I sigh. Of course, he knows I didn’t tell her the truth. They all probably do.
“I didn’t lie, I just, it’s complicated,” I fumble for an explanation. Knowing full well that I did actually lie and that there is no way of getting around that. They both know that I lied, they were there. I told her that Sirens didn’t have mates, and they do. That’s a lie.
Fuck.
Raiden glances up, “I know why you freaked out and made a snap, stupid decision to lie, but she isn’t going anywhere. She’s ours, and we are all one hundred percent hers. Stop being a coward.”
I open my mouth to curse him out, but quickly close it again. He’s right. I am being a coward.
Doc claps me on the shoulder, “We’re going to tell her now. I’m going first, though.” He smirks at me as he adds, “I have a feeling your conversation isn’t going to be a short one.”
I sigh, “Probably not. Come on, let's get this over with.”
“I think they’re down at your swimming lake,” Raiden says, not looking up from the book he’s now fully engrossed in again.
I smile, I’m reasonably sure that if I tried to carry on the conversation now, he’d throw something at me. While I’m half tempted to test my theory, I know that it's just another excuse to stall, and they’re both right. I need to tell Neith before it goes on for too long and becomes a bigger deal than it already is. I know she’s going to be mad as hell, but I hope she understands and isn’t angry for too long.
I’ve always hated it when she’s been angry with me.
Doc
He’s trying to think of a way to stall again, I just know he is, so I grab his arm and pull him from the library.
“Thanks, man,” he chuckles.
I shake my head, “I really don’t think that it's going to go the way you think it’s going to go.”
“She’s going to be mad,” he mutters as we head out the back door and into the woods.
I give him a look, “Yes, she is, and that’s entirely your own fault. Neith is big on honesty and rightly fucking so. While I know why you didn’t mean to not tell her the truth, that’s the bit that she’s going to be mad about, and you’re going to have to deal with that.”
Van grimaces, “She’s always been big on honesty. I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking to be honest. I know better.”
I shrug. There’s nothing that I can say right now that’s going to make him feel better. He knows that he fucked up, but he’s fixing it before it becomes a bigger thing, and that’s really important.
It’s going to be fine.
He was scared and didn’t want to make her run again. His old fears reared their head and affected his actions before he could remind himself of the Neith that he knows now, the one who won’t be leaving.
Hell, even Raiden said that, and he’s got almost as many abandonment issues, if not more, than the rest of us.
We quickly make our way through the trees, and we share a smile when we hear shouts of excitement and laughter as we get closer to the pool. They’re having great fun, that’s for sure.
As we break through the trees, my eyebrows hit my hairline.
Neith’s fire is dancing around them all, and they are all slightly singed, but look to be unharmed. It seems like they’re playing some kind of game with it, although I can’t quite work out what that game is.
The fire somehow seems to notice us first and comes shooting toward us.
“Careful, they don’t have fire magic!” Neith yells after it, and I’m shocked as hell when the fire stream not only slows down, but seems to dim in its brightness.
When it wraps playfully around us both, its heat is warm, but it’s not burning, it’s not even uncomfortable, it’s pleasant.
“Huh, well that’s cool,” River grins.
“You mean you didn’t know it could do that?” Van asks, looking at Neith with wide eyes.
She grins and shrugs, “Nope.”
