7 #3
“And no,” Seren continues. “This isn’t like, medieval times or something, where you’re going to be married off without your consent. But I think…”
She hesitates, and all the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on-end.
Who is this witch, and what has she done with Seren?
In all the years I’ve known my sister, I haven’t known her like this. Softer. More peaceful. Careful and measured in a way she’s never been before.
She lets out a breath before she finishes. “I think the Goddess knows what she’s doing. With all of this. The mate stuff, I mean.”
It doesn’t make me feel any better.
It especially doesn’t make me feel any better to hear how sincerely Seren says it.
Maybe she’s been body-snatched.
Maybe this isn’t even my sister talking, or maybe the mate bond causes brain damage of some sort.
Part of me wants to interrogate her a little more, ask her a few questions about our childhood so she can prove she is who she says she is, but I am at least sane enough to refrain from doing that.
Seren’s not brainwashed.
She’s just in love.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to choke back all the arguments I want to make.
The last thing I need to do is try to tear down the life she’s built for herself or to poke holes in the concept of a mate bond that’s obviously made her and Callum very happy together.
Not that it needs to do the same for me.
“Maybe,” I mutter, because I can’t think of anything else to say.
Whether it’s enough to fool her, or whether she’s just not interested in arguing anymore, Seren reaches over and gives my arm a squeeze.
“Just give it some time,” she says. “You might be surprised.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumble, then change the subject. “Will I be seeing you around court at least, while I’m here?”
The question seems to surprise her.
And fine, fair enough.
Seren and I haven’t exactly spent any quality time together since she left the coven. At least not beyond a few tense conversations or the brief times we’ve run into each other at our parents’ house.
Or when I saved her from dying from Faerie-mushroom induced anaphylaxis, but I don’t really think that counts.
“No,” she says slowly, shaking her head. “I won’t be. Callum and I are leaving this afternoon for another job.”
“Job?”
She flashes me a crooked grin. “Bounty hunting. It was Callum’s thing before he met me, and now that he—”
“Has a witch with crazy good seeking powers?”
“Exactly. Now that he’s got me, we’re basically unstoppable.” She puts her hands on her hips, filled with her trademark cocky confidence. “We’ll be back, though. Maybe in a week or so.”
“Alright,” I say. “Maybe we… maybe we can catch up when you’re here again? If I’m still here.”
“Sure we can,” she says, though there’s still some doubt in the words. She covers it with another grin. “Plus, Callum and I always stay with Finn when we’re at court, so I’m sure he’ll be around, too. You know, if you change your mind about getting to know him.”
I roll my eyes, and she nods toward the door.
“I should get going. Lots to pack before we leave.” She heads in that direction, and I try to ignore the pinch of disappointment in my chest that this was all the time we had.
“I’m not staying forever, though,” I call after her, because I am physically incapable of not ruining a moment with my sister. “In the demon realm, I mean. I’m still going back for my Ascension. So… this thing with Finn, it wouldn’t work out, anyway.”
Instead of rising to the bait and having another argument about my imminent Ascension, Seren just turns back to me and smiles.
Somehow, that’s worse.
“You say that now, but I bet yesterday you would have said you’d never run away from the coven hall and come here.”
It’s a direct hit.
Right to the chest. Right to the aching, sick, guilty part of me that knows what I did today was wrong, knows it makes me a damn coward.
And an ass, for taking all that guilt and shame and using it to antagonize my sister.
Seren goes, and I’m left alone.
Well, alone except for Vayla, who’s been politely pretending not to eavesdrop on my conversation with Seren.
I drift back over to the grimoire, but I can’t make my eyes focus on the tiny lines of text. I can’t really make myself do much of anything, actually, other than stew in my own thoughts.
“How’s the work going?” Vayla asks a few minutes later, coming to stand next to me.
“I got… a bit done. But I’m not sure how much more useful I’m going to be today.”
“Maybe you just need some sleep?” Vayla tactfully suggests. “You look a little, uh, tired.”
She’s right.
After my stint making the dreamsbane and the rest of today’s chaos, sleep sounds like the best thing in any of the thirteen realms.
Maybe everything will look different after a nap.
Maybe I’ll wake up with a clear head, feeling more like myself, and know what to do about… all of this.
Or, maybe I’ll wake up and I’ll still be here in the demon realm, with my Ascension waiting for me back home, and a big, blond, handsome demon mate who looks at me like he’s been waiting lifetimes to find me.
Still, a nap couldn’t hurt.