Page 23 of Eight Embers
Bolstered, I turn to her mates. “I need someone with currency and a vehicle to drive me for supplies.” Then I remember to look at Delaney’s arm again, and sure enough, a few of the dark spidery veins have lightened considerably just from this smallact of kindness. I know I’m on the right path; we just need to figure out a way to get back to my realm so we can carry the plan out.
The one she’s most familiar with, Adam I believe, volunteers to stay home with Delaney since she’s not confused by him as much, as well as the two security guards whom she seems to have a past with, and then some of the older, more adult mates and the demon and the smaller one that is scared of breasts are stepping forward to drive us all. The rest opt to stay back with Delaney, since the vehicle we’re taking will only fit so many bottoms.
Chapter nine
Ash
This might be the strangest trip to a store I've ever taken. It's odd enough looking over and seeing my boss in the passenger seat, but then to have my TA in the back, next to a demon, next to a fucking Unicorn, and I feel like we're just a few vowels away from a very bad joke.
“So, what's this idea of yours?” I finally ask as we're about to pull into a parking lot.
Saladriel’s silent for a minute, fiddling with the lid on the tube of lip gloss Delaney gave him. “I think... that when the goddess gave her those marks, she tied them to the fate of my realm. She told Delaney she had to help us, that she was the chosen one, and that she should be thrilled about it.”
“She did not seem thrilled about it,” Zac surmises.
Saladriel shakes his head. “And I don't think my goddess liked that very much. She is... vainer than other deities I've heardabout. She likely took affront when Delaney wasn't jumping up in joy to be given such a task.”
I pull into a spot and turn off the car, turning to see everybody. “I just want to know how she physically expects Delaney to be mated to that many more people. We are not exactly struggling, but there are so many of us already. Delaney’s having a hard time I think, though she won't admit it. I think she feels as if we don't get enough of her. And to some extent we all feel that as well, though we'd never hold that against her. She didn't choose this, none of us did. But your goddess on the other hand...”
“There may be a way to undo the marks she was gifted.”
Rush gasps and leans forward to grab onto Saladriel’s hand. “You mean... I might not have to be terrorized by a whole herd of you?”
I snort. Saladriel looks at him kind of sideways, and then he pats the demon on the head like he's a puppy. Apt. “Mating bonds in my realm are different. They are given by the goddess, and they are planned by the goddess. We do not form them on our own. If we want to be mated to somebody, we must find them on our own and just make whatever commitment we want to make. There are no marks or soul mates.
“And that's the problem of our realm—mating is unappealing to us as of now. The goddess has been trying to foist these bonds on us for years, and they seem to be getting harder and harder to make stick. She's playing with everybody's souls like they’re taffy, pulling and braiding them together, and then she’s surprised when things fizzle out and people are left even more depressed in the aftermath of it all.”
“It wouldn't harm the people she's supposedly mated to if the bonds disappeared? Because in our realm, an unfulfilled fatedmate bond is incredibly painful.” I definitely wasn’t in my right mind when I thought I could just postpone ours indefinitely.
Saladriel shakes his head. “Unicorns have to want the bond in order for them to stick. They might feel a rush of false happiness at the beginning of a bond starting, but over time, if that bond isn't fortified over and over again, it'll dissolve on its own. It goes to reason then, that if we can somehow figure out who she's supposed to be bonded to, and make them happy without her, then the bonds wouldn't work out anyway. Yes, it will hurt initially, but that’s only because you’re ripping something out of their soul. Something that should never have been there. For all I know, they might feel better, more themselves once it’s gone.”
Even aside from the tearing-their-soul thing, I don’t like how the rest of that sounds as far as Saladriel’s concerned; Delaney looked like she was getting a little used to him today. I think she’d ultimately understand if he chose not to be with her, but…as her mate, I don’t want her to experience that pain.
Wil scratches his forehead, clearly thinking through everything critically like he does. “That seems... a bit underhanded. Don't they deserve happiness, too? Do you not think that others from your realm could find happiness with our Delaney? We all know she has enough heart to give out to as many people as she needs to. I'm weary of playing with things that deities give us. I don’t see that ending well.”
“Unicorns are just created differently,” Saladriel replies with a shrug, and then he climbs out of the car.
We all get out and follow, not really sure how that answers everything, but somehow it does in his mind.
I grab a cart as we walk into the big box store, and I'm thinking it's good that Leo stayed home. He surely would have been overwhelmed with everything that this place is. Also, he’dprobably be highly mistrustful of a place that sells milk a few aisles over from paint for your house or clothing that would fit anybody. “What are we looking for?”
Saladriel looks so stressed out, his eyes wide as he takes in everything. Yeah, maybe bringing him was a bad idea as well. “Whatisthis place?”
Zac grabs him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at him. “Look at me, buddy. We've kept you pretty sheltered so far, I can see how this would be a shock to you. Can you describe to me what it is you think would help Delaney to get better? We need to focus on that. Tell me what you think is going to help her, and we'll figure out what options we have here.”
Saladriel blinks a few times and then finds a way to compose himself. “The realm is the bigger issue. Short term though, glitter. Colors and glitter. Colorful paper. Something to make happy things with.”
“Things that make people happy? Say no more. Somebody point me in the direction of the mashed potatoes.”
I shake my head at Rush’s enthusiasm, thinking it's pretty damn lucky we live in a place where there are so many different species everywhere, because otherwise, wow. We'd be getting some looks for appearing in public together.
Rush immediately takes off in search of potatoes, but…yeah, I’m not following him.
“Someone want to keep an eye on that demon?” Zac asks, but in a way that implies he can’t be bothered to do it himself, just that he thinks it might be a helpful idea.
We think about it, really, we do, but I guess none of us are that tempted.
“Alright then. To the craft aisle?”
