My face heated fast, and I rubbed the back of my neck with a nervous chuckle. “Right, good point, Nebs.”
“Don’t call me Nebs,” he scoffed.
“But Skel does.” I pouted.
Pandora squeezed my hand and started tugging me back toward her dad’s manor. “Skel does because he doesn’t listen to Nebula when he tells him not to.”
“True,” Nebula grunted. “And Skel doesn’t give her other animal skulls. I’m the only skull she needs.”
“You’re the best skull she has.” I admitted, following her lead. “I just want to give her something, okay?”
Nebula sighed.
“Also Dex calls you Nebs, too.” I frowned.
Nebula huffed.
Chaos and Demo growled and stayed behind us as we returned to the manor, and the only thing I could think of was that there must’ve been a predator out of sight.
The desert was home to many dangerous creatures.
“So, ever since we completed our bond yesterday, my magic has been stronger,” I told her, feeling the chaos within me swirling like a storm. “It’s actually taking effort to control, which hasn’t ever been an issue before.”
“Like how Skel lost control?” Her brows bumped together as she frowned.
“No. Nothing like that. I can control it, but it’s stronger.” I shrugged as a dark thought crept into my mind. “It’d probably be easier to take a shot to deal with, though.”
“Hmm.” She tilted her head. “Demoisreally wild. Honestly, even my own powers seemed to have gotten a power boost since completing the bond with all of you, but that’s normal for fated mates. About the shot, though...”
“Yeah?” I swallowed thickly.
I hated that I even wanted to drink when I knew it was the root of my problems. I hadn’t touched alcohol since I’d drank with Pandora months ago. Still, that desire didn’t go away.
“When you feel like you want to drink, come find me. I’ll help you through it, okay?” Her pretty red eyes narrowed, piercing me straight through my heart.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I promise I will.”
The entire walk back to the manor, she held my hand. It was the most intimate moment I’d had, even more so than when we were kissing earlier. Something about the innocence of her wanting to touch me had my heart tangled in adoration.
Chaos and Demo stayed behind us, growling, and only de-manifested when we entered Death’s manor.
“Back already?” Jenni rested her hands on her hips with a mischievous smile on her lips. “I wasn’t expecting you back until late. I just started dinner.”
“It was just a walk,” I muttered, trying to push the embarrassment away.
“A walk where he had his tongue down her throat,” Nebula grunted.
Thank Fates Jenni couldn’t hear him.
Pandora and I blushed anyway, and I squeezed her hand gently, which she returned the next moment.
Dex stepped out of the shadows and wrapped his arm around her shoulders before smirking at me. “My turn.”
His shadows covered them both, and her hand was no longer in mine as he shadow-traveled them away to Fates knew where.
A chuckle broke free from my chest as I shook my head. “Iknewhe had an ulterior motive of letting me have time with her first.”
“He always does,” Hunter commented, entering the foyer and leaning against a wall. “Did you have a good time?”
