Bound Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood

Author:Jennifer Silverwood
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Volume 3 Wylder Tales, Wylder Tales, Volume 3
Publisher: SilverWoodSketches
Published: 2019-01-22T05:00:00+00:00

BY UNSPOKEN AGREEMENT, they entered the garden silently. Vynasha led the way, while Grendall kept a sharp eye out for any threats that might have followed. The moment sunlight pressed against her bare skin, Vynasha tilted her chin to catch more of the distant rays. Soft spring winds caressed and teased tiny curls from her braid. Each breath of crisp air cleared the fog she had been living under since before the Changeling’s attack.

A gentle but firm hand cupped her elbow, and Vynasha opened her eyes to a world both sharper and painfully beautiful. The sun shone upon Grendall’s sharp profile, turning his bronzed skin a liquid gold. How had she never noticed he was beautiful? The smile tugging at her cheeks felt strange.

His full lips turned down, and his brow arched as he caught her smile. “Ashes? We should keep moving.” He gently tugged at her elbow.

Vynasha pressed cold fingertips to her mouth and shook her head as she followed the prince’s lead.

Snow held its grip over the gardens. What bushes and shrubs lingered were wiry, tangled black things. Grendall guided Vynasha from the narrow lane and around two more turns before she caught her first glimpse of scarlet. She didn’t know she had grabbed Grendall’s hand until she squeezed and heard his grunt.

Their eyes met, and a strange, bubbling laugh escaped her. “Sorry,” she rasped.

Grendall’s confusion faded as he took in her smile and returned it. “Come.”

No birds, no beasts, nothing else lived here anymore save the heartbeat of her roses, the blooms she had coaxed back to life with Grolthox’s permission. Brittle black thorns had torn at her hands that first day she had fallen back into tending the roses, the only beautiful thing that had been left to her after the fire. Years after her mother’s death, Vynasha had tended the rose garden in Whistleande Valley. Roses had been the one certainty in her life since she was a child.

She slipped her hand from Grendall’s and sank to her knees before the bushes. No petals had wilted, yet each bud was in full brilliant bloom. The scent was the musk of earth and desire, with the faintest hint of rust.

“You did well,” Grendall said as he knelt in the snow beside her.

Vynasha touched the petals of the nearest rose. “Remember the night you found me, after I tended these for the first time without gloves?”

“Your hands were a bloody mess. I cannot believe the fool allowed you to prune without proper equipment.” His hand found hers again. They often reached for one another of late.

Vynasha smiled. “You healed me with majik. I thought you hated me.”

Grendall huffed a laugh. “I hated the idea of you, never you.”

She hummed and turned to take in the perfectly pruned row, sorrow welling in her gut. “Hvalla protected them?”

Grendall sighed then stood. “I thought to find her nearby. But yes, she rarely comes inside anymore.”

Vynasha did not miss the guilt churning beneath his words through their bond. She accepted his help as she stood, lacing their fingers together.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.