“Certainly, or we’ll take him back to Earth.”
I stiffened. Home.Earth. “We can go back?”
Serlotminden tensed, arm tight around me. Too late, I heard my words.We. I had promised to stay, but I hadn’t realized Earth was a possibility; that seeing my family again was a possibility.
He gripped me so tight that his claws dimpled my skin. “You can go home. I will take you.”
“Mindy,” I started.
“I will, but I don’t want to. I know it’s not fair, but I need you, Bartholomew, forever. I can’t breathe without you. The very thought of separating from you guts me.” He took a deepbreath. “But I will. There are things you have to know first. Your memory would be erased. You wouldn’t know me or anything that happened while you were off Earth. I can’t go with you. The Coalition won’t allow it, and from what I understand of your planet, I wouldn’t fit in.”
If Serlotminden came to Earth, he’d have to hide. How could I do that to him? I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right nor would I enjoy it. We could never be open together.
I stared at him, and he watched me with wide eyes as he took deep breaths. His hold remained like a vice around me and his tail was coiled about my leg. I kissed his chest. I’d promised him to stay. I loved him, and the thought of being apart from him… My mind refused to conjure it. My family probably thought I was dead at this point, anyway. Not that I missed them any less. I wanted my moms to meet Serlotminden—they would love him. Marie and Joy would tease me horribly about Mindy, but they’d like him too.
Rolling on top of him, I tried to put all my weight on my elbows and knees, so I didn’t hurt him. His hands moved to my hips, gripping me and making it difficult to not squash him. I pressed my lips to his firmly in a claiming kiss that broke no argument of who he belonged to.
“You need to know something, Serlotminden.”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I know that.”
“I am never going to leave you. Do you understand? You are mine, and I’m keeping you.”
A wide smile stretched over his lips. “Thank you.”
I scoffed. “You say that now. Wait until I'm old and cranky, and you’re desperate to get away.”
“That will never happen.”
I captured his mouth, sucking his tongue, but my thoughts went back to Earth. My family was there. My moms. My sisters. I was leaving them behind. How was that fair to them? They probably thought I was dead, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t like to know I wasn’t.
Serlotminden groaned against my mouth. I buried my fingers in his hair. How could I leave him? Attacking his mouth, I knew I couldn’t. He was mine, and that was all there was to it.
Chapter 41
Team Human: First Official Meeting
I sat on the mossy floor, staring at Seth and Caleb who were on the couch, equally silent. Serlotminden had arranged for us to hang out, and I wasn’t sure why. I mean, they both seemed nice from the limited amount of time I’d interacted with them, but that didn’t mean we had to awkwardly stare at each other. Seth was sweating, his round face red, and he wore a thick black hoodie, which couldn’t be helping. Caleb clutched his cane, wings out and tail wiggling.
“So you were dead,” I said, then immediately wanted to smack myself. Who led with that? Apparently I did.
Caleb, thank god, didn’t seem upset. “Yep. I died falling down a staircase, then wandered around, found Seth, got stuck in abody, and now I’m here. It’s been a whirlwind. Well, a twenty-three-years-dead whirlwind, but sure.”
“Sounds interesting.” I glanced at Seth, who tugged on the front of his sweater. Caleb patted Seth’s arm, and he smiled tensely. I asked Seth, “Kal took you?”
“This giant crystal showed we were soulmates, and he abducted me.”
I nodded. Mindy had mentioned something about a crystal that tested people’s soul types and also paired mates. I supposed at some point I would be soul tested, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. On one hand, who the fuck cared what type of soul I had? On the other hand, it might be fun to know.
“It’s sort of their religion,” Caleb explained, banging his cane on the floor rapidly as his tail wiggled. “It’s difficult to explain, but they revere the crystal. Big C crystal, FYI.”
“Good to know.”
“It can find soulmates and ties people together,” he continued. “Like genetically.” Caleb gestured to himself and Seth. “We’re bound to Kal and Fyn. We can’t be too far away from our mates. The Crystal linked us. The bond also allows us to speak telepathically, though that doesn’t work with every species. Apparently, we’re more compatible than most.”
