Chapter One – Back at Third Barracks Grayson Fade woke up to the greatest pleasure in the world—holding Rynnanatha Sereph close. He was spooning with her, and while she slept, he was already excited. It was his constant state now, and Rynn was ever the eager lover, even in the morning when she was still waking up.

  Before he knew it, he was rubbing himself against her.

  Then, outside, he heard Freek roaring, “Oi! Wake up. It’s a new fucking day, you assholes. Let’s go!”

  For a second, Gray wasn’t sure what was going on. Were the orcs at Ruin Manor? No, he was back at Third Barracks, back in the room where he’d lived with Rynn. It was still so loud, still filled with scorpions, but it was far less hot. The summer swelter had broken, and now the mornings were chill. The rains would be here soon enough. Snows would follow.

  He had to ugh at the fact they were back at Third Barracks, but there was a reason for it.

  He pushed his nose into Rynn’s hair and inhaled her scent. They’d bathed the night before, and he smelled the rough First Field soap in her hair along with her own smell, which he loved so much. It made him rub against her with more urgency.

  “Is it his voice?” Rynn asked.

  Though he couldn’t see her face, he heard her smile.

  “His voice what?” Gray was confused.

  “Does Freek’s voice excite you so?” Rynn giggled.

  “Not in the slightest, Miss Yes.” Gray reached and cupped one of her firm breasts in his hand. The soft flesh fit his palm perfectly, and he felt her nipple stiffen. That drove him even more crazy with lust. Around them swirled the mana from his excitement. He could see the glow in the air, coming from his core.

  “Oh, then what has you excited?” she asked innocently.

  “There is this girl I know,” he said. “I dreamed of her st night.”

  “Oma? Were you in the pce of water and stars st night?”

  “No, Miss Yes. I dreamed of this elven girl with golden hair. I remember when it was long and flowing…the hair of angel.”

  “I hope not,” Rynn said. “Everyone knows angels like to murder.”

  “The angel in my dream was also very violent.”

  Rynn turned around to face him. The sheet slipped down to reveal her naked chest. “I am not violent.”

  Gray gazed into her blue eyes. “I think there are any number of recruits who would disagree. I’ve seen you fight. You are brutal.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t say I was brutal. I would call my fighting style efficient. Violence is a tool. Just as your lust is a tool.”

  He pushed himself against her. “Yes, let’s talk about my tool.”

  She slid a hand down to grip his straining sex. “I love your tool.”

  “I love you,” he said.

  She closed her eyes, smiling so big. “Say that again.”

  “I love you, Rynnanatha Sereph. I love you. I love you. I love you.”

  She clearly drank in every word and smiled even more. “I am very loveable, however violent.”

  Her core glowed a happy yellow. He knew why now. He knew exactly which of the seven instincts gave her mana.

  She flung him onto his back and straddled him. “Now, let me show you how much I love you back.”

  Outside, one of the orcs shouted, “Fucking shut up, dick winkle!”

  Then there was running, someone was thrown into the wall, and from above, one of Froggy’s girls screamed, “Quiet down there! By the slut gods of old, it’s seven o’clock in the fucking morning!”

  “After quiet hours,” Rynn grinned. “Freek and his boys are still pying by my rules.”

  He touched her soft face. “Let’s not talk about the orcs. Let’s talk about our love.”

  She kissed him. “Bonded.”

  “Bonded forever,” he agreed.

  “Inseparable,” she whispered.

  “Unstoppable.” He gasped as she settled herself onto him. Her soft, wet, warmth felt like heaven.

  And it was. Heaven in the hell.

  Then all was forgotten as they made love.

  * * *

  When they finished, they y on the bedsheets, soaked in sweat, as the barracks emptied. Breakfast would be crowded but Midj would be there, at the very least, holding a table for them. Most likely, even if they were te, the canteen would have food set aside for the squad that had taken the gold on Culling Day. And with only five recruits.

  There were definite benefits to winning, but there were also some drawbacks. Those who rose to the top became targets. Every one of the other eight squads that hadn’t been culled wanted to take them down.

