Chapter Sixteen

Ky settled into the stuffed chair positioned in front of the fire in the dining room. Roman paused next to him before he exited. He squeezed his shoulder in silent solidarity. And left.

Evie had departed five minutes earlier with Flynn and Vivi to show them to rooms where each could spend the night.

In a blink, Dom disappeared, though not an actual air-poof disappearance. He simply moved so silently and quickly that he was gone.

Ky stared into the crackling burn of the real fire, not gas log, and soaked in its heat. How long he remained still and fixated, he didn’t know. He might’ve dozed.

His mother cleared her throat as she neared. “I’m worried about you.”

He blinked up at her, startled.

“You have to enjoy life when you can,” his mother said softly as she sat in the chair opposite him. “Because sometimes it throws you worm-riddled apples.”

Ky darted a brief glance her way before staring back into the fire. “One minute I’m fighting for life in a human-induced hell. The next I’m eating dinner with my mother’s new boyfriend who tried to kill me last year when we had to tell him we took out his psychotic sister.” He snorted a humorless laugh. “Jesus, Mom. Dom? Anyone else in the world would be a safer bet than him.”

“Life is best lived when you take risks.” She plucked at a fingernail. “He’s fantastic in bed.”

“Guess a few hundred centuries teaches you a trick or two.” Ky scrunched his eyes closed. “That was seriously too much. I don’t want the images in my head.” He shuddered. “Him naked. Ew.”

Evie laughed deep and rich. “She’s an elemental.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“Didn’t have to. I assume Vivi shares abilities with Nova to some extent. Nova is quite powerful. You’ll like her. She’s feisty and funny as hell.”

“Roman actually bonded with her?” Ky didn’t glance away from the flames.

“She makes him stronger by giving him a reason beyond us to stay alive and come home. You must’ve noticed he was drifting more and more into apathy with each creature you destroyed. It took so much out of all of you, but him the most. It’s the magic he has to use. It changes him each time.”

“He does seem more plugged into life now.”

“Now you found someone…”

He glanced up sharply but found no judgment from her, perhaps even a hint of approval.

He said, “No I didn’t. We were forced into a cell on full-moon nights like two horses selected for their bloodlines to breed. I didn’t give in because it was wrong. There’s nothing legit between us.”

“Oh, okay,” she said sarcastically. “You tell yourself there’s nothing there, but I witnessed her pull you out of a tailspin when you went into a panic meltdown. I’ve never seen you break down like that before. Makes me angrier than a rattled hornet that they pushed you this far, but the two of you have a strong connection.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Is it?” she asked. “She trusts you, which I think isn’t something she gives easily. And she likes you.”

“I won’t know if anything we do is because she’s been programmed by the humans who brainwashed her or if it’s her choice.”

His mom made a tsking sound. “I raised you better than that.” She leaned forward to pat his chest. “The answer is in here. No human can mess with the bond between mates. When that kind of heavy feeling hits, it can happen against our will and out of the blue. What I see is two young people who need each other but fight the connection between them out of bullheaded stupidity.” She stood. “Don’t fight it too long, or you’ll lose it. Once she’s gone or you’re dead, you won’t have time to sit around spinning bullshit to convince yourself it was not meant to be.”

“There are too many reasons why permanence isn’t for me. Why she has to go her own way.” Ky scrubbed a hand down his face. “It’s impossible.”