And now, he was.
Not by being qiongqi.
Just by letting her love him.
“Well,” Lola said, after a long pause. “Fuck.”
“You cannot,” he got out, every word like a razor blade in his mouth. “Leonie--”
“This ismychoice, Shan,” she interrupted. She lifted her chin, gaze turning steely. “You tried to make a decision for us both without consulting me.Iget to make this one.”
She was right. He’d been wrong before, to try to decide her destiny on her behalf. Ultimately, this had to be her decision.
No, no, no,his qiongqi raged.Wrong, wrong!We cannot let her tear off her own wings. We cannot let her do this!
“Leonie.” Lola scrubbed a hand through her short blonde hair, looking nearly as distressed as he felt himself. “Are you sure about this?”
“More sure than I’ve been about anything in my entire life.” Leonie started to reach for her sister’s hand, then checked herself, as if she didn’t dare touch her again. “Will you be okay? You won’t be able to shift into the griffin anymore.”
“You’re worried aboutme?” Lola’s voice cracked on the last word. “Shit, Leonie. You’re the one talking about giving up your own animal.”
Truth.
Not simple sweetness. This was another hard truth, old and long buried. Matured into richness, like the finest wine.
“What do you mean, her own animal?” he said sharply.
“Didn’t she ever tell you?” Lola gestured at herself, then her sister. “The first time we shifted, I was the lion. Leonie turned into the eagle.”
That couldn’t be right. True, when Leonie had first told him about her ability, he’d thought she must have been born with the other animal. If the lioness had actually belonged to Lola, it would have explained why Leonie couldn’t recognize him as her mate.
But shehadrecognized him, if only belatedly. She wouldn’t be able to feel the mate bond at all if she had her sister’s animal. Shehadto be the lion.
He looked at Leonie. “You told me you didn’t remember the first time you shifted.”
“I said I didn’t rememberclearly,” she corrected. “It was a long time ago. I suppose Lola did shift into the lion first, now that I think of it.”
“And you were the eagle?”
“What does it matter, Shan?” Leonie flung up her hands. “I told you, we figured out straight away that we could switch. It never made any difference to me whether I was a lion or an eagle. But it did to Lola. She was born to fly.”
Sweetness. Truth. Not a hint of a lie.
That’s the problem with your ability, Shan.Min-Seo’s voiceechoed in his memory.Anyone who knows about it can run rings around you.
And he couldn’t taste a lie that wasn’t spoken.
Secrets, his qiongqi hissed.Hunt.
He turned to Lola. “Could you give us a moment alone?”
“Yeah, you two need to talk this over.” Lola scrambled to her feet, looking only too pleased at having an excuse to leave. “I’m going to go say hi to Rufus. Don’t let her make any rash decisions, tiger.”
Leonie waited, mouth set in a thin line, until the door had closed behind her sister. “There’s nothing to discuss, Shan. This is still my decision.”
And one she’d made long before they’d met, he suspected. “Leonie. The first time you shifted, were you the eagle?”
“It doesn’tmatter!”She half-rose from her seat, teeth bared. He’d never seen her truly angry before. “Why do you keep asking?”
