deep beneath the ground during the winter months, not really hibernating, but resting for long periods.
“That’s a beautiful name,” he said, and she could tell he was sincere. He didn’t seem like the type to throw around compliments freely. But he did appear very observant. His eyes roamed over the cave, though they came back to her every few seconds.
“What is yours?” Rory asked.
“Aston Spence.”
“That is odd,” she said, just as honestly.
“Why did you take me?”
“Because we’re mates.”
He didn’t seem surprised by her answer.
“Why do you think we’re mates?”
Rory shrugged. “Because the dragons told me.”
His eyebrows rose. “And why would the dragons know this?”
“You don’t seem surprised that they talk,” Rory pointed out.
“I heard them when you grabbed me. Their ability to speak is less interesting than their ability to discern that we are mates.”
“So you don’t deny it?” she asked, her voice rising in surprise. She thought for sure he would argue with her.
“I felt you,” Aston said, his voice softening. “Like there’s a cord that connects me to you. Even now I feel it. And it hurts. But it seems the closer we are, the less pain I feel.”
“The dragons call it a soul bond,” Rory told him. “Kimba, the dragon I was riding, said that our souls joined. But she said it didn’t happen the way it normally does.”
Aston frowned at her. “It is odd I felt you before I met you. Usually, the soul isn’t shared until the pair have met.”
Rory didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t even know that soul mates was something that happened to humans. She’d been in the dragon realm for quite a while and knew that they soul bonded, but she figured it was a thing only for supernatural creatures.
“You live here?” Aston asked after several minutes of silence. “In the dragon realm?”
“I do now,” Rory said. “I lived in the human realm, but I’ve been here long enough that it feels more like home than my place in the coven ever did.”
“Haven’t you been lonely?”
She had. Though she had the dragons, especially Kimba, who’d become a dear friend, she missed human companionship. Not to mention, the pain Aston spoke of. She’d had that for as long as she could remember. “Yes. But I’m not lonely anymore. I have you now.”
“I can’t stay here, Rory,” Aston said gently. “I have a life in the human realm. Family, responsibilities. They will be worried about me.”
This wasn’t a surprise to her. Once Kimba had told her she had a mate and that when they found him, they would bring him to the dragon realm, Rory knew she’d have to find a way to make him stay. She was tired of living in pain. She was tired of being alone. And she was not going to return to the human realm to be a pawn for her mother’s coven.
“You don’t want to be with me?” she asked. “You’d rather live in pain?”
“No,” he answered quickly. “I want to be together. Soul mates need each other. I’ve watched my brothers find their soul bonded, and it's amazing to see the love they have for each other.
“We don’t have to stay here to be together. You’re human, Rory. You belong in the human realm. And yes, you belong with me.”
Rory liked his answer. All except the part about them returning to the human realm. Kimba had told her that unless they bonded completely, then he would be able to leave her. Since he seemed determined not to stay in the dragon realm, she knew what she had to do in order to tie her to him so he couldn’t leave her.
Rory stood and began to undress. Aston’s eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet.
“What are you doing, Rory?” he asked, taking a step back. He almost seemed afraid, which was ridiculous considering up until this point he’d been fine.
“I’m undressing,” she said, though it was unnecessary considering it was quite obvious what she was doing.
“Why?” He held up a hand now as if that could somehow prevent her from removing any more clothing.
“Because we’re going to complete the bond. Kimba explained we would need to mate for us to completely bind our souls together.”
“We don’t have to rush,” Aston said, his eyes looking anywhere but at her. “We’ve got plenty of time to get to know one another before we take that step.”
Rory was completely naked by this point, and she walked around the fire. “Aston,” she said, her voice sharp.