  Rynn y on her side, looking into his face. “What are you thinking about?”

  He smiled. “I was thinking about something Blind John said. Everyone loves a winner but what they like even more? They simply love to see that winner lose. I’m sure Aunt Florence has something to say about that.”

  Rynn nodded. “Oh, yes. Aunt Florence would say that some people choose to lose so they can hate those who win. People are crazy. That’s not Aunt Florence. That’s me. People are crazy. We’re crazy. You know, Gray, we don’t have to come back here. Tomi said she doesn’t mind sleeping here.”

  “You don’t love our little love nest?” he asked.

  Rynn tried to frown but ended up smiling. “This is not our love nest. Our love nest is at Ruin Manor. You risked everything to break through Captain Sevanya’s wards just so you could live there.”

  “I did it for the dog, remember?”

  “Yellow!” Rynn sighed. “Such a good dog. Well worth it. So why have we left him?”

  “I like coming back here,” he said.

  “You do not!” Rynn said loudly.

  “I do. It reminds me of those first weeks together. It was so hot, so miserable, and yet, I can’t help but think back fondly. It was…”

  “Hot, miserable, filled with scorpions,” Rynn nodded. “Yes.”

  “But it was also the beginning of so much.” He paused. “No, it’s fun to come back because we can always leave. Besides, it’s important to keep up appearances. We are being tested.”

  “Everything is the Testing, and the everything is the Test. We fuck the recruits to find the best.” Rynn’s eyes widened at her own cursing, and she giggled.

  “That’s not how it goes, Miss Yes. But close enough.”

  “Do you think this will work?” the blonde elf asked.

  “Our little ruse to hide where we live?” Gray shrugged. “In the end, it probably doesn’t matter. It’s not like the Magistrate would kick us out for living in Old Town.”

  Rynn frowned. “But if we’re caught poaching, we could be killed.”

  That made Gray ugh. “If Settie would allow us to hunt demons. I would gdly risk it. And we could take the mana to the Widow Stone, who would pay us handsomely. According to some sources, their inventory is very excellent.”

  “Very excellent,” Rynn said slyly, trying to imitate Softie, otherwise known as Gundrik Softgrumble. “It is why the story is called Excellent Inventory Unlimited. There are literally no limits.” She paused. “You don’t miss Ruin Manor?”

  “It’s only one night, Rynny. Just one night. We’ve slept there comfortably for a week now.”

  “And it was wonderful.” Rynn sighed, looking away.

  A week of being bonded. A week of love at night and in the morning. A week of lust and resonances but very little training. Captain Sette Sevanya said they had earned a little rest.

  They were taking turns staying at Third Barracks, a different group every night. Already, people were wondering where they were living, and several times, Gray had found people in the market spying on them. Even the evil Fae girl, Pamalee Thornpinch, had tried to follow them. Of course, they led her on a merry chase before vanishing down a back alley.

  No one knew where they lived, and Settie was going to keep that secret as long as she could.

  Rynn touched his lips, gazing at them with renewed lust. “Yes, before, I knew you were thinking about Blind John. I also know you’ve been thinking about the letter. Why don’t you want to open it?”

  Gray winced. “So this morning, I enjoyed the adantages of being bonded to a beautiful elven woman, and now, I am seeing the disadvantages.”

  She spped his chest pyfully. “What a terrible thing to say! Me being able to guess your thoughts is not a disadvantage. I want to support you, and I know, your mind has been restless. You’re worried, which makes me worried.”

  “It shouldn’t,” he said. “And I shouldn’t have a restless mind. I should’ve already mastered my mind and known only peace to the end of my days. Only peace and love. No violence and no scorpions.”

  “Self-mastery. And you are failing.” She smiled to show she was joking.

  But she was right. He had avoided looking at the letter. He didn’t want to think about Princess Lilian and what she might have to say. All he wanted was to bask in the glow of his new bond. New love was one of life’s greatest treasures, and he didn’t want to miss a moment of it.

  And then, there was Captain Settie, who promised them a trip to the edges of the Weeping Well. They were returning to full-time training that very day, and instead of training in Old Town, they were coming back to First Field.

