“When you’re done flirting, we can begin,” Ronen barked, right as Rune came barreling out of the Veil Forest and into Alexei, knocking him on his ass.
“You know, Ro, I see a boxing match in our future—along with an interesting conversation.” Alexei lay on the snowy ground, spread-eagled.
Ronen strode over, stepping above his head. “It will be a pleasure to rough you up a bit, Lex,” he challenged, holding out a hand.
Alexei took it, and Ronen brought him up, both of them pulling each other in for an aggressive embrace and back slap.
“Don’t forget about the conversation.”
Ronen smacked him harder. “No words need to be said.” Then he released him and turned to me. “Did you think any more about your Glory?”
I opened my mouth, and my thoughts fluttered away to the library—his fingers tracing my thighs, his hand over my chest, brushing my nipples.
“Lucille?” he prompted.
Heat spread up my neck. Heavenly Hell, this was so much easier when we ran. At least then I had Oliver and Alexei between us.
“Kind of,” I mumbled. “But I don’t understand how Michael is a part of it. I wasn’t thinking about him when I erupted yesterday. I was just… scared.”
“They aren’t just related—they’re intertwined. You fear your Glory because of him. You were taught not to accept them. But our powers are created to protect us, so every time you’re scared, they signal to you, and your fear doubles, making them erupt without your control. You’ve been conditioned into a dangerous cycle.”
I crossed my arms. “I accept them. I just can’t control them.”
Ronen took a step toward me, raising a dark brow. “Then why’d you scream?”
What did that have to do with anything?
“I was scared.”
“That was not a scream of fear. That was a scream of pain,” Alexei said, lightly touching my arm.
Rune pressed close to my side, licking my hand as if trying to comfort me.
I shrugged them off, stepping back and bouncing my gaze between the three males. “So? You’re saying your powers never hurt?”
Alexei shook his head. Ronen’s lips pressed into a soft, sympathetic frown.
“Oliver, you puke after you use your power,” I said, bringing him into this.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, but that’s a hazard of living through someone’s worst fear, not me rejecting my powers. I don’t scream like I’m being ripped apart.”
“It always hurts that much, doesn’t it?” Ronen’s words were less of a question and more of a statement.
I nodded, tightening my arms around my body.
A hint of sadness clouded Alexei’s crystal-blue eyes, his brow momentarily furrowing. I couldn’t tell if it was pity, sympathy, or both. Oliver stared at me with a similar gaze, shifting like he wanted to hug me.
“Stop looking at me like that. I’ve been through things. I bet we all have.”
Alexei flicked his attention to Ronen, then back to me. “Yes, but you’re the second person I’ve ever met who had such extreme consequences to rejecting your powers.” He took my hands in his and squeezed them, a gentle awe overcoming his words. “We are taught upon creation to cherish them, honor them. They are our sacred right to use to protect people.”
He beseeched me with his searching, kind eyes. There were no winks, no playfulness twinkling in his face. This was a male who wasproud of what he was,whohe was. This was a male who had accepted himself and wanted to help others do the same. Alexei wasn’t just a flirty playboy. The passion and confidence pushing back his shoulders and moving through his face showed me another reason why Ronen made him his second.
“Your Glory is a beautiful gift. Don’t let that sick bastard influence you to punish yourself with it.”
My gaze fell to our boots. “Did that speech work on the first person you met with this problem?”
“No, it didn’t,” Ronen stated.
