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It pours out of Tori’s mouth, a dark green cloud that clogs my nostrils and sticks inside my mouth.
When the last of the smoke has dispelled from her mouth, she gasps, drawing in a sudden breath as her eyes fly open and find mine. Relief floods me.
Something even more powerful than the mate call slams into me. Love. Unconditional, irrevocable love. I vow to never let this woman go again.
“Legion.” Her brow furrows, and she glances up at the cavern’s ceiling.
“Hello, gorgeous.” I smooth her hair back, grateful for the sight of her flushed cheeks and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes.
“Are you hurt?” I ask.
She shifts in my arms, frowning. “Sore.” She glances down at her bared arms and notes the bloodied scratches. “I feel strange. The mate bond. Gods, it’s strong. Did you do something?” Her eyes widen as she finally realizes I’m touching her. “Legion, stop. You can’t?—”
She pulls away, and I release her, mostly so she’ll calm down. She scrambles back, staring at me with growing fear. “You’re going to die,” she chokes out.
“I’m not. The curse is broken.”
“What? How?”
“Where did you get the demon tears you had in your pocket?”
Her hand goes to her pocket.
I hold up the empty vial, and she stares at it.
“You drank it?” she asks.
“No. You did.”
“I don’t understand. I touched you. Even before we fell. You should be poisoned.”
“I was.”
“Then how…?” She trails off like she can’t bring myself to voice the words.
“You weren’t breathing.” My heart squeezes all over again as I relive nearly losing her. “You were dying. Maybe already dead. I think your… I think it neutralized the poison’s affects in me.”
“How am I alive now?” she asks quietly.
I clear my throat, shoving aside the grief and fear I’d felt a few minutes ago. “I remembered how poison helped heal you before, so I gave you the vial of tears from your pocket. The scent… these were my mother’s tears. Where did you get them?”
“Em,” she says. “I took this as payment for that last job. She was supposed to give me more after, but we never got that far.”
My gut tightens as I begin to understand. “What did Em look like?”
“I didn’t see much except for her dark eyes. She was wearing a long coat and a scarf.” She stares at me. “You think Em is your mother?”
“I don’t know. I searched for her when I first visited this realm. When I couldn’t sense her, I assumed… If it is her, she’s cloaked herself somehow.”
She shakes her head, watching me warily.
“What is it?” I ask.
“The mate bond. It’s so much stronger than it was.” Her face flushes as she adds, “I can feel you. Like a magnet being pulled.”
I smirk. “Are you saying you want me?”
“I’m saying…” She blinks, her gaze sharpening. “Do you think the curse dimmed the mate bond? Is that why I wasn’t half-crazy on Februlune?”
