will it always be like this? It isn't fading," he said.

"What does it feel like to you?" I asked. I had never been sure what it would be like for him, since he was mer and hadn't been able to feel anything at all in the beginning.

Zale's eyes swept the room and even though we were alone, I could see his discomfort and I suddenly felt it too. A big room like this, with doors on so many sides, couldn't feel private. We could be walked in on at any moment, and this was a rather private conversation. "Let's go back to my room... if that's okay?" He took a step toward the doorway and hesitated when I didn't follow.

I felt a little sick at the idea. I didn't want to go out there, back to those crowded halls where I was a spectacle. There had been so many more eyes than I expected, and while many people just looked curious, some had looked really judgmental. It was something I was going to have to get used to, if I was going to have a place in Zale's life. But it had been a long day and I just wanted to be alone with my bond mate.

Zale took my hand, and his thumb moved in soothing circles across my skin. "Could we teleport there?" he asked.

He understood. I hadn't had to say anything at all about my discomfort. Zale just knew what I needed and took care of it. A heady mix of tenderness and giddiness almost made me throw myself against him in thanks, but instead I just took us to his bedroom.

I opened my hand when we arrived, but Zale didn't let me go. Instead, he squeezed and gently led me to his bed, where I gingerly perched on the edge. It could have been awkward, but Zale prevented that. He jumped and threw himself back onto the bed so he was laying down with his hand still holding mine. He hummed happily with his eyes shut and a content little smile played at the edges of his mouth.

"Bed," he sighed happily. "I think this might be my favorite place in the world."

"Really?"

"Definitely." His eyes slitted open and he peered up at me. "What's yours?"

I had to think about it. The field in front of the school where I had first seen Zale? Or maybe the restaurant where we had our first real conversation? The dining hall we had just left where our bond grew for the first time?