“My son lies here after being mortally wounded, and you would have me leave,soror?”
Sister?
Nik opened his eyes again. Through the filaments shrouding him, he found Eros glaring at the ancient goddess with the same ice-green eyes Nik had seen in the mirror for over thousands of years. Short, sunlit brown hair framed a strong, striking face.
“Yes,” Gaia said. “He will be well eventually—”
“No. He’s succumbing to oblivion, thinking his mate’s dead,” Eros snapped. “She needs him. And he needs her. Did you show him she lived?”
Mate?Odd, he remembered his divided life with his parents but not about any mate…
“He grew agitated with what I revealed to him what had occurred. His wounds were fatal, his healing was more important than any memories, so I blocked them—”
Blocked memories?
“Mate?” Nik rasped, his voice rusty, shrugging off the languor holding him down, the need to know about his mate growing. Some of the fine threads over his face gave way.
All three pairs of eyes shifted to him.
“You’ve awakened.” Hismatasmiled. “Indeed, you have a beauteous soul who lives for you. We have seen this.” She stroked her pet cobra coiled around her neck.
“Aye,” his sire added, coming closer.
“Mate?” he demanded, irritated at the lack of response.
“It is good you are back, warrior,” Gaia said with a nod, her gaze skimming over him.
“Just in time, too,” Eros grumbled. Still, a pleased smile brightened his pale eyes. “I am all that is love, and you’ve found your perfect half, only to give in so easily?”
A scolding?
“Mate!” Nik roared, fed up with their monologues.
He shot up from the stone slab, the filaments clinging to him like cobwebs, tearing free and fading away. Instantly, the pulsing energy surrounding him waned.
“Why is he covered in all that ink?” Eros frowned.
“So he doesn’t look like you?” hismataretorted.
“My lady, still you do not forgive our encounter? You could have walked away—”
“Who—where is she?” Nik demanded, fed up with their bickering.
“Your heart knows who she is, Nikkos,” his sire said quietly.
Hismatanodded, her soft gaze gliding over his tattooed arms to the series of dark stylized stars he had inked on his chest. “Destiny won’t wait for you to step up,beta. Life will pass you by unless you do.”
Damn gods and their cryptic comments. He rubbed his bearded jaw.
“Why? When you made sure I’d never have a mate with your spell,” Nik muttered.
Her brow creased in confusion. “What?”
“I do this for your own good,” he reiterated. “You take after him. No female should be broken because of who you are. You should never have a mate. Those words were embedded in my skull since I was five,” he snapped.
“Nikkos!” Her eyes widened in horror.
“You told himthat?” Eros demanded.
