There was no immediate answer. We couldn’t be sure. There was no way for us to knowanything.
“If there is, Rowan and I will find a way to stop it,” Adrian said, appearing behind Elias. “I promise.”
I pressed my lips together but didn’t reply. There were far too many promises being made that we couldn’t be sure would be kept. And it wasn’t their fault. We weren’t prepared for this. Not by Greer and not by the Goddess.
Morning camewith a thick fog that dampened the air and hung heavily across the island.
I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked out onto the back patio, the slippers on my feet barely protecting me fromthe wetness covering the stone. I sidestepped an old wrought iron set of chairs covered in old, rotting leaves and moss, shivering at the wind coming off the ocean.
Footsteps sounded behind me, but I didn’t turn. I knew who it was without even looking. Thor and Xerxes were keeping watch over me while the others did their patrol around the island.
My gaze drifted to the field. There were trees and from here what looked like gardens directly below us; the patio stood on the edge of a decline, with stairs off to the side built into the hill that led down to the forest. An old path cut through the heavy foliage, though it was mostly hidden now by the fog.
Fingers brushed my side before going beneath my cardigan and shirt to touch my skin.Are you okay now?Thor asked, voice coming through hesitantly.
I shivered at the contact, unable to stop myself from leaning into his touch. “I’ll be better once this is over,” I replied honestly, eyeing the horizon. I kept expecting to see darkness crawling across the sea coming towards us, but there was only the fog and calm waves. Occasionally, something appeared like a blip before disappearing, and every time I saw the head of a mermaid or siren, I couldn’t help but wonder if they knew. If they could sense us here and were reporting back to Dante while we did nothing.
I felt Xerxes move in closer, the heat of his body pressing into my other side. “They are certain he won’t find this place, but I worry that he will,” he said honestly. I finally tore my gaze off the ocean and looked up at the male, taking in the strong lines of his face, the deep brown of his skin. “None of us understand the magic he wields. The control that he has.”
My stomach twisted uncomfortably. “But you saw a lot of it, right? Back there?” I asked, arms tightening around myself.
Xerxes was quiet for a moment before looking away. “I fear I didn’t learn enough. I can’t help you or my clans with what I know.”
“Your clans?” I asked, a little grateful for the distraction that was his world. It would be easy to get lost in the fear ofwondering what Dante would do to an entirely new land of creatures, creatures so completely different yet similar to us, who hadn’t been touched in over a thousand years.
“There aren’t many of us left,” he said quietly, gazing off into the distance. “Reproduction is low. Children are a rarity, and our Prima hasn’t made herself known. Long ago, we split into clans so that there was a chance of surviving thethrax, and it worked. We moved underground, kept to the coasts and fertile land, but we are not thriving. Dante wiped out an entire city in his invasion into my world. Without our Prima, we are weak—divided. And although we might fight, I am certain with his weapons, he will win.”
A lump formed in my throat, bile burning its way into my mouth. But somehow, I swallowed it back.
“I cannot let that happen,” he finished quietly, finally meeting my stare again. I could tell he was at war with what he wanted. Maybe at war with the bond and his duty. “But I also will not let him hurt you.”
I shivered again, this time from something else. Something I wasn’t entirely sure I should touch on yet.
“What’s a Prima?” I asked instead, clearing my throat.
Xerxes released a shaky breath. “She is our Queen, to put it simply,” he replied, glancing away from me. “Somewhat like you, as she takes several males as her mates—though to better her chances at carrying a pregnancy and birthing another Prima. She unifies the clans, and is our leader.”
“So, the female we met at the palace…she isn’t your Prima, I take it?” I asked, a little confused. The female in question had certainly acted like the leader, but with the way Xerxes spoke about the Prima, it didn’t sound like they had one.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “Phaedra is not our Prima. She is one of the elders, knew the last Prima, and our clans chose her to lead us when a new Prima wasn’t born. Since then, despite doing everything we can to promote births, a Prima hasn’t been born.”
“I’m sorry.” I reached for his hand, letting my fingers hover overhis for a moment before gently taking it. I waited for him to stop me, but he didn’t.
“We need a Prima now more than ever, but I fear war will reach us first,” he finished, entwining our fingers. It felt like a small step towards acceptance. Although I didn’t know what he thought about our mate bond, he didn’t appear to shove it aside like he had when we’d been in the Old World. I thought it was just a fluke when we escaped, and he’d acted so protective. But now I wondered if maybe there was more.
Could I accept more, though? My heart lurched as I looked away from him, his hand firmly holding mine, Thor’s touch a burning reminder of what I still had waiting for me.
Two more mates. Two males raised in entirely different worlds and circumstances. I admired them both for different reasons; Xerxes for his loyalty to his people and courage to fight for them alone, and Thor for surviving something no one should have.
But were either of them ready for what being my mate meant?
Was I?
72
Xerxes
“We are no closer to finding a key to this than we were a week ago,” the demon king growled, pushing away from the table. His frustration turned the air frigid, potent with irritation.
