“I love being inside of you,” Adonis says. “I love it so much. I love…” Adonis stops speaking and my heart stops. Dax and Killian exchange a look and then smile at me. “You need some rest, sunshine. And so do we. Goodnight gorgeous.”
“Goodnight,” I smile at them both.
“I hope you dream of me, little dove.” I smile at Dax, “Goodnight.” He winks and then him and Killian walk out, closing the door behind them.
Adonis now holds me tightly in his arms and he kisses my head. My heart feels slightly hurt that he didn’t just say those three words to me.
“Why didn’t you say it?”
Confused, he looks at me, “Say what?”
“Oh, don’t not read my fucking thoughts now!” Anger rises in my voice and I lean back, pushing away from him.“You hate it when I do! So I try not to!” He throws his hands up in irritation.“You love me. Say it, Adonis. Say those words. You don’t need that fucking missing piece of your soul. You can still feel deeply.” I place my hand on his heart and then place my other hand over mine, sitting on top of the necklace I never took off. “I love you Adonis. I have loved you for a while now. I—” I stop talking, eyes going wide.
The necklace under my hand is beating in sync not with my own, but with Adonis’ heart.
“Dani,” I shush him to stop talking so I can focus on his heartbeat and the necklace.
Could it be this simple?
I wait just another few seconds, ensuring that what I’m feeling is correct.
It is.
“Shitting god, Adonis!” I yell, practically jumping off the bed. “Though still I hang, my rhythms a part, for within my shine, I beat like a heart!” He looks at me dumbfounded. “That’s what Suzanna said to me!” I shout. “Your heartbeat… it matches this necklace. This necklace is you. This is the missing piece of your soul Octavia took! She put it in this fucking necklace!” Excitement washes over my expression and Adonis stares at me like I have six heads.
I grab his hand and make him touch the necklace. “Feel it.”
“It’s… impossible. I would have known.”
“But would you really? This has been missing since the day she cursed you. It hasn’t been in your reach for centuries, Adonis. So how could you know?”
He blinks. “I… I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a coincidence?”
“Oh come on!” I sit up on the bed. “Don’t give me your self-pity bullshit, Adonis. This is your fucking soul in here. It beats with your heart; it hums against my chest anytime you come near me. This. Is. You. I love you, and you love me, even without this little piece of you. Tell me something real!”
“You want something real?” He hooks his finger under my chin, forcing me to look up into his eyes. “Want to know why I love red so much? It’s not because of this heirloom here, either. It goes much deeper.” He taps the gem on my chest and continues. “The first day I met you, in the bar, when fate played its hand, you were wearing that red lipstick. The moment our eyes met; I sensed the unspoken connection that sparked between us. If only you could grasp the depth of what I felt when I laid eyes on you...” He strokes my face and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You looked up at me with those innocent eyes and perfect lips, and youwanted me just as much as I wanted you. I memorized every delicate freckle that danced across your face, captivated by your beauty. And those lips, Dani... those perfect fucking red lips... now all I ever see is the color red.”
My eyes start to water, and a tear betrays me and slides down my face. “That night, my heart started beating again, and I knew you were my mate—all of our mates. Even before you did the summoning spell, I knew it was a matter of time before you were mine. I realize now, Dani, that I don’t need that small piece of me, that small piece Octavia had, and I don’t need it back. It isn’t necessary anymore. I need you, and only you. I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you. When I sensed the grimoire and my necklace, I was eager to find them both. But they led me to you, and I suddenly forgot what I had been searching for all this time. I realized it was you. I was searching for you. I went to the bar that night, knowing you were there but not knowing who you were. The stars aligned for me the second I saw you. I will love you in this life and every single life that follows. You are mine. You are Dax’s. And you are Killian’s. I will share you gladly with them, but I will always be your number fucking one, my beautiful goddess.”
A sob escapes my mouth as Adonis grabs the back of my head and brings his lips to mine. My heart is overwhelmed with pure joy at this moment and I don’t want it to end.
I pull away from his soft lips and push his onyx hair away from his brow. “I love you so much. I want to break this curse. Your soul, Adonis, means too much to me. I want you to be free. I want you all to be free and to have your wings.”
He sighs. “There is something I didn’t tell you about the curse.”
“Okay...” I look into his blue eyes and wait for him to go on.
“Should you choose to break it, you bind your soul to ours.”
“I’ve already done that.”
He takes in another breath and his facial expression has me worried. “If you choose to free us Dani, your soul belongs to us, completely. You would become a demon, like us. We would have the choice to either stay here in this realm or go to the afterlife together.”
My heart sinks.
“There are still questions we have about the curse… we haven’t really understood it correctly… but I can’t ask you to sacrifice your humanity. It isn’t fair for you. If we have to stay cursed in this town for all eternity, we will do it. Anything to be with you, Dani. That’s what we want. You. Not our wings, not the afterlife, none of it. Only you.”
“Well holy shit… Okay.”
