“We thought things might change once Nerissa was in charge, but then she declared Nikos was an enemy of the crownbecause he was pregnant and mated to a non-Aquilian. We knew it wasn’t going to be different, so we continued our plans for the coup, just changed our main target, but then Nixie was imprisoned, and I knew I had to save her.”
Hurricane is staring at my sister like the sun shines out of her ass, and something starts to roll around inside my brain. Before I can voice my thoughts, though, Lila says something that makes my heart skip a beat.
“How long have you known she was your mate?” Lila asks, and he turns to stare at her with open-mouthed astonishment. I am also looking at my mate in shock, unable to compute what she is saying.
“I’m your mate?” Nixie asks, staring at him with such surprise and no small amount of longing.
“Like hell he’s your mate!” I jump to my feet, slamming my hands on the table. “Aquilians don’t have mates. We choose who we want to be with.” I don’t have any problem with my sister being with my best friend if that is what she wants, but it has to be her decision. Our parents already tried to take that choice out of her hands, and I won’t do the same thing.
“Nikos,” Lila cautions and waves a hand to get me to sit back down. I do as she asks, but I won’t take my eyes off my friend who still hasn’t answered my sister.
“We don’t get a choice of who our mates are,” Zeydan says quietly.
“But Gigi chose my grandpas because she was reborn as a Skarrian, so why shouldn’t it be the same for Hurricane?” Lila argues.
Zeydan bites his lip, and he shakes his head. “I don’t know exactly how it works, but I did ask her about that, and she claims that even once she regained memories of her past life, she still felt like all three of them were her mates and that she hadn’t made a mistake.” He pauses for a moment, like he’s thinkingabout what he should share. “I hope you will keep this between us, but Aarin confided in me that Mark is his mate, which is why he insisted on accompanying them to the circus. Mark’s parents are aware that he is the god of air. He didn’t die and wasn’t reborn, he just changed his name to fit into their society and confided in the royals when he knew they were trustworthy.”
“Holy shit,” Lila mutters as Xavier waves a hand, and I feel magic settle over me.
“Hey,” Tirrian growls at the warlock who just waves him off impatiently.
“Just a little geis so that that information isn’t shared by accident.” He’s looking at the two teenagers in the room, and I understand his line of thought. I guess Tirrian gets it too, because he relaxes again.
I turn my attention back to my sister and best friend, and they stare at each other with stars in their eyes. Hurri holds Nixie’s hand like she’s the most precious thing in the world to him. I kind of thought my sister was more into females than males, even though I know she has had relationships with both. Lila is frowning, and I guess she has the same thoughts.
“How do you feel about that, Nixie?” she asks, biting her lip with worry.
“Like I’m the luckiest mer in the world. I had given up my crush on Hurri years ago because I thought he saw me as an annoying little sister.” My sister sighs as Hurri leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to her lips. I want to gag, but I control myself and instead turn to look at my own mate so I don’t have to watch such a gross sight.
“But you said you leaned more toward females,” Lila argues, wanting to make sure Nixie really is on board with the mate stuff.
They must stop kissing, because my sister answers. “Usually I do, but Hurri was always the exception. I crushed on him sohard when I was a teenager, but I didn’t have the guts to make a move because he was also our best friend.” When I look back, she’s gesturing to me. “I loved my brother too much to ruin the one friendship he seemed to value over everything else.”
My eyes fill with tears at her sacrifice, and the rest of my anger seeps away. How can I begrudge them any of this?
“I wouldn’t stop you from pursuing anything with another if that is your desire. I want your happiness more than anything, and I am not as unenlightened as many of the races of the universe,” my friend assures my sister.
“We can talk about this later,” she promises him.
“Well, okay then,” Lila claps her hands together. “I guess it’s welcome to the circus. Will you all be willing to perform in the show?” She looks to the four new arrivals, and Nixie and Hurricane both nod.
“Yes. We talked about this during our journey here. We should be able to rework the performance so it still catches people’s imagination.” Nixie looks at me. “Especially if we have my niece and nephew involved as well. When can I meet them?” she asks and puts out her hands, making grabby motions.
“I’m not sure they are ready for the show quite yet, and they just finished a swim in the pool when your ship hailed us, but we can go to our suite, and I can introduce you if you want.” I stand up and look at my wife, who gives me a small encouraging nod. She knows how much I have longed to have my twin meet our babies.
“What about you two?” Saxon’s attention turns to Hurricane’s sisters, who have remained quiet this whole time. “Are you going to want to perform in the show?”
“Will we get paid?” Storm asks. Her hair is a darker shade than her sister’s, and she is the feistier one of the two. Tempest is gentler and quieter, and usually lets Storm do all the talking for her.
Tirrian chuckles and gives her an approving nod. Of course the dragon would support that kind of question. “Yes, of course, all our performers do. You will also be expected to attend lessons and continue your education.”
“And where will we live?” Storm asks, crossing her arms. I smother my grin at her negotiation.
“Well, there is the Aquilian habitat that still has the two homes in it. Nikos and Nixie’s and the one the other pod used,” Brannock points out.
“Good, because we do not want to live with our brother if he is going to be doing that all the time.” Storm points at Hurricane and Nixie, who are kissing again, and I wrinkle my nose.
“I understand completely. I don’t see why you couldn’t live in one while they live in the other.”
