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“I’m well fucking aware,” I said, starting to lose patience with this. Reagan wasn’t the only one who’d had a long day. “Why do you think I bargained for six months? So I can get to know her.”
“And what are you going to do if there’s no way? Are you certain she’s even your mate and that you’re not confu?—”
“Don’tfinish that sentence. Styx already asked, but she wasn’t there that day. She wasn’t there to help me pick up the broken pieces. You were. I damn well know the difference between my soul residing in a guardian versus the pull of a mate bond. I’ll never forget the feeling of hopelessness when I was ripped in half, and the overwhelming loss and insurmountable grief when they forced it into Abraxia. It is forever burned into my memory, Pol. Reagan may be her descendant, but the commonalities end there.”
Pol sighed. “It had to be said. On the off chance you weren’t thinking clearly.”
I lifted my brows at him. “Not thinking clearly?”
“He just means that Reagan is a beautiful woman. No one could blame you if you were confused,” Abyssian started.
“Fuck off. Don’t try to placate me.”
My brother lifted both hands in mock surrender, inclining his head. “So, you what? Plan to get to know her? Play house for the next six months? What happens if there isn’t a way to remove your soul without killing her? What then?”
I grit my teeth. “I don’t know. I’ll deal with it then.”
Pol laughed coldly and Abyssian elbowed him.
“And if she doesn’t fall for your . . . charms? Are you going to kill her for it?”
“No,” I snapped harshly. “And if I was that sort of god, I would hope you’d have found a way to end me eons ago, before Pious imprisoned us.”
Pol lowered his gaze in agreement, acknowledging without words he went a step too far in his questioning. Abyssian flopped back on one of the loveseats, throwing an arm over the back.
“So you’re going to try to woo her,” my brother said, changing the subject. “I can give you some pointers if you’d like. You know how the ladies flock to me?—”
“Because they think you’re one of them,” Pol coughed.
I took a sip of my whiskey, hiding my smirk behind the glass.
Abyssian glared at our spymaster. “For your information, ladies like the long hair. Why do you think I keep it this way?”
“I figured it was to attract Broca and other assorted barn animals.”
Abyssian snatched a glass off my bar cart and threw it at Pol, who ducked, missing his cheekbone by a hairsbreadth. A booming laugh echoed through my room.
“That was one time, you fucker!”
“One time too many. She’s unhinged, and she’s half goat, man. Just shows you really will fuck anything with a hole.”
“Better than forced abstinence.”
“Nothing forced here,” Pol said with self-assurance. “I choose not to stick my dick in crazy. And around here? They’re all fucking their way to the top. No thank you.”
Abyssian rolled his eyes skyward. “It’sfucking, not marriage.”
“Says the goat fucker.”
“That’s it—” Abyssian jumped to his feet.
“Sit down,” I said, shoving the loveseat forward and hitting the backs of his knees to force him down. He couldn’t decide whether to glare at me or Pol. “For fuck’s sake, you two are worse than a married couple.”
“Nah,” Abyssian said, gesturing at his counterpart. “That’s him and the witch. What was her name? Claire? Clara? That’s it.” He snapped his fingers. “She’s hot too. Since Pol is waiting for marriage, I might take her to bed one night. I’m sure once they’re settled in, she’ll be more than happy?—”
“You’ll do no such thing,” I said, imagining how that scenario would play out. Abyssian was an insufferable flirt and made no attempts at hiding that he liked to fuck around, but he was allergic to commitment. The last thing I needed was him to play with the witch and then discard her like a broken toy. Something told me Reagan wouldn’t take kindly to that, and I would be the one who’d have to deal with it.
“Are you serious?” my brother asked.
