"He is not your brother. He never will be your brother. He is a demon, an evil creature designed to cause mayhem and destruction. He is incapable of love, incapable of feeling anything but selfish desire and the drive to bring forth suffering."
"Asshole."
We stare at each other for a few minutes, Cora's hands clenched, wrists still firm within my grasp but the second I see her eyes harden in her resolve, I crumble. I do not want this. I don't want to fight, I don't want to be at odds or create distance between us. I don't want to lose my mate over my stubbornness and jealousy, both of which have no place here because my Cora is right and she deserves to have this connection in her life.
"Cora..."
She shakes her head. "I'm trying really hard to keep things in perspective right now. I understand your anger toward Zan, anger over the role he's played in my multiple lives. I understand that the last four days have been hard, both emotionally and physically, and not being able to get back into the swing of our relationship has taken its toll on both of us." Then my angel sighs. "But what I'm really struggling with is the feeling that you just don't trust me, trust our bond."
"Cora, my love—"
"That's how it feels, Havok. It feels like you don't trust me enough to not put myself or our family in danger by keeping Zan here. You don't trust that despite everything, I know what I'm doing with him." Tears shine in her eyes and my heart drops. "And you don't trust my love for you, our bond as mates, and through blood, is real and true because if you did then you wouldn't worry about me being around any other unmated male. I'm trying really hard, Havok, because I do love you, more than you will ever know but if you can't understand my need to do this, my need to have Zan around then I'm not sure where to go from here."
Jesus. That's like a fucking knife to my poor black heart. I need to get over this shit or else I will lose Cora for sure. Physically she will be here but emotionally she will not. My love will put walls between us again, walls that I won't be able to scale and I cannot have that. Not now, not ever.
"Then make me understand, angel. Please. This situation is hard for me to process because you are at the heart of it. My instinct to keep you from harm, to keep you away from those who could take you from me is so strong, stronger than before and it has made it harder for me to see clearly. My judgement is clouded so please, make me understand so that I may be the mate you deserve and not the one you are currently dealing with."
Her eyes instantly soften—thank fuck—and her body relaxes. "Can I show you?"
I don't know what that means but I nod anyway and drop her wrists.
"This is going to be kind of weird, it won't hurt or anything but it's going to probably feel like I'm tickling your brain."
I blink as Cora leans over me. "Tickling my brain?"
She smiles and more of my worry eases. "I'm not sure how else to describe it."
"Ok..." She rests her elbows on my shoulders, places her index and middle fingers against my temples. "And what exactly is this you will be doing?"
"I'm going to make you understand, show you why I feel so strongly about Zan staying here." Cora kisses me sweetly then presses her forehead to mine as I wrap her in my arms. "And it might help to know that you are the only living thing on the planet that I can do this with because you are my mate, my heart. What I'm about to do is specific to you and I alone, something created from our bond because it is truth."
"I am sorry, my angel." I sigh as she throws my own words back in my face. "Forgive me for my behavior, for my words. I just—"
Cora nods against me, closes her eyes. "I know, lovey. We have so much going on, so much still hanging over our heads and after the last two hundred and seventy-five years we have some serious adjusting to do. It'll happen though, we will finally be able to live the life we so desperately want and when we do I want my brother to be a part of that life just like your brothers." One more sweet kiss. "So let me try to make you understand. Open your heart, free your mind, my love. See beyond with me."
My eyes slide shut as my brain does in fact begin to tickle. Maybe not tickle really, but tingle maybe? The sensation is strange but not unpleasant, and as I succumb further to my love’s ministrations, I find it oddly soothing.
My mind drifts like a ship rocking subtly on the waves of the ocean after the storm, the lull of it pulls me deeper until my mind goes blank, a quiet peace falling over me before fear slices through my gut and my mind is filled with visions.
The sky is pitch black, not a star to be found.
A fire rages behind me, a fire deep in the heart of a cave, a cave well hidden in the Dragovihk kingdom.
I turn toward the fire and see two figures being forcefully removed from their refuge, two absolutely beautiful creatures, one large, one small, both with long, dark hair and the fairest of skin.
I watch as they are forced to their knees, hands and feet shackled, slave bands clamped around their necks.
My chest fills with despair, fills with hurt and fear, anger, so much anger that my body vibrates with the intensity of it.
There are many figures now, at least four on each of the beautiful ones—tall, slim, sickly creatures that bind the beautiful ones, imprison them, immobilize them.
Another comes into view, glides on smooth movements, his corpse-like form crouching eye level with the female.
Nero.
"Are you alone?" he hisses in her face, raises a skeletal finger to her cheek.
The female recoils but shows no fear as the male, her mate, struggles against his chains. "Do not touch her!"
