The Elven King Read Online Free PDF Page B

elf who was on the run from a death sentence, not to mention whatever he must have been running from before to warrant these rangers hunting him… I always have had a weakness for the bad boys, Sade thought, a little wildly.
    But the electric heat that passed between them when their flesh touched convinced Sade that she had no other choice. Maybe she never had had any other choice.
    Then this was her choice, at least for now.
    They walked together into the woods.

     
     

Chapter 4: Claimed
    Sade showed no signs of recognizing the magic that passed between them when she took Aranion’s hand. But the elf knew it, and despaired.
    How could he have a latent soul bond with a mortal? It should have been impossible. But there it was, growing stronger with every moment they were together.
    The bond wouldn’t be sealed unless it was consummated… but, until then, their sheer proximity would make their need for each other stronger and stronger, until one or both of them succumbed.
    His thoughts were in a turmoil. If I cared about Sade at all, he thought, I would shove her back through the gate right now, and then run for both our lives. Even if it kills me.
    But the thought of losing her -- the thought of having another man’s hands on her -- made him burn with fury. No -- Sade was his .
    Now, he only had to work out how to keep both of them alive so that they could have a future together.
    They walked and walked. Above, milky white light began to shine through the canopy of leaves.
    “It’s dawn,” said Aranion.
    Sade looked surprised. “We’ve been walking all night?”
    “No, only an hour -- perhaps two, I think. Time moves at a different rate than in your own world,” Aranion explained. “That is why it seemed as if your justice-keepers arrived so quickly, when we were watching through the gate.”
    “Oh.” Sade sounded thoroughly lost.
    He could only admire her strength and courage. In the course of a few hours, she’d lost her world, and been thrust into a new one that was more strange and dangerous than anything she’d ever known. Worse, her only guide here was a twice-fugitive elf, who had greeted her by killing a man in cold blood.
    He briefly debated telling her about the soul bond. Shouldn’t she be informed? But Sade had enough burdens at this moment. He had no need to add to them. Not yet.
    “How far away do we have to get before we can sit down for little while?” Sade asked. He realized she must be exhausted.
    “We can stop here,” Aranion said, pointing to a hollow in one of the nearby trees. It was appealingly sheltered by vines, and soft moss padded the ground.
    Sade nodded. “I’m also going to need to…relieve myself.”
    Aranion’s face warmed. It wasn’t at the thought of Sade tending to her needs -- all living creatures had those needs -- but at his own compulsion to follow and watch, to make sure nothing nor no one else dared touch her. They had been in each other’s presence not even a day. But the desire to protect her – and, more, to mark her, to brand her with his lips and teeth, to claim her as his own -- was painfully strong…
    “Aranion?” Sade looked up at him. Her pupils widened. Perhaps it was in response to the force of his barely restrained lust.
    Aranion bit the inside of his cheek, hard. The pain centered him, and he managed a normal breath.
    “I’m sorry,” he said. “You can go over there.” He pointed toward another opening between the trees. “I’ll keep watch,” he said, deliberately turning his back. He was going to have to do something to keep himself in check. Otherwise, this bond would be consummated well before sunset. And, no matter how bravely she was acting, how much he admired her strength and courage, he could not, in good conscience, chain her to his fate.
    Leaves rustled behind him. Footsteps approached. “I’m finished,” Sade said in a soft voice. After a moment, she added, “You wouldn’t have anything to eat, would you? Or some