“We told you that the point of the ritual was for them totake physical form so they could be together for one night out of the year,” he explains. “If I had realized how naïve you were, I would have spelled it out for you.” His brow arches.
“I’m not naïve; it was just never explained to me explicitly! Forgive me for not putting two and two together after being thrown into a world where everything is upside down, and my brain is already fried from the insane plot twists that just keep popping up around every corner. You expect me to be thinking straight? I’m surprised I haven’t completelysnappedyet! You should have spelled it out for me. I was completely blindsided,” I fume. “Would you really have whored me out just to access my magic?” My gaze shifts between the two of them.
“No, of course not. I’m so sorry.” Zadyn looks sick to his stomach. “That wasn’t?—”
“You’re right,” Jace cuts in. “We should have been more direct. But we knew you’d be given a choice in the matter. It wasn’t up to us to decide for you. Aerill presented you with that choice, and you chose. Clearly, you didn’t accept,” Jace says.
“No. I didn’t. She promised me magic for what she wanted me to do, and I said no. Sorry for botching your plan,” I say a touch bitterly.
“That wasn’t our plan,” Jace explains, leaning forward. “We had no intention of you accepting her offer. To be frank, I thought there was little chance she would even appear to you. We just hoped that the tea would trigger your magic. When you came out of that cave, you were stronger.”
“Faster, too,” Zadyn says.
“That was from the tea?” I ask.
“Well, yes, the tea readies your body to receive Aerill and to?—”
“It turns you on,” I supply for Zadyn.
He nods gratefully. “It enhances things.”
“Oh, it certainly did.”
“Those effects are temporary, but we hoped it would act as a catalyst for you.”
“They could have been permanent if I wasn’t caught so off guard,” I say bitterly.
“Would you have said yes to her otherwise?” Jace angles himself toward me. “Correct me if I’m wrong in saying this, Zadyn, but neither of us had any intention of you whoring yourself out for magic. Trust me, if you had said yes to Aerill, the two of us would have put a very abrupt end to the experiment.”
My eyebrows knit together as I try to unpack that statement.
“We would have never allowed you to go through with it,” Jace says, golden eyes searing into me. “We only wanted to see if the tea could trip your magic.”
“And what if she had forced me?” I counter.
“She cannot force you. It only works if you consent,” Jace says simply.
I glance between the two of them.
“I’m still pissed at you two.”
“We’re still pissed at you,” Jace says with a shrug.
“If I had known I was going to be a sex demon when I walked out of that cave, I would have chained myself up.Thatyou could have at least warned me about.” I cross my arms, cringing at the memory of how I behaved.
“We tried to tell you, but you were rather determined.” Jace chuckles. My cheeks heat, and I bury my face in my hands, thinking of Zadyn trying to pry my hands from his body.
But Jace?
When I crashed into him, he kissed me back with a ferocity to rival my own. The small cut on his lip is enough to send a new flash of emotion through me—a cocktail of desire and shame and secret satisfaction.
“I know it’s no excuse,” I begin again, “but I really wasn’t myself.”
“We know,” Zadyn says.
“No, you don’t. Aside from throwing myself at both of you, I said things I didn’t mean. Terrible things that were completely unwarranted. I was just frustrated and riding high on the tea.”
Zadyn studies his hands. “I know. It’s okay. And I’m sorry for not being more direct with you. We both are. It won’t happen again.” He looks at me sheepishly. I give him a small smile.
