Page 19

The night had ended without the Raven’s Hand officially joining our cause, though Nico seemed optimistic.

I’d returned to our shelter with Lucius and Luca, while Nico had taken the first watch with Sawyer.

I’d tried to settle in, anticipating a peaceful reprieve from the weight of my life—but I couldn’t stop thinking about everything Sawyer had said.

What was a fated? What was the Book of Astrium?

Was that the mysterious book I still had hidden at the bottom of my pack?

The questions burned in my mind, and I had no answers. Conveniently, there’d been no time to ask the princes. I suffered in silence, my wandering mind wholly unsatisfied. Lu slept soundly only a few paces away, his soft, rhythmic snores were getting under my skin.

I froze when I heard Luca stir. He quietly got up and poured himself a cup of water.

The warm light cast from dying embers caught on the sharp planes of his bare chest, highlighting the tattoos that canvassed his skin.

He was a work of art. The image of him naked was burned into my memory, one I’d tucked away and revisited an embarrassing number of times.

Now, I ached to trace the lines that scrolled over his chest and up his neck.

Maybe this was the moment I’d been waiting for.

Luca had never tried to hide his affections, and there had been very few private moments between us.

This was a gift I needed to take advantage of.

He was the most forthcoming of the brothers.

If I could sweeten him up—play into his flirtatious nature—maybe he would finally answer the questions that stretched like unmapped constellations in my mind.

“Luca,” I whispered quickly, before I could think better of it. “Are you awake?”

“No, Mic. I am sound asleep,” he said with a chuckle.

I was grateful for the veil of night to hide the flush rising in my cheeks.

Once, conversations with men had come easy.

But romance? That was foreign, awkward—uncharted territory I’d never dared explore.

Everything I knew about love came from the sappy movies Gwen and I used to binge.

“What I meant to say is... if you’re awake, would you be interested in some company and possibly sharing a bit of warmth with your favorite human?”

Before I’d even finished speaking, he was collecting his bedroll and laying it beside mine.

“Whatever you wish,” he said as he slipped under the blankets and wrapped his arm around me. “You know, this works better skin to skin.”

I smiled in relief, relaxing into his presence. Being with him was easy. I was the one putting up roadblocks where there didn’t need to be any. I decided then and there to let my guard down—to indulge his shameless flirting and see where it might lead.

I wiggled out of my bedroll and into his, settling my back against his bare chest. My own insecurities kept me from meeting his eyes. “Is this better?” I asked.

“You tell me,” he said. The warmth of his body radiated over me, his power channeling heat into our shared space. I melted into him, his body cocooning mine, and a soft moan escaped as I snuggled closer.

“I can be your designated warmer from here on out,” he offered, his scorching fingers tracing lazy patterns along my arms.

“That sounds awfully official.”

“Absolutely. I’ll dutifully sleep beside you every night and make sure you’re never cold. It’s a very important position. And if you moan like that every night,” he added, nuzzling the back of my neck, “I’ll know I’m doing a good job.”

“Like a real-life teddy bear.”

“Teddy? Who’s Teddy?” he asked, pausing his ministrations. It took me a moment to remember—we came from completely different worlds.

“Never mind. It’s just a human thing,” I deflected. How do you explain a beloved plush bear to someone who could actually shift into one? It sounded absurd in my head.

“I don’t know what or who a teddy bear is, but I’ll be your Luca bear.” As he said it, I felt the telltale tingling of his magic mixing with mine. A soft blue light glowed beneath the blankets as he began to life-bind with me.

“You don’t have to do that, Luca. I’m feeling fine, really.” I tried to shift away, but his strong arms locked me in place.

“I know I don’t have to. But I want to. I know when you’re hurting, and I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Why? Why are you all so determined to help me? Is it because I’m a fated?” The question tumbled out before I could stop it. I couldn’t waste my chance to bring it up.

He tensed. Silence lingered, fragile and loaded. I wanted him to tell me so desperately I half-hoped my will alone could force the answer out of him.

My heart fell as the seconds ticked by. When I’d convinced myself he wouldn’t answer, he broke the silence. “What do you know about fateds, Mic?”

“I know Sawyer referred to me as one after he fought Nico. What does it mean?”

“Sawyer never should’ve said that. It’s a beast thing,” he said simply, and I knew he was trying to brush me off.

I wouldn’t let it go. I steeled myself and turned in the bedroll to face him. His honey-colored eyes looked dull in the dark, shadowed by things that had nothing to do with the lighting. “Don’t do that to me, Luca. Not you.”

“Oh, so it’s fine for you to shut me out—say it’s a ‘human thing’—but I’m supposed to explain every nuance of my world?” he whispered, a sharpness in his tone. “I never thought of you as a hypocrite.”

“That’s not fair,” I said, trying to shove him away and failing miserably. “A teddy bear is just... it’s something trivial. A child’s toy in my realm—a stuffed likeness of a bear that kids cuddle at night or share tea parties with.”

“Really? You snuggled with a likeness of me as a child?” he asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Don’t change the subject. You can’t keep hiding things from me. Do you really think so little of me that you can’t even share your world with me?”

“Honestly, Mic, I’m not sure how to explain it. I don’t even know if the term ‘fated’ applies to a human. You should’ve asked Nico. He’s better with words.”

“I’m asking you,” I pleaded. He tried to turn away, but I cupped his jaw and brought his gaze back to mine. “Please.”

He huffed and placed his hand over mine, holding it there as his eyes closed.

“A fated is... something better shown than explained,” he murmured, and when his eyes reopened, they burned with something I hadn’t seen before.

“Have you ever been drawn to something so completely?” he asked, brushing a lock of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear.

His fingers left a scalding line along my jaw.

His thumb grazed my lip, rubbing over the sensitive skin, setting off a firestorm.

“Have you ever felt a bond you couldn’t explain?

” His voice wrapped around me, unraveling logic with every syllable.

My thoughts scattered under the weight of his stare.

“Have you ever wanted something so badly you’d kill for it? ”

He leaned in, and I swore I might die if I didn’t have more. When his lips finally touched mine, it was electric. My soul felt radiant. I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

His kiss was soft, a question lingering on his lips.

I leaned into it, giving him my unspoken answer.

He responded in kind, deepening the kiss.

His tongue found mine, both of us exploring with equal hunger.

One hand tangled in my hair, the other roamed across my body, worshiping my curves and palming my breast. His thumb grazed my nipple and I felt it in my core.

I’d never been touched like that before—my body bloomed to life, hungry for more.

“No! Mic!” Lucius called into the darkness, voice thick with emotion.

We froze. Panic overtook me, smothering every ounce of pleasure from my body.

I braced for Lucius to call me a whore, to say I disgusted him.

But instead, only a stream of incomprehensible mumbles followed as he rolled over in his sleep.

“He’s only dreaming,” Luca whispered. I let out a shaky breath. The moment was gone. The passion snuffed out. Darkness returned to Luca’s gaze. “You should try to get some rest, Mic. You need to keep your strength.”

Neither of us were ready to face Lucius’s reaction. Still, a hot wave of guilt settled in my chest. What had I done? Had I manipulated Luca into making some egregious mistake?

My sister had five husbands—but that wasn’t the norm. And how could something like that ever work between brothers?

“Luca, I?—”

“You don’t have to say anything. Nothing’s changed. I’ll still stay and keep you warm.” He kissed my forehead gently, and rolled onto his back, resting a tattooed arm over his eyes.

That was it. The conversation was over. And now I was more confused than ever.