“Painful?” Sin asked in a low growl, the single word threatening violence against any who might harm me.
I gave him a determined look. “It’s okay, Sin. I want this. Whatever it takes.”
His eyes narrowed, but he reluctantly resumed his position against the doorframe, grumbling under his breath in Rivellan.
“Please continue,” I said to Corym and closed my eyes.
While I waited for something to happen, my mind drifted off toward thoughts of Sin. There had been a moment after my third, maybe fourth, orgasm of the evening when I had been so completely and utterly sated that the idea of me even movingwas laughable. I'd been so wrapped up in him that I forgot about my scars on full display.
Until he pressed gentle kisses along my back. “You should never be ashamed of this, Rain,” he’d said. “Scars are not evidence of weakness. They are evidence that you have endured more than most, and yet you remain standing. Evidence that you cannot, will not, be broken. Wear them as a badge of honor.”
It was another reason that I didn’t deserve him, and yet I clung to it. This idea that I was not broken, but instead had been forged into something stronger. It was a beautiful lie, but so long as he believed it, maybe I could too someday.
“Princess?” Corym’s gentle voice pulled me out of the memory.
I blinked a few times at the two male faces staring intently at me. “Is that it?” I asked warily, hoping I didn’t lose hours of my life again.
“You tell us. Can you speak Rivellan?” Sin asked.
I frowned at him. “How can I tell? Do I just think of a word?”
Sin and Corym both laughed, and it only made me frown harder. “What’s so funny?”
“Dreisin was speaking to you in Rivellan, Princess.”
I looked to Sin who nodded in confirmation. “I thought you were speaking English… I heard English in my head.”
Corym gave me one of his patented professor smiles that was a mix of encouragement and patience. “That is because your brain converts it automatically for you. Listening will be the easiest, of course, as the translation will happen with little to no effort. Speaking Rivellan, however, may take you a second to adapt to. You will need to focus and make a conscious effort. Your brain will supply the words as they come up. Give it a try.”
I glanced between them. “Okay, sure. What should I say?”
Sin smirked. “You should say that I am the best aquiservian who ever lived.”
I paused, trying to focus on the swirl of Rivellan words bouncing around in my head.
“Sin abea amplie ia.”My words came out rough and stilted like a child learning to read, but Corym laughed so the translation must have worked.
“I don't have a big ego,” Sin muttered, stomping back over to the door.
Corym settled into the sofa, exhaustion deepening the lines of his face. “You should practice speaking in Rivellan as much as possible so your mind grows accustomed to forming the words. Hearing others speak it will be beneficial as well so your mind is able to alert you to the change in language. Right now the translation is automatic, so you may not even realize someone is speaking to you in Rivellan at first. It will take a moment, but soon you will be able to recognize and speak it with ease.”
I leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, then grinned at his startled expression. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what this means to me.”
He blushed. “It was my pleasure, Princess.”
I hopped off the couch and bounded over to Sin, excited to go try out my new language skills in Civi Obsura. “You ready to go?”
“More than,” he said, and turned to leave the library.
“Princess?” Corym called. “May I have a word? Alone?”
“Sure,” I said. “What’s up?”
He waited until Sin left then said, “I must make a confession. When I was moving the language from your subconscious to your conscious I found myself able to see what you were thinking about.”
My cheeks burned so hot my hand unconsciously lifted to check for flames. “Oh,” I said awkwardly.
Corym stood but maintained his distance. “I do not want to make you uncomfortable, I merely wanted to inform you thatI was aware of your relationship with my son. Also…” His eyes dropped to the ground. “I wanted to ask you a favor.”
