I shrugged.“You’re missing out,” I said.“Being with one person is actually really fucking fantastic.”
She scoffed at me as she crossed her arms.“Some of us weren’t made to be tied down, Bane.You should know that.You’re an incubus, for goodness sake.You’re made to spread your lust.It’s who you are.”
The way she said the words was like she was trying to convince herself.
Though why she’d give a shit what I did was beyond me.Just because we had a brief lust-filled fling didn’t mean we werefriends.Far from it.
But Violet seemed to be building some sort of friendship with her, and that was something I did need to respect.
I may not have liked it, but I couldn’t fault Violet for being the kind-hearted, compassionate woman she was.It was why I loved her.And Wanda, just like myself, had been touched by Violet’s fae charms.Her signature marked Wanda and Norman as much as it marked Delaney and I.For better or for worse, we were all a part of Violet and Violet was the faerie glue that held us all together.
It was why I refrained from saying something truly hurtful to Wanda, and instead, tried my hardest to do what I thought my girlfriend would have wanted me to do.Be...friendly.
Friends gave advice, right?
“We may be creatures of lust, Wanda, but we both know deep down beneath all that lust, we are creatures who deservemore.”
Wanda’s eyes glistened and she shook her head, turning away from me.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Bane,” she said, her voice tinged in ice.“We are not the same, you and I.”
And there was the armor.The scales of steel that repelled anyone who tried to get close.
Was that what happened between her and Norman?
Did he try to peel back her scales?
Did he wantmore?
I wondered if I asked him if he’d tell me the truth.I wondered why I cared.
“Keep telling yourself that, Wanda,” I said as I sauntered past her, toward the door.“See you at dinner.”I left, not bothering to stay in the cold presence of the siren anymore.
CHAPTER5
Violet
There was obviouslya reason the Great Hall was referred to as theGreat Hall.Even after being in the castle for nearly three weeks, I still found myself getting lost in its labyrinthian hallways and I swore every corridor and atrium looked nearly identical.
But the Great Hall was on the ground floor and could not be missed by even a blind Cyclops.
“You look like a fortune teller’s dream,” Delaney said with a grin as she entered from the right, from the courtyard.
She was one to talk.Though I knew my friends had packed light, it appeared that my mother had settled them in quarters with closets packed to the brim with ample clothing.A part of my heart swelled at that knowledge, while other parts of me felt on edge.
I knew I shouldn’t have felt anything except excitement for my mother—myrealbiological Fae mother—but still, beneath the excitement and the newness, there was fear.
Fear she wouldn’t like me now that I was grown up.
Fear that she would somehow leave or be taken from me again.
Fear that I was not cut out to rule a kingdom someday, even with Bane by my side.
But I pushed my fears aside and smiled at Delaney instead.I twirled my finger, motioning for her to give me a spin.Her bright pink lips turned up into a grin and she did just as I wanted, spinning like a ballerina, which made the skirt of her dress poof out a bit.The deep, rich emerald tones accentuated her pale skin beautifully, and her half-up-half-down red hair falling over her exposed, freckled shoulders made her look like the second coming of Brigid herself.
She was absolutely stunning.
“You look like a princess yourself, Delaney,” I said as she sidled up to me and wrapped her long, pale arms around me.She even smelled good.Like rain and moss and cedar.
