Ambrose grabs coffee for him and me before sitting next to me. If anyone were to look at us, they’d say we were the perfect couple.
“Gods, you could have showered first,” Talonis teases.
“Or Ambrose could have used his magic to cover the scent at least,” Kael says.
“There is no covering that scent,” Brax says.
My cheeks pinken. I remember Ambrose wiping away the scent with his magic last night, but apparently, it wasn’t enough for their heightened noses.
Emeric gives me a sweet smile from across the table like he’s happy for me. Riven doesn’t tease me, but mostly because he’s lost in a book. Sylara is the only one who gives me a concerned look, but I don’t speak to her either.
“What are you reading about, Riven?” I ask, trying to change the subject off of me.
“My mother’s journals. She talks a lot about the different gods and curses they’ve created before.”
“The gods have created curses before? How were they broken?”
“Still trying to figure that part out. But yes, it appears they have. It appears that Hestia, the goddess of the witches, reallydoesn’t get along with Nizal, the god of vampires, or Luan, the god of the wolf shifters. Something happened that made them angry with each other. And I suspect that the curses have a lot more to do with their relationships to each other than it does with any mating bonds being broken or not being grateful for the powers we were granted by them.”
If it’s about them and not us, that means we have very little power to break the curses.
“The good thing is that it does appear that the witches were able to make contact with the gods before and that that meeting helped them end or break the curses.”
“They contacted the gods? How?”
Riven shakes his head. “My mother was vague on the details.”
I’m about to ask more questions when a burning pain starts in the back of my hand. The hand that doesn’t have a marking.
Unlike before, I don’t cry out in pain. I’m prepared. And know exactly what is happening. Everyone continues talking. Continuing the conversation without me.
Ambrose casually slings his arm around my shoulders, seemingly as oblivious as the others about what is happening with my body. But I watch with wide eyes as a crescent moon marks my left hand. The same shape as the one on Ambrose’s chest.
Ambrose hisses, pulling his arm back.
“Did you pinch me or something?” he asks with a confused look on his face as he cradles his hand like I just burned him.“If you don’t want me to touch you, just tell me. I’ll always respect your boundaries. I just thought that after everything, it would be helpful to progress forward in our relationship. It would help to act like a couple.”
“I didn’t hurt you.”I hold out my hand.“Does your hand look something like this?”
Shock rings over his face as he gently takes my hand in his and kisses it tenderly, like he’s trying to ease my pain. “It’s my crescent moon. Does that mean you accept me as your mate? Truly?”
“Let me see your hand.”
He holds out his hand. And I prepare myself to see a snowflake. One that mirrors the one on my other hand. But I see something far different.
Ambrose looks at it in confusion. “What is it?” he turns his hand in many different directions, trying to figure out what it means.
“Nyx,” I whisper, already knowing it’s true without any real proof.
Riven comes over and studies Ambrose’s hand for a second. He nods. “The rune means vampire.”
I stand up abruptly. “I need to see him.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kael says.
Everyone mumbles their agreement.
“Where is he?” I ask Talonis, knowing that he’s been keeping an eye on him the most.