Page 76 of Vervain

His hand moves to my hip, and my body instinctively knows what to do as he lifts me. I stretch into a modified arabesque, my right arm in first position, while my left rests in second, draped back over Serun while he wraps me in a lover’s embrace, twirling in our pas de deux.

The music heightens, Serun’s body against mine and the control in his hands as he moves me, the world and trauma-filled memories blurring. I close my eyes and tip my head back, longing to stay in this feeling I’ve so missed, only for the music to abruptly end.

Serun quickly lowers me to the ground, and I stumble a step. Worry pinches his brows as he digs into his pocket and takes out his phone to answer a call, and my heart lurches.

“What’s wrong? Is it Cole?”

Serun mutters something in Daryun, including what sounded like a swear, before slipping the phone back into his pocket. “Not Cole—at least I don’t think so. My brother. I sensed something in my bond with him. Now I cannot reach him by mind or phone.”

Bond? A memory surfaces of Serun seeming to answer my thoughts when I was on my deathbed. I wonder…

With a shake of my head, I say, “What do we do now?”

“Olivia and Maeve will watch over you while I track⁠—”

I step closer and grab his arm. “I’m coming with you.”

“Saya…”

“I won’t take no for an answer.” I sit down on the studio floor and untie a ribbon before I kick off the first ballet slipper and start working on the other. “If you go, so do I. You made me your consort. Deal with my demands.”

He sighs and crouches in front of me. His clawed finger hooks around an abandoned slipper, and through the darkness, there’s softness in his tone when he says, “Forgive me for cutting your distraction short. I had hoped you would have more time here to understand the Undercity. More time in safety.”

His words are sweet. Honey on the tongue. But I can’t think like that now. Cole needs me.

“I’m going to undress,” I say, and Serun’s eyes widen when I start to do just that. He grunts, and in a flash turns away from me. His shadows expand, creating a wall between us. I smile, though it sours a moment later. Enough for the strings bound to my heart to pull tighter.

The tights and leotard drop to my feet. “I’m going to try to convince Cole to stay here, and if he says yes, we can return to this moment. By then, it won’t be a distraction. It would finally be living—and accepting the part of me I was taught to hate. Since being here, I haven’t had to worry about my appearance.”

“Because you are surrounded by those who look like you.”

“Aside from the hair…and skin.”

“Those are abnormalities I enjoy looking at.”

I smooth out my clothes. “You can look now.”

Shadows fall, and Serun turns. “You should rest. I will get Penumbra to pack your belongings. And Olivia’s…”

“Olivia is coming?”

Shadows roll around his knuckles. “Yes. If I need to hunt, I want you protected. Maeve would have been optimal, or even Lucifer. But both have agreed to work together to manage the Undercity while we do this.”

My eyes narrow. “How did you speak to them? Were they on the end of that phone call?”

Serun looks away, as though reluctant to share. “We can talk through our minds. I’m having two conversations right now. One is with you, and the other is with them.”

“Fascinating…The first time I spoke to Reyes on the phone, there were brief moments of stillness, and your lip curled as if you heard something irritating.”

“He is quite the annoyance…”

“Can you hear my mind?”

Silence. There’s my answer.

“Explains a lot,” I murmur. “Sometimes you smile like you know something, and I guess you do—because you have been listening to my thoughts. It’s a little disturbing.”

Serun reaches out to me, and I hesitate, jerking back and out of his reach. “I don’t mean to,” he says, eyes imploring. “I’m not doing it on purpose. After we shared blood, we formed a connection. Most times, I ignore your words. Let it flit past. But when you think something outlandish, I find it difficult not to react. I would never use your thoughts against you, or to gain something from you. I want you wholly, not through manipulation.”