Free Broken Aro (The Broken Ones) by Jen Wylie

do magic?"
    "Sort of. You could say part of me is magic. The
Were use it more, changing forms. The Elves have their powers."
    She interrupted him warily, "Are you going to do
something strange again?"
    He was silent for a very long time. "We Fey have
a special magic. A magic of the heart and soul. A magic of…binding…of promise
and intent. Do you understand?"
    "No idea at all," she admitted.
    "I want you to know how serious I am about
protecting you, and I want you to know it's not just because of your father. I
like you, Aro. I want us to be friends."
    "I sort of thought we were heading that way
already."
    "But I can make it binding . Forever.
Forever friends. No matter what."
    She considered about what he said, who'd he suddenly
become to her. He was her brother, her father had believed in him, but
still...she hesitated. "Would it hurt?"
    "Of course not," he said incredulously. "It's
words and a little magic. That's all."
    "Sure," she said impulsively. "What are
the words?"
    Her answer seemed to have surprised him. He took a
moment before answering. "In friendship I shall bind my heart and soul to
yours. Forever beside you I shall stand. Together or apart always will I be
with you. Eternal friends we shall ever be."
    Her throat tightened as tears came to her eyes at his
words. "That's beautiful," she finally managed to whisper.
    His warm hand closed around hers. "I don't know
really, if it would work, you being human. I don't think it's ever been done
with one before. But, if you would like to, for you I would say these words and
even if there was no binding, I would still mean every word."
    To have a friend forever. No matter what. To not be
alone through all of this...She nodded her head frantically as tears splashed
down her face. "Yes."
    "Yes?" He seemed startled she had accepted. "Are
you sure? It's not something to be taken lightly, Aro."
    She squeezed his hands. "I want to. Tell me what
to do."
    "Very well." He sounded immensely pleased. Again,
she could almost see him grinning. He shifted himself until he sat in front of
her and took her hands and placed them palm to palm to his, raised between
them. "I'm doing the eye thing again," he warned her, and suddenly
she could see them, glowing faintly.
    A little gasp escaped her as she actually looked at
them. "They're beautiful," she murmured.
    He chuckled, and ducked his head for a moment, clearly
embarrassed. "Thank you," he said shyly. "Now look into my eyes
and repeat after me." He said the words again, and she repeated them after
him. Not once did she make a mistake. It surprised even her.
    Staring into his golden eyes as she spoke, his hands
warm against hers, sent her heart pounding. She wasn't alone anymore. As the
last word fell from her lips she smiled slightly. It hadn't been too bad…
    She gasped suddenly, as his hands suddenly became
warmer. Much warmer.
    "Don't look away," he murmured, as she was
just about to do so.
    She stared into his eyes as the warmth spread from his
hands into hers, and then rushed through her entire body. It didn't hurt; it
didn't feel bad at all.
    He was smiling softly and her eyes widened as she
noticed this. She could see. Little lights danced around them both, like
tiny fireflies. A few moments passed before the lights settled onto them both
like little motes of dust and the faint light faded away.
    She blinked in the darkness. His eyes had gone out,
too. She took in a shaky breath. "That was so strange."
    His fingers gently entwined through hers. "It
didn't hurt did it?"
    "No. I feel…wonderful. Warm." She paused a
moment. "Does that mean it worked?"
    "I would think so," he replied in amusement.
"I've never done it before, but something certainly happened."
    "Indeed," she agreed.
    "Aro, don't tell anyone about this. Not about us
being friends," he added quickly, "About what we just did, I mean."
    She paused and bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn't have
agreed so quickly and should have asked more questions. "Why?"
    A little