Page 39 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

But there are people I can’t keep secrets from, I whisper back through the mind-link.

The choice is yours; that is my condition. Knowledge is power, Si, and I don’t plan to give anyone that power, he murmurs through the mind-link.

I nod. I get that…

Ok… What if I can tell just one person, a person I have sworn to myself that I will never lie to again? I look up at him, and he sighs.

“Women really can’t keep anything inside. I assume you mean Jayce.” It’s a statement.

I nod, sipping my coffee. “Yeah…”

“Fine, once and only if you both reconcile.” He smirks.

“If?” I huff. “Have faith.”

“I do. In both of you. Well, the reason I have never shared is…” he trails off as he finishes off his hot drink. We’re demons, and no matter how powerful we are, we can still be bound to serve, he adds through the mind-link.

My heart thunders as I stare at him. Bound… Used?

That means… Like the djinn was years ago by the Escarras, but-

Exactly, and I don’t think anyone thought about it, but I am fairly certain Mom wasn’t just a prisoner of Endora; I think she was enslaved to serve her. With her immense power, Mom should have been able to break out, but I think she wasn’t able to; I think Endora had command over her. She wouldn’t have been truly free until Endora died.

Unease settles into the pit of my stomach. That makes sense… Mom is powerful, even if Endora was, too. Mom should have been able to put up a bit more of a fight… but she obeyed. When she talked about it, she sounded helpless, like she had no choice.

So, you’re saying even part-demons can be enslaved?

Yes. And the information I have mentions this, so if that’s knowledge you desire, I will give it to you, but I need you to swear you won’t share it with anyone. Not Heaven or Allie. And only tell Jayce the bare minimum. If you promise me that, it is yours.

I nod slowly, still shocked by what I just learned. “I promise.”

“Good.” He sticks his tongue out, and I prod his arm, smiling.

“But I am curious about this voice you heard… Was it a pretty voice?” I ask slyly.

He cocks a brow. “Kinda? It was seductive, very enticing and yet… mysterious.” He frowns, and I laugh softly.

“Are you hooked on a voice, brother?”

“No. I just need to know what or who that was.”

“Well, if I can help you figure it out, I will. Now, come on, let’s have some fun!” I say. Raising my hand, I whisper a spell, feeling my power bend in a way that isn’t normal. Frowning, I focus on pulling on my demon magic as I freeze over the floor of the training ground until it’s one big ice rink. They weren’t kidding when they said magic doesn’t work properly here.

“Si…” Ahren says with a small smile, realising what I’m doing when I raise my feet and add blades of ice to the bottom. I then do the same to his boots. “I haven’t skated in ages.”

“I know, but come on, I don’t even know how well they’ll hold with the interference,” I admit, giggling as I place my empty cup down.

He grins. “Risk-taker, I’m not insured, you know.”

“It’s fine, you’ll live!” I exclaim as I get up and pull him onto the ice. He chuckles as I race off. I may not have skated in a couple of years, but it’s not something you forget. I dance across the rink, spinning when I near the other side, turning to see that Ahren has made his way onto the ice. I laugh as I watch him test the blades, clearly having no faith in my work.

Before I can gloat too long, he tests them out, and then he’s gliding across the ice before he pivots and does a slow spin.

“Oh, yay! You can do it! Look!” I’m laughing so hard I nearly miss my edge. “Oops!”

He chuckles as we drift toward the centre and, without even planning it, I reach for his hand just as I used to do when we were kids, and he takes it just as he would back then.

We swing our arms once, twice, and then he pulls me into a side-by-side spin. I tuck in close, my shoulder brushing his, and we rotate together, faster and faster until the rink blurs into streaks of white. I can’t stop giggling the entire time, strands of my hair whipping in my face.