“Not anymore.” He extinguished the light, turning his hand to show her. “Because you embody magic as pure and primal as it gets. The bond didn't just connect us emotionally. It reconnected me to the source Merlin drew from, through you.”
Muriel pulled her hand back, and through the bond he felt a flicker of something that looked like doubt.
“Did you know?” Her voice was quiet. “When you created the bond, did you know I would unlock this in you?”
Brandon's chest tightened. “No! I had no idea that was even possible.”
“But Merlin spent his whole life searching for theCodex. You knew what I was.”
“I knew you were a gifted earth witch that theCodexhad chosen as its keeper,” he said carefully. “I knew the bond would help stabilize your magic and hide you from the Consilium. But unlocking dormant natural magic in me?” He shook his head. “That wasn't even in the realm of possibility. My family lost that direct connection generations ago. I thought it was gone forever.”
“So you didn't bond with me because I was the key?”
Understanding dawned. “Are you asking me if I wanted the power you could give me?”
She nodded, not meeting his eyes.
Brandon cupped her face, tilting it up until she had to look at him. “No. Muriel, I’ve felt a connection to you from the first moment I held the amulet you made for Jessie. And then when I met you—I was well and truly smitten.” He smiled gently. “As for the mate bond, the only way that could form was if we were destined for each other.”
He opened himself completely, letting her feel the truth of it—his attraction that first day, his growing feelings through the training, the love that had nothing to do with power and everything to do withher.
“I didn't know you'd unlock anything in me,” he said quietly. “That was a gift I never expected. But even if you hadn't, I'd still choose this. Choose you. Every single time.”
Her eyes searched his face, and he felt as well as saw the doubt melting away.
“Okay,” she said softly. “I believe you.”
“Good.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Because it's true.”
She settled back against his chest.
“There's a story,” he said after a moment, “about Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. Have you heard it?”
“Bits and pieces. She was his student, wasn’t she?”
“His most gifted student. Her name was Nimue,though some texts call her Viviane. She was brilliant. She learned everything he could teach her and then some. He fell in love with her.” Brandon's voice went soft. “Completely, utterly in love.”
“Did they have a mate bond too?”
“Not exactly. Merlin loved her, but he didn’t trust her. He sacrificed part of himself, making a mate bond impossible. He suffered terribly.
“What happened?”
“Depends which version you read. Some say she betrayed him by using the magic he taught her to trap him in a cave or a tree, locked away forever and too weak to escape. Others say she simply left, taking everything he'd given her and disappearing. But all the versions agree on one thing—she destroyed him.”
Muriel was quiet for a long moment. Then, softly: “Aren’t you afraid I'll do that to you? Betray you like the Lady of the Lake betrayed Merlin?”
Her eyes met his, clear and certain. “No. But even if you did, it wouldn’t change anything. I love you, Muriel Brennan, and I will continue to do so.”
Something in her expression softened. She kissed him back, deeper this time, her love echoing his own. “Right back atcha.”
He laughed and stroked her back. With Muriel’s warm body snuggled against his, her magic swirling lazily within him, he felt whole. Trulyhappyfor the first time in his life.
She'd given him back something he hadn't known was missing.
And he'd give her everything he had in return.
Always.