Chapter 17
Glavior and I walk back to camp with his giant hand wrapped around mine. He stays half a step behind me and I can’t help but smirk as I’m starting to notice little things that he does. He often makes breakfast and makes sure I eat first. He has carried me multiple times because he didn”t want me to get tired. So many tiny little gestures to prove he cares this week and I’m just now noticing them.
When we get into camp, Nox is waiting for us. He walks straight to my side and grabs my free hand. He still looks a bit shocked and his free hand rubs my back, his fingers tracing over the mark on my back, almost petting his mark.
“Little Moon! You’re back!” Cerise smiles wide, winking as he cooks something over the fire. I roll my eyes and drop the other two guys’ hands.
I rush to the water, wanting to rinse the forest floor and sex off of me before I eat. I’m not exactly surprised when Nox swims up beside me, his body more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. It’s like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He seems … free. I’m genuinely happy for him, even if I’m a bit sad he had such a shitty family. I have half a mind to track down his mother and make sure she is dead after this mission.
Nox waves his hand in my face, drawing my attention so he can speak.
Will you come for a swim with me? I need to tell you something, but I don’t want the others to know yet.
I nod, following Nox further into the lagoon. We swim for a few minutes, just enjoying the water. I’m watching the water spirits play with the Kelpies, they seem so much sweeter now that a psycho merman isn’t using them as his personal army, or audience, I can’t quite figure it out.
When the guys are mere dots on the shore, and we’ve reached what I can guess in the middle of the lagoon, Nox stops and turns to face me. I expect his hands to start moving, for him to say whatever it is he doesn’t want the others to know, but what he does is so unexpected. I think I may have drowned if Nox didn’t wrap his arms around me and hold me to his chest.
“I love you.” A deep, raspy voice flows over my body as my eyes watch Nox’s mouth move.
I think I’m in shock.
Nox just spoke! Actually fucking words, from his voice! And the first thing he says after a decade of not being able to speak is that he loves me! He’s been acting like he can’t stand me for the last week, now all of a sudden … HE LOVES ME?!
“You can talk?!” I practically yell at the man, causing him to slap his hand over my mouth.
He is laughing, actually out loud laughing. It sounds like rusty bells, but it is so fucking beautiful. Melodic, but dull and a bit raspy, I guess it makes sense that a Siren whose magic is based on luring in victims would have a beautiful voice, but after ten years of not using it, it”s going to be a bit rough.
“Yes, I can talk. When our bond was forged, the curse my mother put on my vocal cords broke.” He smiles at me, love and awe shining through his blue eyes and making tingles shoot through my body.
I can feel his hard body against mine, the scales on his chest scraping my skin and making gooseflesh pebble on my arms. He is warm, even in the water that’s cooler this far out than it is by the shore. My heart races and my body is starting to heat up again, desperate to feel his touch.
Not now you fucking hussy! We’ve already slept with three guys today! Don’t go turning into a whore! I chastise my newly activated libido, I really shouldn’t have sex with any more of them today.
Yeah, okay, maybe shouldn’t is a strong word.
“I know this is a shock, and completing all five mate bonds in one day is going to be overwhelming, so I don’t want to pressure you. But I’m glad you’re my mate now. I’ll be honest and say at first, I was scared. I didn’t want a mate because I knew my brother would use you against me. But now, he is gone, and if my mother is alive, she is too weak to do anything. So thank you, Killer, for breaking me out of those chains, and accepting me as your mate. I’ll prove to you I deserve to be by your side.”
I stare into his eyes for a second. Watching his emotion play out across his face and trying to shove mine back. I’m not ready to feel any of this yet. Even if my heart has accepted them as my mates, my mind is still hesitant to embrace them. Yes, I’m in denial, yes I know there is no changing what has already been done. But I want to pretend for a bit longer that it isn’t done.
“Whatever, can we please go back? I’m starving and we need to sleep. We’ll be at the keep in two days then the dumb fucker will be dead and we can go home and figure the rest of this shit out.” I try to push out of his arms, but something snags me around the waist, holding me close to his body.
Looking down, I see a blue green tentacle with white suction cups clinging to me. The tiny little pad feels like hundreds of mouths kissing my waist and down my inner thighs. Dirty, dirty thoughts about what can be done with that appendage dances in my mind and my body shakes at all the possibilities. I glance back up at Syrinox’s face and his sexy little smirk pushes the last of my desire to the back of my mind. I huff a sigh and cross my arms, raising one brow in what I know to be a bitchy look.
