“Nothing. In fact, feel free to catch one.” Marcus was almost jovial. I’d never seen him like this. When he flashed a smile, my heart almost melted. I swallowed and turned to Riley.
She was so beautiful she made me ache. The perfect match for Marcus. “Why am I here?” I asked.
Her green-rimmed gaze regarded me soberly. “We want you here. Marcus and Havoc and I are mated now. Marcus wants to cement the bond with a traditional Centaur ceremony.”
It was like being kicked in the gut by a Dragon. I struggled to breathe. “I can’t be part of this,” I husked.
Riley’s eyes were suspiciously bright. “I know. But you were fated to be ours, Rafael. And even if you can’t join the bond, I would be honored if you celebrated with us.”
I cast my gaze around the cave. “I don’t see an exit. Do I really have a choice in this?” I did, of course. I could command them to take me out of here.
But if I did that—it would truly be the end.
She swallowed, and there was no longer any doubt that there were tears in her eyes. Tears, and the knowledge that she knew all too well that they couldn’t hold me if I truly wanted to go. “If you really want to leave, Havoc will take you out of here,” she said softly. “He told me you wouldn’t stay.” She looked down at the ground. “I almost didn’t find you—Tareal told me you’d gone through the gate, and the Bellati guard had no idea what I was talking about. So I had to Jump back in time to find you.”
I had no memory of going through the gate at all. She must really want me here. “You should have let me go,” I whispered.
She took my hand and stroked the scars. A spider tracing of raised, silver lines ran along my fingers and the back of my hands. Her touch sent electric zings clear through me as she met my eyes.
Riley used her free hand to pull her hair back along her temple—to reveal a similar, raised series of lines extending back into her hair.
“We are more alike than you know,” she said. “Please, Rafael. Stay. Afterward, you can go, we won’t stop you.”
Did she know what she was asking? But with those beautiful eyes pleading with me, how could I say no?
I looked at Marcus, who now stood frozen, watching. His arms were filled with candles.
“How can I help?” I asked.
He grinned, a flash of white teeth against brown skin, and transferred some candles to me. He gestured to the gravel. “Put them in a circle first, about thirty feet around. So about every six feet or so. And then you can put them on the rocks near the circle until you run out.”
I sighed and started putting them in place.
Havoc stared down at Fang, who seemed to be sampling something on the nearby boulder. She dipped her little legs in, and then carried bits to her mouth.
“She likes nutbutter,” the Dragon shifter said in surprise. “All this time I’ve been catching fucking bugs for her, and all I had to do was pick up some nutbutter.”
Marcus handed him an armful of cloth.
“What the fucking hell do I do with this?” Havoc growled.
“Part of the ceremony involves kneeling,” Marcus explained.
“You too big a baby to fucking kneel on gravel?” The Dragon rumbled.
“I would like some cushion for my knees.” Riley took some candles from me.
“Put the cloth in the center.” Marcus stooped to pick up one of the other packs—only it wasn’t a pack, so much as a package. When he unwrapped it, it revealed a set of small drums and a shiny pouch. “Pile the layers, make it nice and soft.”
Havoc stared at him. “I am not nesting.”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “Just pile the freking cloth, Havoc.”
The Dragon cast a long look at the food. “I could put the grub out instead.”
Marcus snorted a laugh. “Forget that. You’ll eat it all. Stick with nesting.”
Havoc snarled and stomped to the center of the circle, where he started tossing the cloth around.
