“Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Only, the way he’s looking at me tells another story. “You don’t have to be scared.”
“I’m not,” I say. It’s true, too. I’m not scared of Cin. I am horribly, inexplicably intrigued by him. Plus, a little turned on. But that’s probably just because he’s forcing me to sit on his lap.Yeah, that’s it…
I look into his eyes—so different from his brothers’—and I wonderwhy.
“I hope this isn’t rude but… your eyes…”
“What about them?”
“They’re… different.”
He smirks. “Yours are quite strange to me as well, you know.”
“I meant, different from your ‘brothers’,” I say, putting air quotes around the last word. “They look?—”
“Like a snake?”
“Yes…”
He shrugs. “Truthfully, I don’t know. It’s just how I was made. Incomplete.Unholy.”
My mind flashes to Rhune again, and I’m filled with an awful pang of want, plus guilt for the things I’m feeling for Cin. It’s strange, but so powerful it’s impossible to ignore.
“You are sure you do not want to talk?” Cin's voice loses its flirtatious edge, replaced with genuine concern. “You seem… troubled.”
Do I want to talk? Am I ready to deal with it all so soon? Would it be better or worse to stew?
I sigh, hanging my head. “Rhune and I… we bonded.” My face heats when I think about what cameafterthe bonding, and I readjust on Cin’s knee as a wave of desire courses through me. “I didn’t know that was even a thing that could happen. But apparently, he did, and was probably hoping it would. Now, I’m stuck here for God knows how long. And it’s not like I dislike Rhune. I probably could be happy with him in another time, another life. But right now…” I drop my eyes, my chest clenching with grief. “Right before Rhune brought me here, I found out that my fiancé cheated on me with my best friend. It was the morning of my wedding.”
I swallow hard as I recall the horrible scene, but strangely, my chest doesn’t clench with sadness like all the times it did before. “I’m not evensadabout it, though. I was, but as soon as I bonded with Rhune… It’s like all my emotions tied to him died.” I shake my head, focusing all my attention on my twisting fingers. “It’s notnormalto be ready to move on so quickly. I should be gorging myself on ice cream and crying into my pillow—not worrying about how I’m going to survive in this crazyworld or what it means to besoul bondedto a demon. My heart has been pulled in a million different directions, and I feel more out of control than I have in my entire life. It’s scary, and hard to accept that I didn’t even… that I didn’t get a choice.”
Cin’s arm slowly curls around my stomach, and he wraps me in a warm, comforting hug. His dark wings curl around my tiny frame, bathing me in darkness and providing a sense of safety and warmth.
“I am so very sorry those terrible things happened to someone so lovely,” he says, his voice a low rasp. “They did not deserve you, sweetserafyn.They lost a great treasure.” His wings unfurl slightly as the weight of his embrace loosens. “I wish I could offer you more than sympathies. But I am only a male. A grizzly one, at that.”
My lips curl in the barest of smiles, and I find his own mirrored in his serpentine eyes. “As for the other part…” He gazes down at me, his expression intent. “I realize this may not give you all the comfort you need, but… if you soul bonded with Rhune, then youdidchoose him.”
My eyes go wide. “What do you mean?”
“If it is a real soul bond, fated by the stars, then you two were always meant to be.” His expression changes, morphing into one of sympathy. “Rather, you and Slaine were fated. Now, you are stuck with the four of us.”
I gasp softly. “You mean… I can bond to allfourof you?”
“I’m afraid so,” he says. “Only whenyouare ready, though. In demon culture, the femalealwaysinitiates the bond. If she does not desire it within her soul, it simply would not happen.”
“That’s… a little relieving, honestly. I kind of assumed that Rhune did this. That he somehow… set it off.”
Cin shakes his head. “Mate bonds are very much clouded in mystery and legend, but we are aware of the law of the female. It is her decision, always. Only the most foolish and evil of maleswould disregard that rule.” He leans in, his gaze intent. “Youare in control here, little human. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
I open my mouth to respond when a hissing sound draws my attention to the opposite end of the room. Cin’s python slides across the ice, its pearlescent gray scales contrasting strikingly with the dark blue of the floor.
With its serpentine eyes trained steadily on my face, the snake’s tongue flicks out, tasting the air around my ankles. Its muscular body curls around my foot in a flash, and the python begins scaling my body like a tree limb.
For some reason, I’m not scared. I probably should be, but something inside me calls out, promising that no harm will come to me. And weirdly, I believe it.
The snake is around my abdomen now, its head lying flat against my sternum, gazing up at me curiously. In a trance, I brush my finger over the scales on its head, and it closes its eyes—almost like it’s happy to be touched.
“You must be special,” Cin rasps. “Noox doesn’t tolerate anyone but me.”
