Chapter Text
Petranne held back the impulse to sigh as she spotted the list that had been slipped in among her paperwork for the week. She’d been expecting it, but that didn’t mean she was happy to see it.
The Hunt was fast approaching—due to start in the next two weeks—which meant that there were renewed pushes and efforts for her to consider bonding.
Well, bonding to a Submissive or Alpha, that was. She was technically bonded, but not in any way that would satisfy her parents or the Earth Courts.
The list she had been given of the suitable Submissives, Alphas, and Circles possibly hunting was relatively short, despite it being longer than the list she had received during the previous Hunt.
Still, like last time, there was no name that caught her attention for longer than it took to read the name.
Maybe she was broken. After all, she’d never had the urge to Hunt, to find a Circle to settle into. Her parents’ Circle had always been a bit too overbearing and smothering for her tastes—way too many Pareya, so many to the point it had been designated as a Pareyic Coven. She definitely didn’t want that sort of Circle for herself.
She wasn’t sure she wanted any sort of Circle for herself, to be honest. She would be content to claim Solitary for herself and her soul-bonded Joker, but they’d already had that particular discussion and decided that it wasn’t worth the scandal that would ensue after such an announcement.
Not this century, anyways.
Petranne scanned the short list again and this time didn’t bother holding back her sigh when she realized why it was so short—like the last five times, it was limited to High Nobles in the Earth Courts and everyone on it was either an Earth element or Nameless with a strong Earth affinity.
Understandable, given her own element was Earth, but also frustrating because she’d repeatedly said that she would be fine looking outside of her element.
“Tansy,” she called, setting down the sheet of paper on her desk.
Almost immediately, the door to the small study opened and a dark-haired Gheyo stepped inside, closing the door behind her.
As soon as the latch clicked, Petranne held out her arms in a silent request for a hug. She hummed wearily when strong, muscular arms wrapped tightly around her and she could bury her face in Tansy’s neck.
“Stressing already?” the Joker asked knowingly. “My poor soul. Bite or drink?”
“Bite,” Petranne answered and her hum took on a happier tone when blunt fangs sunk into her shoulder a few seconds later, her body practically going boneless with relief.
For a few minutes, the pair just sat together in silence, even after Tansy withdrew her fangs and licked the spot gently to heal the marks left behind.
“I got the list today,” Petranne eventually muttered, resting her forehead against Tansy’s armored shoulder. There really was no need to elaborate, because both of them had been anticipating this particular document for a few weeks now.
“Ah,” Tansy murmured in understanding, her golden eyes steady. Petranne’s parents hadn’t been particularly pleased upon the discovery that their youngest daughter was soul-bonded to a Gheyo of all ranks—and one of her own guards at that, which crossed all sorts of professional boundaries—but they’d largely kept their opinions to themselves because Tansy, like Petranne, was an Earth elemental and had grown up in the Earth Courts. “Day out?” she suggested.
“You don’t mind?” Petranne asked quietly, a hopeful edge to her voice.
“Nothing wrong in taking a day for yourself,” Tansy replied. “I think even a certain cousin of yours would say that you should take more time off.”
Petranne blushed at the slight admonishment, especially because she knew it was true—knew that things were bad when even Raspen, the literal king of the Earth element, thought that she worked too much. Raspen, who regularly had such long days that it wasn’t an infrequent occurrence for his own Bonded Circle to step in and drag him home for some much needed rest and relaxation. They came often enough that Petranne could greet them by name, even the Gheyos, who tended to be away on missions more often than not.
In a way, she envied her cousin because a soul-bonded Circle sounded like such a wondrous gift, even in her limited experience. After several Hunts and unsuccessful courtships, Petranne was inclined to only consider bonding if there were soul-bonds involved.
On the other hand, even if there were soul-bonds involved, she still probably wouldn’t act on them if the names were as high profile as Raspen’s ended up being. Like most Earth Royals, she liked her privacy. She especially liked being able to go out in public and be treated as a Beta or Rheyo, instead of being recognized as a Royal.
“We can make a date of it,” Tansy continued. “Grab a late breakfast, go to the library or spend the day shopping.”
Petranne perked up at the suggestion. “Shopping?” she echoed. “Any kind of shopping?”
There was a knowing look in Tansy’s golden eyes. “Shopping,” she repeated. “I need to pick up a few things for myself, but other than that, we can go wherever you want.”
“So… book shopping?” Petranne clarified. She hated shopping for clothes or doing everyday type of shopping, but new books were always something she could make an exception for. “You’re going to regret saying that.”
Tansy simply smiled and pressed a kiss to the other woman’s forehead.