  They had three months to prepare for Soulshred Week. They didn’t know what that horrific week might look like—it could be anything. One year it had been a race to Pubis Port, another year the recruits had to py a complicated game concerning geometrical shapes, and still another year they’d had to maneuver through a maze filled with demons. Also, Gray couldn’t forget that one test had been cooking eggs to perfection.

  With their goblin friend Midjara Munch around, that shouldn’t be a problem. Midj loved to cook. She’d come from a family of goblins that had had been chefs in Astria. One of her ancestors had been the great chef Mimolette Walthamstow herself.

  Rynn had spent some of their days off int the archive up at the pink pace on the hill. There was a little library there that Gray still hadn’t seen. But Rynn loved it. She had spent hours reading about the eyewitness accounts of the fall of Astria, when the dragon princess Cassandra Ultimata had battled the evil Archduke Malchutt across the entire continent. There had been vast armies of dragons and demons warring with them.

  Long story short, Midj could cook, so eggs wouldn’t be a problem.

  “Why are you thinking about eggs?” Rynn asked.

  “How do you know I’m thinking about eggs?”

  She kissed him. “We’re bonded. My parents would sometimes have whole conversations without opening their mouths. Give us another few decades, and we will have one mind and one heart.”

  He flipped her over on her back and got between her legs. “Only a few decades? I think you mean centuries. Then, and only then, might I grow tired of you.”

  Her mouth fell open. “You are already thinking of growing tired of me? Grayson Fade, I will never not want you. You were my first, and you’ll be my st, and I will never want anyone but you. Forever and ever and ever!”

  She pulled him down, throwing her legs around them, and soon, they were sweating, ughing, kissing, and more. It was all he had ever wanted.

  Had he felt as close to Princess Lilian? No. She’d been a rich princess, and he’d been a poor sve boy. He’d delighted in her body, but always, there had been a vast distance between them. Yes, betraying her had been hard, and he’d felt guilty, but not that much.

  After their second time together that morning, Gray and Rynn finally got out of bed.

  Standing naked, sweating, careful not to step on scorpions, they dressed.

  “When we were first in this room, did you ever try and sneak looks at me?” the girl asked.

  Gray shook his head. “No, I was always very proper with you, Miss Yes.”

  “No, you weren’t, Mr. No.” She grinned. “You looked at my butt in the bathhouse when I showered.”

  He sighed. “Yes, yes, I did. You have a very fine ass. I would’ve preferred to see you from the front. However, the side view was rather pleasant, if I remember right. But were you always proper with me?”

  “No, Mr. No, I wasn’t. I one time sniffed your clothes when you weren’t looking. I loved the way you smelled. And you were so handsome and confident. I loved that.”

  He was a bit shocked. “You didn’t.”

  She giggled. “I did. I couldn’t help myself. I remember that first night when I had to sleep here alone. Pinch had bullied me into giving her money, and I was alone in this room—just me and the scorpions, and I thought my heart would break. It’s why I left.”

  He remembered finding her in the mouth of the alley, sitting against the wall, looking so forlorn. It was then that she decided to tie her fate to his, and now, they were bonded. It didn’t much matter where they slept as long as they were together.

  When they were dressed, she handed him the leather satchel he’d brought as well as his stick, which he carried everywhere he went. It wasn’t just a stick, not anymore, but it had somehow leeched mana from him. As many times it had been hit by swords, it should’ve broken, but it hadn’t. Tied around the tip was the red silk scarf that the Widow Stone had given him to break through Settie’s wards.

  “You should read the letter today,” Rynn said. “It’s in the satchel, correct?”

  He faked a pained groan. “Is this what being bonded to you forever is going to be like? Nag, nag, nag.”

  The elf girl only smiled. Her golden hair was growing out, and it was a little messy, a little shaggy, but she was still so pretty. “Love me more, and I’ll nag you less.”

  “That’s a deal.”

  He took her in his her arms, kissed her, and soon, they were naked again.

  They were going to be missing breakfast that day.

  It was more than worth it.