Mother shook her head, her damp silver hair flying wildly. “No. Simple bites would not do this. Even her holding your skin while you exchanged bites wouldn’t do it.”
“I tied it around my neck with my pendant. It was secured pretty well. Covered all of my middle.” She pushed at her ribcage. “Huh. Is it super strong? I could’ve sworn some ribs gave way out there. But they’re fine.”
“It is strong and protects us from most injuries,” I muttered.
“But a pelt wouldn’t protect you without an existing bond or some magic.” Kellin held out a hand for his own pelt.
“I didn’t hurt it. Hope not, at least.” She gave it to him, and he unfolded it, showing her the wide expanse of it. A selkie’s pelt wasn’t like a seal’s skin; it was an irregularly-shaped, solid piece of fur that could serve as a weapon if needed, or used as blanket during intimate ti…Oh fuck.I shifted again, my cock leaking as my mind constructed a quick image of her wrapped in my skin.
“Huh. Don’t know what to tell ya. I needed it to stay on, and it did.” She handed back the mug and patted Goran’s arm. He reluctantly lowered her to the ground, then kneeled beside her and wrapped the robe around her more securely. “Thanks, Gorgeous,” she whispered, before he kissed the back of her hand and moved away to stand closer to the fire.
I wasn’t sure either one of them was aware of how the whole room stilled at their casual intimacy, or that they’d slipped into it at all.
“Anyway, I needed to keep both your skins from washing away, so I guess I got lucky. I’m not sure how the mating thing with Lachlan happened. I promise there was no sex going on, with the ice dragon thing out there trying to crush my ribs.”
“May I check your ribs, mistress?” Alexios kneeled at her side, his hands on her ribcage. She winced as he put gentle pressure on her left side, then sighed. “Not broken, but you might want to wrap these, Mina.”
Mina?A nickname so filled with affection, it was almost a declaration of love.
“Figured as much.” The two of them exchanged a look that held shared history and humor, but I felt her love for him as well. It wasn’t the love I had for Goran or Kellin, the kind between friends or brothers. No, she loved him in a deeper way, secretly.
His back to us all, Goran stopped pacing long enough to mutter, “Ice dragon? Dragons can be killed. I’ll melt the fucker if I have to.” For a split second, as she glanced at him, the lust and love and regret she felt had my eyes stinging, until she packed it away in the next blink.
So many secrets. I thought I’d known who she was.
Clearly, I knew nothing.
“How are Lachlan and I mates, then?” she said, refusing to look at me. “I know we are. And I’d like to know if we can undo it, please. The asshole is peeping at my emotions like they’re his own personal entertainment, and I did not fucking consent to that.”
Somehow, she kept her voice even, her tone bored, but I could feel the surge of unease that got worse as I focused on it. Was she afraid of me?
She grabbed the sides of her head. “Get out,Lachlan.”
“I’m sorry,” I gasped, my brother’s hand already around my throat. “I… I don’t know how to stop it.”
“It can’t be stopped, not if the mating is complete.” Mother’s eyes were wider than I’d ever seen. “The rituals can’t be stumbled into. The bites, maybe. But one of you would have had to declare the mating three times.”
Rada let out a quiet moan. “Fuck me with a cactus vine, I really should’ve taken a vow of silence instead of chast—” Her jaw clicked as she snapped it shut. But every pair of eyes in the room was on her.
“Instead of what?” Goran breathed.
Her cheeks were flushed as she sneered. “Instead of chasing tail all over the continent and ending up accidentally mated to not one, but two selkies. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.”
It was my turn to say ouch, but Kellin said it for me. “Please don’t.” He moved to stand in front of her, then slid down to his knees, ignoring the rest of us. “You may not want me, my queen, but having your blood in my veins, having a claim on you and a chance to win your heart, is more than I’d ever imagined I could hope for in this life.”
My eyes burned, and my heart tightened with some unknowable emotion that flashed and vanished, like a silver fin in the deepest waters. Or was it hers?
“I thought you didn’t like me,” she whispered.
“You left me speechless from the first moment. I always admired you. You took my breath away.” Kellin’s eyes shone as he looked up at her, and his cheeks flushed a deeper hue of brown. “Please don’t regret me, Rada. Give me the chance to show you I’m worthy. Give me this month. If you have another mate, I’ll learn to share. Even if it’s my younger brother.” She almost smiled at that. “Even if you have a hundred more.”
Mother laughed. Rada made a sign to ward against evil, forming the crescent moon with one hand over her forehead.
“Six more,” I breathed, the voice I’d heard when I was dead echoing in my thoughts, like a silver bell chiming miles away, across the sea. Only Alexios heard me, and he merely tilted his head, looking at me more intently than he had before.
Rada reached down with both hands, trying and failing to pull my brother to his feet. “You are worthy, Kellin. Trust me, you’re far more worthy than I am of you. It’s just… I have a mission. I have no choice but to fulfill it.” For some reason, she pressed against a spot between her breastbone and her belly, like it pained her. “I’m not sure what’ll happen when I get to my next… job. But it won’t be fun, and it will definitely be dangerous.” She cupped his chin and smiled at him. “I don’t want to drag you down.”
“I would swim the deepest trench in the sea for you, Rada. Let me earn my place at your side.” He turned her hand over and kissed her wrist. “Starting tonight?”
