Mabel settled onto the estate's stone steps despite her injury, closing her eyes and drawing several long, deliberate breaths while I knelt beside her, uncertain what role I was meant to play in whatever she was attempting beyond simply being present.
I need you to think of Ronan, she said quietly, without opening her eyes. Not generally, not the way you'd describe him to a stranger. Specifically. The bond between you. Focus on it the way you did during Marcus's healing, that same warmth, that same connection.
I closed my eyes, letting myself sink into memory, the weight of Ronan's hand in mine on the temple steps, the warmth of his mouth against mine beneath moonlight, the steady certainty of the bond humming between us even now, stretched thin across distance but undeniably present.
G
