Saltbound and Bloodsworn (by Allison Franklin) novel Chapter 86

Chapter 86 Chapter Eighty-Six

Isla looked out at the black ocean. She folded her arms around her body as the cold breeze blew her hair behind her. The boisterous sounds of the nightly Deveraux gathering echoed through the air, bus Isla wasn’t feeling very celebratory. After she’d disclosed her newly restored memories to Sylvan, he had taken off. His wolf, consumed with anger, care through the carefully constructed cage Sylvan kept him bound to. He was fully shifted within three seconds. After only a few more seconds, he was out of sighs, and he’d blocked her from accessing his mind.

Now, a few hours later, she was alone on the beach while the rest of their newly arrived party were introduced to the toxicity that was dragon’s mead. She could hear Eloise singing at the top of her lungs while Gregory spun around one of the fires. Cole and Nikolai were catching up on what they’d experienced in their time apart. Delilah was discussing magical healing processes with Ameretta, and the other soldiers were sating their pent-up tension

with any of the Deveraux women who dared make eye contact. Yet Isla stared out at the ocean.

Warm arms snaked around her waist, and she relaxed back into the familiar scented heat with a sigh of relief. Sylvan let out a long breath before burying his head in her hair and inhaling long. Isla curled her hands around his arms, her nails digging in to ground him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered against her shoulder.

“For what?” she asked.

“Running off as I did.”

Isla turned in his arms and wound her hands around his neck. “You were upset.”

He nodded before shaking his head. “Yes, but that doesn’t excuse it. I could feel your own instability. I should have controlled my baser side to see to your

wounds first before licking my own.”

Isla smiled softly before reaching up on her toes to brush her lips against his. “I’m sorry too, for not telling you sooner. It’s all been coming back very

slowly, fuzzy. I didn’t want to say anything until I had a better grip on it myself.”

“But see, the thing is, Isla of Tridea, you are my mate. We are meant to work things out together,” he told her, brushing his thumb across her cheek, leaving

a lingerie heat in its wake. “We carry things as one now.”

Isla nodded in agreement before he bent his head to kiss her more fully. When they separated, she wove her fingers through his hair. “You didn’t hurt anyone, did you?” she asked.

Sylvan chuckled. “No, I was able to get to the woods before losing all sense of control. My wolf wanted to tear through every able-bodied man it could sink

its teeth into, but it settled for a few deer and a boar,” he informed her with a lifting of his head to point behind him.

Isla looked over his shoulder and spied the pile of carcasses he’d dragged back. Several Deveraux warriors were readying the meat to throw on the various

fires.

“Is that all? Just a few deer and a boar?” she challenged with a lift of her lips on one side. “I do believe you’re losing some of your legendary savagery, Mate

Killer.”

Sylvan rolled his eyes. “There’s plenty left to go around,” he told her, his face dropping to one of serious calculation. He took her chin between thumb and forefinger, forcing her to stare deeply into his eyes as they swirled with black. “I’ll kill all those that touched you, Isla,” he said, his tone one of deadly determination. “No matter their rank, their status. No matter how much they beg on bended knees for me to spare them. All of those that have wronged you will meet their death at the end of my blade or edge of my teeth. I will protect what’s mine at all costs, even at the sacrifice of my own security or sanity. That I vow to you.”

Isla knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he meant every word he spoke. “I love you,” she whispered. Sylvan’s eyes bulged from his head at her words.

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Chapter 86 Chapter Eighty-Six

His hand-dropped from her face to fall limply at his side. She smiled and shook her head at his expression of shock. “I do. I love you,” she repeated, pulling at his neck to bring his mouth back down to hers.

Sylvan’s fingers seated her skin as clasped his hands around her neck in a desperate display to return her sentiment in a physical way. She had to push at him when she ran out of oxygen. When he finally released her mouth, she had to gasp for air. He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed with contentment. She looked up at him to find his eyes closed and a soft smile on his lips.

“I love you too.”

“How very quickly our lives have changed,” Isla remarked with a shake her head. “From sworn enemies to mates to two creatures bound by love.”

“You were never my sworn enemy, Isla. Merely a woman with a blade who thought she could defy fate. I never had a doubt.”

“Of course not,” Isla said with a laugh. “Come on,” Isla urged, pulling a wide-eyed Sylvan back toward the party and the newly enticing scent of venison roasting on the fire.

She sat down next to Eloise and forced Sylvan down beside her. Sylvan accepted a cup of alcohol from Cole, and Isla took a plate of the meat from Gregory before he took a seat next to Eloise. Isla nudged Eloise and raised her eyebrows twice with suggestion while bobbing her head toward Gregory. Though darkness had swallowed the air around them, the fire illuminated her friend’s reddening cheeks. She gave a light nod, a simple gesture of confirmation that filled Isla’s heart with happiness. Of course Isla would have to question Sylvan later about Gregory’s rank, credentials, and overall amicability, but for now, she could just be happy for her friend.

The night passed slowly as those who had journeyed first from Eredhal to Tridea and then to Deveraux sat around the campfire, swapping battle stories for moments of gentleness, most of which revolved around their childhood. It was interesting to hear of everyone’s different ways of growing up in the various nations that once stood proudly on their own until her mate came through with the Eredhal banner waving and his sword drawn. Many of those around the fire talked of their salvation from ruthless rulers and how their lives improved after the Eredhal army marched through. While others, like herself, spoke only of the days before their nation knew war.

Though Isla didn’t drink as much as she had the first night, it became clear as the evening dragged on that it was certainly wearing her out. She realized how fearful she had been for her friends, how stressed she’d felt over not being able to complete the task assigned by her mother, how worn her muscles and bones had become over the constant state of looming threats. With two of those worries now at ease, her body wanted rest. After so many months of uncertainty, here, before the fire, surrounded by newly acquired friends and protection from a man she once feared… She could grant that desire. A boisterous laugh woke her before she even had a chance to register that she’d fallen asleep on Sylvan’s lap.

Sylvan continued to brush his fingers through her hair as she stared across the sand at Eloise laughing hysterically while Gregory tried to catch her.

and

“She drank too much,” Sylvan explained above her head. “I’ve asked Gregory to corral her and take her home. Perhaps we should go with them.”

Isla pushed up from his lap to give him a lopsided smile. “You don’t seem too tired.”

He shrugged. “It’s been enjoyable to catch up with everyone. To discuss pleasant memories rather than strategies of war. It’s not a pastime we visit often.”

Gregory strode over with a cackling Eloise over one shoulder. “We’ll bid you good night then, Prince Sylvan,” Gregory said, out of breath and with a small

bow.

Thank you, Gregory, I think we…”

“No, you stay,” Isla told him, kissing him lightly before rising to her feet. “I will go with Gregory and Eloise.” She cupped his cheek. “I want you to be able

to enjoy yourself. All I’ll do is go back to the house and sleep anyway. Just… don’t drink too much,” she whispered, kissing him one last time. “I don’t have the strength that poor Gregory does and won’t be able to carry you home in a similar fashion as Eloise over here.”

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