“Really?” Bel’s eyes flashed red for a second.
“Yes.” Atlas downed the remainder of his coffee before waving his hand and wishing it gone. The cup disappeared. “And I really love magic.”
“Good.” Bel chuckled before lifting something from the drawer. He placed a black stone in front of Atlas.
Atlas picked up the stone that was about the size of a quarter. Tilting his hand, the stone gleamed with a green and blue haze. “What is it?”
“Hellstone,” Bel told him. “They wash up on the shore of the lava river. In the old days hellstones were used to make armor for warriors. That was before magic solidified here in our realm.”
Wow. Atlas rubbed his thumb against the stone, surprised to find it hot instead of cold. The heat didn’t burn. More warmed his entire thumb to his palm.
“A long time ago warriors would remove a stone from their armor over the heart area and give to their mate once they found them,” Bel explained.
“Thank you.” Atlas would keep this first gift from his…mate for the rest of his life. “This means a lot to me.” And made Bel not telling him the truth hurt less.
Bel cleared his throat and nodded. “I’m glad you like it.”
He closed his palm around his stone. “Courting gift?”
“Yes.”
His demon was just so damn cute. “You could have just told me,” Atlas reminded him.
“I will. From now on. I thought I was being polite,” Bel said. “Not overwhelming you.”
“My grandmother probably met a demon, had sex, and a child with him,” Atlas said. “Then hid it from me for my entire life. She had to have known that my flickers had something to do with it. Still, she never told me the truth. Please don’t hide things from me.”
Bel smiled slowly. “I will not hide things. This is my vow.”
Atlas nodded seriously. Even if he thought Bel was adorable. “What do we do now?”
“I would like to continue getting to know you. Court you. And when you’re ready, I would like us to mate,” Bel replied.
“How long?” Atlas asked. He was extremely curious about this whole mating thing. And what would it entail?
“For?”
“How long would we…date?” Atlas asked.
“Until you are ready to mate,” Bel responded. “Only then would we mate.”
“Even if it takes years?” Atlas inquired, although he was already having big feelings for the demon prince.
“Truthfully,” Bel said. “The more time we spend together, the stronger the mate bond will be. It doesn’t normally take long at all.”
“Mate bond,” Atlas repeated. “Even if we haven’t completed the mating?”
“The bond wants us to be together,” Bel told him. “Time and closeness will make us want to be together for longer periods of time.”
“Okay.” That was a lot to take in.
“I don’t want you to think that I am not taking your needs into account,” Bel said. “Mammon, one of the demons that just left, will send his people out to investigate the death of your family. I also arranged for you to meet up with Seb and Ari this afternoon as well. They will try to figure out where your demon blood comes from. Lucifer is still looking at what can be done for your flickers.”
This was what being a mate meant to Bel. Taking care of him. Keeping the promise he’d made to Atlas. “Thank you, Bel.”
Bel nodded his head.
“Let me ask you something,” Atlas requested.
