Chapter 17 #3
Mother shrieked so loud, I was convinced one of my neighbors would call the police, jumping back dramatically into Valor’s arms. Riot lounged on the couch like he didn’t have a care in the world, ankle resting over his knee, arms spread along the back of the cushions.
His only response to Mother’s piercing greeting was a slight twitch of his eyebrow as he stared up at them, red and purple eyes on display.
He was the picture of bored arrogance, and his nonchalance settled some of the panic that was building in me, threatening to spiral out of control.
“ Grace ,” Mother hissed. “There’s a daimon in your apartment.” She pointed a shaky finger at Riot like I couldn’t see him. Valor quickly stepped in front of her like a shield, and I suppressed an inappropriate giggle.
“This is Riot. Riot, this is my mother, Faith, and one of my fathers, Valor.”
Maybe if I stayed calm, everyone else would stay calm too?
“What is he doing here?” Valor growled. Sugar , if only Chance had been the one accompanying Mother today. He was far more reasonable.
“He’s…well, I’m pretty sure he’s my soul bond. One of my soul bonds,” I corrected, tipping my chin up like I wasn’t terrified of saying the words out loud. “He is my soul bond,” I repeated with more conviction.
“That is ludicrous .” Mother’s voice was as angry as I’d ever heard it, even if it was barely above a whisper. “You cannot believe that.”
“I cannot lie,” I countered, defensiveness rushing to the fore. Not for me, but for Riot . Of the judgments she was making of him, written clearly all over her face.
“Daimons do not have soul bonds,” Valor gritted out. He reached for me like he was about to pull me behind him too, but Riot was suddenly there, both arms banded around my waist, pulling me back against his chest.
“Don’t touch her,” Riot growled menacingly, his mouth just an inch away from my ear. A shiver ran down my spine that had nothing to do with fear.
His possessiveness was entirely daimonic, and I adored it.
“Grace,” Mother warned, eyes flinty as she glared around Valor’s back. “Come here.”
“No,” I replied, baffled that she would even suggest it. “Yes, Riot is a daimon and that is…unusual. He’s still mine though. Our souls are intertwined. It’s no different to—”
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” Mother warned. “It is nothing like a soul bond between agathos. We should have never let you move out here. Has this been going on the whole time? Is that why you moved here?”
“What? No, I only met him last week, after the baby shower. Maybe I wanted to live in Milton because I felt some kind of call, I don’t know—”
“You did not feel the call, because he is not your soul bond,” Mother snarled, and I recoiled against Riot at the venom in her tone.
“You will come back to Auburn with us,” Valor demanded. “You will go straight to the temple for cleansing, then you will beg forgiveness from the Basilinna and the Elders and ask that they bring your outreach trip forward.”
“No,” I replied incredulously. “I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to do any of that. How could you think I would?”
Riot gave me an infinitesimal squeeze, and I felt his pride in me stroking gently at my skin.
“You have ruined yourself. Our life. Our reputation.” Mother’s words cut like knives, but they always did.
The difference was, now I had someone standing at my back who would never let me suffer alone, and that made each blow easier to defend, each wound more painless to heal. “Think of your reputation, Grace!”
“I don’t think it’s my reputation you’re worried about,” I replied flatly. “I’m not sure it ever has been.”
“If you don’t come with us…” Mother began, indecision warring in her eyes for a moment before they hardened. “Then that’s it.”
“What’s it?” I asked, leaning further back into Riot as his arms tightened around me.
“We can’t let you in our home if you’re knowingly continuing a relationship with a daimon,” Valor said tightly. “This is a curse. You have displeased Anesidora. If you are not willing to repent and seek cleansing, we cannot help you. We cannot risk this infection spreading.”
“Ah, there’s that agathos compassion I’ve heard so much about,” Riot muttered, his fury licking at my skin.
“He’s not a curse. This isn’t a curse,” I said quietly, impressed at how steady my voice was when I felt like raging, the darkness in me rising in response to my anger. “But if you’d like me to stay away, I will respect your wishes. I would ask that you not say anything for now—”
Mother made a noise of a disagreement in the back of her throat, but I forged on.
“—as we are still seeking out the goddess’ wisdom in this matter.” It was the absolute barest minimum of truth I could scrape out.
My parents looked at me in silence for a long moment, probably reading each other’s feelings the same way I was reading Riot’s, except they were fully bonded and I imagined it would be more seamless.
“We will always do what is best for you, Grace,” Valor said coldly, ushering my enraged mother out of the apartment without a second glance.
“That wasn’t a yes,” Riot murmured, his anger morphing into concern.
“No,” I managed to get out around the lump in my throat. “It wasn’t.”