with her concerns about the power of the blade—especially after he pointedly told her not to worry about it.
She did worry. She thought of little else until sleep finally claimed her.
Chapter 28
Although it was not efficient for situations where they may need to fight, Silvas enjoyed carrying his mate in his shifted form. As before, Diana’s warm body clung to him as they descended from their camp in the upper foothills of the mountains and began their trek to the Eternal Forest. His mate’s excited exclamations at the view of the mountains from the air over the sparkling expanse of white stone warmed his heart and gave him a new sense of joy in flight that he hadn’t felt in centuries.
Though it would have been a pleasure to carry her over the breadth of the forest so that she could see it from above, her flesh was still easily damaged like a mortal and he didn’t want to risk injuring her by having to drop through the canopy of the trees for one of the frequent stops that she would still require. It would take many years, perhaps centuries, before the last traces of her humanity faded away. Until then, he would have to be careful with her. As he flew over the final stretch of the lower foothills, he intentionally ignored the churn of discomfort that his sister did not guarantee that Diana wouldn’t be a threat against him. His heart pinched with the uncomfortable knowledge that just because she was his mate, that didn’t mean that they were guaranteed anything.
In fact, if Dorinda was to be believed, all that was guaranteed was that Diana’s presence was going to change everything. The more time he spent with his mate, the more he hoped that she would not ultimately be a threat that he would be forced to dispatch—he doubted that he could survive such a fate. Many minor gods have gone to rest before in times of grief. Silvas was certain that would be his fate if he was forced to destroy his mate and earn the wrath of the Furiae for shedding the blood of one’s bonded. He held to him a glimmer of hope that it would not come to pass, and with that hope burned another that maybe she would permit him to keep her.
Someday.
Even if he had to wait at the edge of her mortal forest for the span of a human lifetime to collect her.
Silvas grimaced to himself as he dropped before the thickening tree line, gracefully avoiding the larger trees that straggled out from the edge of the forest. Although a human lifespan was a brief flash of time, he didn’t care for the idea of being separated from his female for that long. That was if she wasn’t determined to languish, haunting the mortal world, refusing to leave. Although many spirits kept apart from their bonded mate for centuries at a time, he found the thought of it deeply unsettling. He was becoming so accustomed to her presence that the idea of separation left him with a feeling of deep panic that he couldn’t quite place.
He wasn’t getting attached. He refused to succumb to such foolishness. It was just natural due to the bond that he felt the need. That was all. Shaking away the unsettling thought, he folded his wings and crouched just enough that Diana was able to slip off his back.
Yawning, she stretched and glanced around. “I take it that we are breaking for a few minutes?” she asked as she dragged their supplies and his armor from where it was harnessed to him.
Freed from the bindings of the harness, Silvas gave a leisurely stretch of his wings and jerked his head in reply. Seizing hold of his true form, he felt it dissolve to reknit itself, every muscle and bone reshaping and popping into place as he solidified. A small, enchanting smile stretched her lips as she appreciatively looked him over.
“I’ll never get tired of seeing you do that. And the eye-candy that comes after is quite a nice vision too,” she murmured.
He grinned at her easily, his heart lightening quickly at her admiration. Only Diana was able to do that to him. “It is perhaps one of my more impressive gifts,” he admitted, intentionally being vague about what gift he was referring to.
Diana’s eyes widened as a husky laugh left her lips. “Nicely played.”
Dipping his head fleetingly in acknowledgment, he raised his eyes to the trees, noting