“We can go back for now, but I want you to know that this isn”t over. We may be bonded, but it hasn’t escaped my notice that we didn’t mate, and that will be rectified … soon, Killer. Very fucking soon.”
Nox leans down and kisses my lips. His forked tongue sweeping into my mouth and stroking mine. Gods, this man is going to be the death of me. I can just imagine him whispering sweet nothings in my ear as he plows into my body and those tentacles dancing behind him now are wrapped around my arms and legs, keeping me still and at his mercy. Fuck!
Groaning, I pull away from the kiss and head back to the shore, using my magic to propel me through the water. Nox signs at me to keep his secret and I nod. It’s his secret to keep and I’m sure he has a reason for not telling his friends the truth right now. I just don’t care enough to ask him what those reasons are. The others are sitting and laying around the fire. Glavior has my clothes laid out on a log close to the fire so when I put them on, they are warm. He also hasn’t taken a bite out of his food, two full plates sitting on the log beside him. Nox never left the lagoon, but the camp is close enough to the water’s edge that he doesn’t seem separated from the rest of us.
We sit around, eating dinner and talking about the mission until the sun is well set and the night creatures start to play. We never talked about the bond I can now feel in my chest, never mention what it means moving forward or what we expect of each other now. It’s like a giant elephant in the forest that we all pretend we can’t see and for now, that works for me. I just want to get this kill over with, then we can have a heart to heart and get the ‘what do we do now’ talk out of the way.
We lay down, letting the fire die out on its own. Syrinox says he will keep watch tonight as he plans to enjoy the water while he can. Glavior wraps his large body around my tiny form, and the twins jostle for the spot in front of me, somehow they both end up with their heads on my stomach with their feet stretched out toward the flames. Dree walks a bit into the forest, he says he wants to shift and talk to the earth around us to see what he finds out about the keep and the Slum. He seems to be in some sort of trance and his skin hardens until he becomes an ashwood tree. I can still make out his face, but the rest of him is just branches, roots and trunk of the tree.
My eyes drift closed as I watch Nox swim, jumping from the water and diving back in. He plays with the water creatures and smiles so wide I can see his teeth glisten in the moonlight. I fall asleep to the image of my mates around me and I can’t help the small smile that forms on my lips. I guess I really am okay with having mates after all.
I’m in the dreamscape. I know this path, I can feel Her creatures around me. The snakes from the pit lead me to her, and I can see her mates surrounding her throne. I’m not sure I’m really ready to see her. After all, we did just kill a few thousand of her creatures and I can’t imagine she is going to be very happy about that.
Still, when a goddess requests your presence, you don’t exactly get to say no.
I walk the path, smiling as rats, snakes, and spiders crawl, walk and slither around me. Bats fly overhead and dip down to play in my hair before shooting into the sky again. Her animals are so loving, and I’ll never complain about getting to play with them when I come to see her. She calls me, summoning me closer. A smile on her beautiful face.
“Daughter of mine! I see you’ve finally accepted my gifts. They do become you, child.”
I fall to my knees, hands stretched out above my head as my chest meets the cold, hard ground. I bow to my Goddess, waiting for her to release me. She gestures, and her snake mate moves forward to help me stand. Rat holds a chair out for me, pushing it under the table across from the Goddess before stepping to her side again. I smile at Her, genuinely happy to see her.
“My Goddess, thank you for having me tonight. Your gifts were unexpected, but I’m sure they will prove themselves useful in due time.”
The Goddess laughs aloud, the space around us seeming to vibrate with her amusement. “Sweet Astrate, you always did have a way with words. Yes, they are made for you. You’ll soon see that it’s often the things we never wanted that have the biggest impact on our lives.”
She smiles lovingly at her mates and I recall the stories Papa used to tell about how hard she fought against accepting her mates. For centuries they tried to earn her love, and eventually, she just couldn’t say no any longer.
“Child, you have a hard kill ahead of you. But if you trust your mates, all will be well. They know what they are doing. Kill the Dragon, and free the children or yours will be next. If you make this kill quicker and efficiently then you can live your life in peace, You’ll have children, mates, your brother and his family. Life will be everything you’ve ever dared to hope for. Go sleep and hurry to finish this fight,”
Goddess Astrate leans forward and kisses me on the lips. I can feel her magic surge around me and I know that she has given me another gift, and knowing the goddess, it isn’t going to be one I’m happy with. I don’t need more magic, and that is typically what her gifts are, more magic. At least at first, I won’t be happy. But trusting my goddess has never led me astray before.