Bird in the Golden Cage

Chapter thirteen

"How long do you know that Nathaniel and I have a bond?" Aislinn asked Senan.

"It was obvious," he replied. "The way he looks at you, the way he tries to protect you. It's blatant."

"So everyone around knew it except me. I'm the only one who didn't realize that." she sighed. "Great."

"You are human, Aislinn. You can perceive the bond differently. Emotions are not exactly a strong point of fae people. We follow what our mind tells us rather than our heart. You would probably call us cold. If something like a bond happens you will notice it. Everyone will notice. For us, love is more of a strategic move," said Senan. "A bond gets easily lost in the maelstrom of human emotion."

"Not so easily," Aislinn replied. "It's a strange feeling to have him in my head. I thought that I just couldn't stop thinking about him all the time, but in the end, I found out that he is really present in my head. He's there. I feel him every second of every day. It's faint, but it's there. Nate is in my head."

"And you're losing your mind from that," Senan commented looking at Aislinn.

Aislinn was kind of freaking out. She is bonded to a fae prince, from whom she tries to escape. Was her own heart betraying her or was her fate betraying her?

"I should warn you that if you accept the bond, it will get worse. Emotions will be stronger. Your connection will be greater," said Senan.

"If I accept him?" she looked at him uncomprehendingly. "Do I have to accept the bond? I thought it simply existed between us."

"The bond is complicated, Aislinn," Senan replied. "It is very rare. Only rarely do two souls appear that are two parts of one. The way I can explain it to you is that now you are the two separate parts, and when you accept him, you become one whole. Allegedly, some couples were able to communicate without words, only with their minds."

They can do it even now, she could clearly say.

"What if I accept the bond?" she wondered.

"And would you like to?" he answered with a question.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Nathaniel mentioned your fear of what if the bond goes wrong," Senan noted.

Aislinn didn't answer. She was silent. She looked away and stared out the window at the clouds floating in the turquoise skies. As if the bond would tell her that she was about to see Prince Nathaniel riding past. He had just returned from hunting more nightmares prowling the surrounding woods. He too, as if he could sense that she was looking at him, looked in her direction. Their eyes met. Nathaniel gave her a smile and she smiled back. However, she was overcome with sadness because she knew that he didn't truly like her, but the bond that connected them.

"That bond can destroy you," Senan said, gaining Aislinn's attention. "In many ways for many reasons, none of which are wrong."

"And how do I accept him?" Aislinn wondered.

"Are you thinking about it?" Senan asked.

"I'm more interested in how to avoid mistakenly accepting the bond," she replied.

Senan didn't like how Aislinn was constantly running away from her destiny, but he couldn't push her into anything. All he could do is give her all the information she needs to make a choice.

"You have to connect physically and mentally. You are spiritually connected naturally. All that's left for you to do is connect physically," Senan said

"I'm supposed to sleep with him?" Aislinn looked at him in shock, not believing her ears.