Chapter 256

• [Carnelia]
• Last time I fell through the void, I was trying to find Primus through the link of love forged between us as mates. I had been following the cord of connection that binds us, but somewhere, in the darkness, I lost the trail. Maybe it’s because this body is so fresh, and unlike my last two incarnations, has never felt a physical connection. My mate has never touched this skin, caressed this flesh, nor lost himself inside my core. Our souls know one another; they always will, but this shell hasn’t tasted the salt of his skin. The connection isn’t deep enough.
• “Maybe I should focus on my children,” I say softly, reaching up to touch my earrings. But my fingers find nothing but smooth flesh, without a single trace of piercing. My fingers are also bare of the mating ring Primus had placed on my finger on the beach of Vatra Island on the night he claimed me as his wife and princess.