“Lift your hair, Lyka.”

The gentle order swept over her senses. She found herself doing as he asked without questioning it first.

He paused in the act of fastening the necklace around her throat. “Be sure, kitten. You can’t take this back.”

What choice did she have? She needed his power—both that of his magic and that of his station as leader of the Theronai. There was no time to waste on questioning her choices. All there was left to her now was to follow the path she’d laid out for herself and hope she could keep her regrets to a minimum.

“I’m sure,” she said, gritting her teeth. “Just do it, already.”

He reached behind her to the nape of her neck. The fine hairs there stirred at his nearness. No man had been this close to her in a long time, and the animal side of her perked up in acute awareness.

He touched the ends of the luceria together and they clicked shut, bringing to mind the image of a prison door clanging closed.

A bolt of panic cut through her. Before she could do anything about it, Joseph ripped his shirt over his head and drew his sword.

She’d heard stories of what would happen next—that the male would offer her an unbreakable vow. The woman would offer her own in return, and she would then have access to his power.

Lyka needed that power. She needed to have a kick-ass man like Joseph on her side in order to save her pack mates.

He dropped to one knee, slicing a small cut over his heart. The branches on his lifemark shivered in response, mesmerizing her with the wonder of the magic it represented.

“My life for yours, Lyka.” He set his sword on the ground and took her hands in his. “It’s your turn now. Give me your vow, kitten. Bind us together.”

There was such naked want in his hazel eyes that she almost balked. There was no way a woman like her could contain whatever it was Joseph thought she had to offer him. Only ideas of fantastic power, beauty, wealth or kindness could evoke such raw emotion.

And Lyka had none of these.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just know that whatever you promise, you will be bound to me for the rest of our lives.”

“Way to freak a girl out.”

“You’re the one who promised an irrevocable bond. I would have let you choose another man, but it’s too late for that now.”

Indeed it was.

She opened her mouth to speak three times before the words came to her tongue. “I may be a Slayer at heart, but I promise to try to be the best Theronai I can be.”

As soon as she spoke the words, she knew it wasn’t good enough. The promise she’d made to Joseph demanded irrevocability. Forever. She was compelled to uphold that vow now.

She swallowed and tried again. “I promise to try not to let you get under my skin or drive you too crazy, so we can be effective partners.”

Again, it wasn’t good enough. The vow she’d made was still unsatisfied, making her skin itch and burn with the need to promise him more.

But what more was there other than everything?

As the crushing weight of reality descended on her, she knew the truth. Everything was the only thing that would satisfy the magic of the vow she’d given him.

Lyka stared into his eyes, wondering how she’d jumped from one prison to another without even knowing it until now. She cleared her throat. “I promise you all that I have, all that I am, to fight by your side until the last breath leaves my body. Forever.”

The intense sense of satisfaction she felt from appeasing the magic tying her to her vow was short-lived. Within the space of a second, the weight of her new vow fell over her, locking her inside it for all eternity.

She was Joseph’s now.

Chapter 11

Lyka was his now. Forever.

Joseph was still reeling from the shock of that when the luceria took charge and ripped him out of his own skin.

He’d heard from other men that a newly bonded couple would see a vision—some piece of the other person that the luceria thought was important, something that would help bind them together so that they could be a more effective pair.

But that’s not what happened to Joseph. Instead of some kind of vision, he found himself bathed in Lyka’s emotions, fears and motivations. For him, finding a woman was a lifelong dream. He’d been taught from the time he was young that he would one day be charged with the greatest gift and responsibility of his life. He would find a partner who would depend on him, who would use his strength to amplify her own. In turn, he would count on her to use his power for good, to open her heart and mind to him, and free him from his pain.

For Lyka, this union was nothing like that. It was a tool. A means to an end. She wanted his power—both the magic that he stored within his body as well as the power of his station. She didn’t want the life he had to offer her. She didn’t want him.

She wanted freedom—to leave the walls of Dabyr and hunt unfettered. She wanted to live with the Slayers, drawing from him his power whenever she needed it. To her, this was no more than an inconvenient way of earning her freedom from him.

As soon as the luceria let go of him and he was firmly back inside his own body, he rose to his feet. Anger and frustration nipped at his heels, making his voice rough. “I won’t be used.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed and shaking. “I saw what you want from me. I can’t do it. I’m not like you.”

“What did you see?”

“You want me to be part of you, for there to be no boundaries between us. No space.” She shook her head and backed away from him. “I can’t live like that. I’m a Slayer. We need our freedom.”

“You’re a Theronai, too. You were meant to be bound to someone in our way.”

“I’ll suffocate.”

“You’ll adapt.”

“You promised me freedom. You promised that I could leave here whenever I wanted.”

“That was before I knew what you were. Before you tied yourself to a man who’s tied to these walls.”

“You can’t break your promise. You won’t be able to stop me from leaving.”

As she said the words, he realized it was true. The magic that bound him to his word would compel him to open the gates and let her go. Unfortunately, the magic of his vow to protect her life with his would compel him to keep her at his side. “I’m the leader of this place. I can’t just go off and leave.”