“No.”
“Then what?”
“I just don’t want you to leave,” I tell him, the confession a little surprising.
“We wouldn’t be leaving you like that, Vinna. We’d still be in each other’s lives; we just wouldn’t be tied by magic. The issue is Shield versus Chosen, not Vinna versus Suryn. You said we were family, right?” he asks me, and I nod. “That’s not going to change,” he reassures me.
I lean back and study Enoch’s gray-blue gaze. “You like her, don’t you?” I ask him, the truth in his gaze shocking me more than anything. “How?”
Enoch scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t know, how do any of your Chosen like you?” he counters, and I snort.
“I’m a fucking delight, I’ll have you know.”
Enoch smiles and shakes his head. “I’m not doodling her name all over my notebooks or anything, but when she marked me, it just did something.” Enoch rubs at his chest, and I give a weary exhale. I think back on the time I marked the guys. I was panicked and freaked out, but it also felt right in this weird inexplicable way.
“Does the rest of your coven know?”
“Yeah. They feel a pull, but Nash is the only one aside from me who seems interested in exploring what that means.”
“What does Kallan say?”
“That you marked us first and that there had to be a reason for it. He thinks if we go the Chosen route, we’re betraying you.”
I nod absently as I listen. “And Becket?” I inquire, not attempting to mask my shock that he would take my side after what happened with his father.
Enoch grins like he can read my mind and was surprised too. “I think he just likes you better than Suryn,” he tells me with a smile.
“Well, that’s not exactly difficult when she’s a nightmare and I’m—”
“A fucking delight?” Enoch adds in, and we both laugh.
“There’s not much I can do about Becket recognizing that I’m more fun than Suryn could ever be,” I tell Enoch and give an exaggerated flip of my hair. “But I’ll talk to Kallan. If all of you are drawn to her and this is what you guys want, then that’s what you should have.”
Enoch pulls me in for a hug.
“Thank you, Vinna,” he whispers and kisses the top of my head.
I hug him tightly. “I’m sorry about the whole power grab thing. I don’t really think that,” I tell him, and I feel him breathe out a sigh.
“It’s okay, you can’t help that you’re a girl and get all emotional and irrational at times,” he teases, and I quietly laugh and pinch his side.
He squirms and then hugs me harder. I return the squeeze and then freeze when someone that isn’t me or Enoch clears their throat. We pull apart with a jolt of shock, and my head snaps in the direction of the hallway this little alcove is attached to.
Fuck! Don’t be the Sovereign. Don’t be the Sovereign.
Relief washes through me when I realize that it’s not the Sovereign. But it’s quickly replaced by a decent amount ofoh shitwhen my eyes connect with the angry hazel gaze of Suryn. Athis is not what it looks likecreeps up my throat, but before I can say anything, she takes a menacing step toward us.
“This area is off limits to the likes ofyou. Find somewhere else to fuck,” she seethes and then stomps off.
Enoch hesitates for a second. “Go after her,” I tell him and shove him in the direction she just stormed off in. “It’s okay, I’ll find my way back,” I reassure him, and he rushes off after what looked like a very pissed off Sentinel. Then again, she always seems to look like that, so who knows if she really cares about this or not? I slip out of the dark alcove and eventually find my way back to a side of the castle that I recognize. I don’t run into anyone else, and I slip inside the suite we’ve been given just as the sun starts to peek over the horizon. I flop down onto a couch with a sigh.
I can already tell this is going to be one fucking long ass day.
26
Igive a deep toe curling yawn as we make our way into the throne room. I shake my cheeks in an effort to wake the fuck up, but another yawn starts at the back of my mouth, and resistance is futile.
“Someone please help me to wake the fuck up,” I beg as we take our place in front of the thrones.
