Stark Leora - The Binding Trilogy 1 - Someone To Depend On(1).pdf

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The Binding: Someone to Depend On | Leora Stark
2
D EAR Reader,
Despite all evidence to the contrary, this is not a fairy
tale. While it’s impossible to deny the presence of (at least)
one fairy in this story, he simply isn’t the kind of fairy you
might be used to encounteringin any sense of the word. It’s
also rather impossible to deny that this story may (spoiler
alert!) have a happy ending. And, okay, while there is a fair
amount of magicboth the very earthly (but no less
astonishing) magic involved in falling in love and the kind of
magic that enables people to fly, become invisible, and live in
a supernatural realmI can assure you that no one is
galloping off into the sunset at any point in this story, there
will not be any magic curse-induced sleeping going on, nor
will there any frogs, crowns, capes, or other fairy-tale
paraphernalia.
A line has been drawn.
So, we have established that this is not a fairy tale.
What is it, then?
A story about learning to admit the truth about yourself.
A story about figuring out your life’s purpose.
A story of heartbreak.
A fantasy.
A story about two people having the best sex of their
lives.
A comedy (okay, this might be a bit of a stretch, but
there are jokes).
And, most importantly, a love story.
Still interested? Okay, then.
Once upon a time in a land far, far away….
The Binding: Someone to Depend On | Leora Stark
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Chapter One
B ERO dangled his long legs over the side of the cliff and
stared down over Asgard, his eyes sweeping across the
frozen land and over the Vindlings, the crystalline spires that
marked the center of his homeland. Whereas humans would
be blinded by the wintery sunlight reflecting off every
surface, Bero didn’t even need to squint, his purple irises
almost engulfing the pinprick of black pupil at their centers.
Lately he’d been coming here almost every day to think or, as
his friends suggested, to mope. None of them could
understand why he insisted on spending so much time
alone. Why waste so much time thinking when your path in
life was so clearly laid out?
His people, the Felan, were a race of fairies sent to Earth
periodically to serve as protectors or aides to individual
humans. They could be likened to fairy godmothers (or
godfathers), but most Felan bristled at the implication they
were anything like the sprightly old ladies described in
human fairy tales.
The Felan were generally a happy people, content to
spend their free time in the sulfurous baths that dotted the
countryside or drinking ice wine until the Landsting (the
council of twelve who ruled over all of Asgard) called them to
enter into a Behovet. The Behovet, which translates roughly
to “need binding,” was what every Felan lived for; it’s why
they existed in the first place, or so the founding mythology
The Binding: Someone to Depend On | Leora Stark
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told them….
The problem was that Bero didn’t want to enter into a
Behovet. Not this time. Maybe not ever again.
Bero sighed as he spotted two small dots approaching
though the air. He hadn’t been able to hide for long. He knew
who it would be: Luka, his lifelong friend and occasional
thorn in his side; and Rilke, Luka’s… well, hanger-on.
Rilke was much younger than either Bero or Luka.
Though she was roughly thirty-five in human years, she was
still considered a teenager by the Felan, since they aged at
half the rate humans did. Rilke had just finished her
training in the Anstalt, the institution in which all Felans
had to undergo a grueling process of initiation before they
could enter into their first Behovet with a human. Rilke had
done spectacularly well there, passing through each
simulated binding with flying colors. She’d almost matched
Bero’s record for time spent bringing each simulation to a
successful dissolution. Despite her stellar performance, Rilke
refused to discuss her initiation. In fact, she avoided the
topic so studiously Bero and others had quickly taken the
hint and stopped asking her about it. After graduation, she’d
latched onto the handsome and charismatic Luka almost
immediately, despite the fact that his inclinations clearly ran
elsewhere.
“Still moping?” Luka asked as he landed next to Bero
with a graceful flourish of his wings.
“He’s not moping, Luka,” Rilke said, swatting the raven-
haired man next to her. “He’s just… contemplating things.
Right, Bero?” She shot him a sympathetic look.
“Right, yeah. Contemplating things. Not moping. What’s
The Binding: Someone to Depend On | Leora Stark
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to mope about? I mean, life’s good. My last few bonds have
gone really well. The council’s happy with me. The weather’s
great…,” Bero said unconvincingly.
“Seriously, man. What is your problem? You’ve been like
this ever since you returned from your last binding. Did
something happen?” Luka asked, a note of real concern in
his voice.
“No. It’s not… well, it’s nothing like that. My last bond
went well. I mean it was tricky. Kathy, my bond, she had a
rough time of it.” He allowed himself a small smile of
satisfaction as he considered the positive changes he’d been
able to help Kathy make.
Kathy had been diagnosed with cancer, and then when
the medical bills stacked up, her husbandalready prone to
depressionhad killed himself, leaving her and her two
teenage children alone. Bero had provided the emotional
support she needed as she was transferred back home,
allowing her to, in turn, be the support system for her
children. He’d lent her small amounts of energy and helped
her find meaningful employment. He’d also kept the house
clean, done the cooking, and generally kept things running
smoothly for her so she could concentrate on getting better.
He was genuinely proud of that.
“It’s just, well, don’t you ever want anything different?
Anything, I don’t know, for yourself?” Bero knew he was
going out on a limb as he said this. It was the first time he’d
tried to vocalize what it was that was bothering him. It had
taken him a while to figure it out himself.
Luka and Rilke looked at him blankly.
“What do you mean?” Rilke said wonderingly.

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