Page 177
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“And you say we’re not bonded? Are you sure?”
The intensity of my emotions made me question his certainty. The possibility of losing him and Zeke distressed me more than I expected. I didn’t know what to expect when they left for good.
He smirked. “We’re definitely not.”
“How do you know?”
His hand slid over my shin, warming my skin through my tights. “We’ve only had sex once, and I wasn’t in my alternate form.”
That got my attention.
I sat up, searching his face for any sign of amusement. Nothing. “What does sex and your… what? Alternate form? Like infernal form?”
He nodded. “We’re infernals when we look like this, or any other stage of transformation, so we don’t say infernal form.”
I filed that away for later. I’d always called their transformed state an infernal form.
I shook the thought away. “And the sex part?”
He breathed in and rolled his lips inward, humming like he needed time to find the words. “When mates accept their bond and want to bind themselves together in a deeper connection, they have sex. But it’s more than that. The exchange of life fluids tethers the two Nyriths together.”
“Life fluids? Like blood?”
“Blood… cum… anything life-giving.” He laughed when I spluttered. “Some mates bite and drink blood. Others come inside their partner, leaving a piece of their life essence that way. And if one mate can’t do that,”—he motioned to me—“they gift their mate blood.”
I gave a slow nod. “Okay, I don’t get why, but what’s required is clear enough.” I tilted my head. “Except for the alternate form part.”
“The magic our bodies use in the transformation strengthens the tether.”
“But I’m—” I paused and pointed at him. “I’m not saying I’m gonna do any of this. I’m just curious, that’s all.”
He laughed and nodded. “Message received.”
“Okay, then.” I gave a sharp nod, satisfied. “Now, as I was saying… I’m human. How would that work with me? I don’t have magic to offer the tether.”
His hand ran along his jaw. “Yeah, that’s… I don’t know either.”
It’s not like I’d agreed to a mating bond or to uproot my life for someone. I wouldn’t do that for a human man, so why would I consider it for another species? Labeling them as destined soulmates didn’t change the fact we barely knew one another and half of them disliked me at best—hated me at worst.
My stomach cramped.
Why did it bother me that Cyn hated me?
I shook my head. No. Do not think of him.
I lived on Earth. The idea of leaving for another world sounded like a weird fever dream. Could I even survive? What if Niemna couldn’t sustain human life the way Earth sustained infernals?
“It’s not something to stress,” he said, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts—or likely sensing my rising anxiety. “While we’re trapped here, we can’t do anything to investigate why you’re our mate or how you could have more than two. We first thought the mate-like things we felt were just magical manipulation—the same magic that brought us here. But if you called on your Nyrith in the ritual, then it can’t be a mistake. Unless…”
“Unless?”
“The book’s a royal tome; maybe the ritual inside brought us here instead of your Nyrith, infusing its magic into us.”
The book held so much I didn’t understand that I didn’t even question how he knew it belonged to Elyrdin’s royalty. If he were right, then magic was still manipulating our situation.
“But I’ll say this…” He cleared his throat and waited until I looked at him. “Even if it’s not true, I stand by what I said about my feelings for you. It’s out in the open now, so there’s no use hiding it. It goes beyond the magical pull, emotions, and scent… It’s you.”
