I close my eyes and focus on the feeling of his heart beating against mine. A warm ember of peace settles in the center of my chest, lighting and spreading through me. At the thought of being loved, of being safe, of knowing this male was made for me.
“How did you know?” he whispers. “When did it click for you?”
“The Mother visited me in a dream.” I recount the dream to him, summarizing the words from the younger version of me-who-wasn’t-really-me.
His eyes are wide by the time I finish.
“So, Marik’s mate is Etta?” he asks, rubbing his forehead.
“Oh, yeah…that. The Mother also gifted me with a vision from my birth.” I pause. Saying the words out loud makes it real. “Elle is my twin…meaning Elle is Marik’s mate.”
He snorts, his sudden laughter making my own mouth twitch into a smile. “Motherfuck, huh,” he chuckles. “What a mess. Your husband is your sister’s mate.”
I give him a playful shove. “I really need to dissolve that marriage.”
“Actually, I think I found a way around that.” The smirk on his face is so damn kissable. “Ever since I suspected what’s between us, I’ve been looking into the whole premise of mates. They’re so rare with hybrids these days, so there isn’t much current information on them. But from what I read, hybrids used to marry all the time, only to stumble upon their mate. They would perform a mating ceremony, then the marriagewas dissolved. So, all we have to do is perform a mating ceremony.” He grins at me.
“And how do we do that?” I ask skeptically.
His grin widens. “It’s incredibly simple. Mating ceremonies can be as grand as weddings, but most are intimate and small-scale. It can just be us. Unlike wedding ceremonies, there isn’t an exchange of vows or rings. It’s a blood oath.”
I roll my eyes. “Why does everything have to involve blood?”
He flips my wrist over, then traces a fingertip along the pale blue web of veins beneath my skin. “It holds our magic, our essence of life. And when I accept you as my mate, I accept you as mine. I accept you as the very thing that keeps me alive, just like the blood that courses through me. When we mix our blood, we really do become one. Metaphorically, at least. I am yours, and you are mine. We are one.”
I smile at his words. “We are one.” I press a kiss to his cheek. “Can we do it now?”
His eyes crinkle. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I say. I’ve never been more certain of anything before.
He opens his mouth and two fangs pierce through his gums. I start at their sudden appearance. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
He shrugs. “Party trick. My venom is locked away, but I can prick your wrist if you want. Or I can get a knife, if you’d rather.” He bends down, placing one fang to his wrist and dragging down slightly, blood bubbling in its wake.
I offer him my left wrist. He repeats the movement, a kissing sting biting my wrist.
He holds his hand up, fingers splayed. “Hold my hand.” I lace my fingers in his, the blood mixing on our wrists. “Until the end of time, princess. Until we are taken by fate, let it be known that you are mine,” he says.
His eyes shine with vulnerability, and my throat turns thick with emotion. He’s always had a hold on me, always held a piece of my heart in his hands. It feels surreal to be here with him now, repeating these words to him.
As I do, Asmo’s serpent tattoo begins to move. The black ink spreads up his chest. The tattoo elongatesbefore branching off, forming a set of antlers. They begin at his collarbones, extending up his neck and wrapping around, the tips stopping just behind his ears. The snake now winds around the left side of the antlers before coming to a stop below his left ear, fangs bared.
“Asmo,” I say in awe, reaching for the tattoo. “Your tattoo just grew antlers.” But he’s staring at my chest. I glance down, shocked to find black ink now between my breasts. I climb from Asmo’s lap and rush to the mirror on the wall in the tiny bathroom.
I wince at what I see. My hipbones jut too far, my hair is matted and hangs limply over my shoulders. But in the center of my chest, over the scar from Cora’s lightning bolt, are two intertwined snakes—one black and one white. Their heads are pointed upward, their tails trailing beneath my breasts. Both snakes’ fangs are bared, as if they’re biting the scar itself.
Asmo pads over to me. He pulls me into his warmth, his strength. He wraps his arms around me and meets my gaze in the mirror. He crooks his finger, tracing the snakes’ path underneath my breasts, stopping at my heart.
“If you’re ever taken from me again, I will burn the world down to get you back. And that is a promise to you, and a promise to anyone who thinks of it.”
Chills skitter along my bare skin. He trails his hand up my neck, then forces my chin upward. He leans down, pressing his lips to mine in a deep kiss.
His threat hangs in the air, his lips tasting like the promise of death.
I savor it.
Chapter 36
