Kneeling, Jo came into view. “It’s complicated and fucked up, yes, but…” Her eyes went to Cash, and for once, the two smiled at one another. “It means we just got hold of Aram’s weakness.”
Confused, I pointed to myself. “I’m his weakness? How? That doesn’t make any sense. If anything, he’s mine.”
“He can’t kill you, pet,” Cash explained, though begrudgingly. “He’ll be incapable of hurting you. Mates can’t use their abilities to injure each other.”
That would explain why I couldn’t call on my power while he was there.
“Then I can’t hurt him either?” I asked Jo.
She gave me a sad smile. “Unfortunately not.”
“Then Lyra—”
Jo shrugged. “She’ll still use you. The bond makes you a shield, and the two of us are made more powerful with our connectionsto you. She won’t like it, but she won’t have a choice. She can’t take on all three of the Nether Royals by herself. She can barely take on one the way she is. Whatever the Organization did to her, it weakened her magic. Not sure how, but she’s not as strong as she was when last I saw her.”
“V can deal with Rayis and Dagon. We’ll deal with Aram,” Cash suggested. “Suppose he’ll be rather nasty to fight if he gains access to the strength of her power.”
Jo’s mouth thinned. “We’ll need to tread carefully. V’s not a normal Fae, but neither are the Nether Royals. We don’t know much about them and what they can do. The bond might not even manifest the same way, and we’ve never seen how powerful those assholes are bonded. He’ll be the first.”
Guess once a freakshow always a freakshow. I seemed to attract all the weird and unusual. Go figure.
Kate cut in, reminding everyone she was still in the room, “Question, doesn’t that mean his two whatever dudes can still hurt her?”
Jo seemed impressed that Kate would figure that out, but what most didn’t know was Kate was smarter than they gave her credit for. “It does, but the Nether Royals have been searching for their mates for a very long time. They’re type of Fae is different. Many theorized they didn’t have a mate, so the idea that one of them could find a bond…and V is powerful to boot. He’ll want her for that if nothing else.”
“And she’s gorgeous,” Kate added, putting heat into my cheeks. “My girl is a damn catch.”
Cash and Jo both stared at me, practically licking me from head to toe with their eyes. The heat that hadn’t gone away chose that moment to have a resurgence. I sucked in another breath, battling the urge to throw myself at them. If there was ever a moment when I needed to stay in control, it was now.
And thank fuck, that little bit of pep-talking seemed to do the trick. The heat subsided slightly, and when Cash wrapped his hand around mine, I could finally breathe again.
Jo was on her feet. “So, to answer your question, no, they won’t kill her. Aram won’t let them. My guess is he wouldn’t want to put her in any danger. If tonight is anything to go by, I’m betting his objective from here on will be to woo her in some way or another. That gives us time to do what we plan.”
“Woo me?!” I nearly shouted before catching myself. “Why not just imprison me or something? They rule the realm, right? Isn’t that like, Villains Being Villains 101?”
Jo smirked and crossed her arms. Out of my periphery, I saw Cash looking extra smug. “Because, V, if this bond acts the same way every bond does, and I suspect it does seeing how he hasn’t shown up to kidnap you now that he knows where you are, he won’t want to do anything that hurts you—imprisonment included. Bonded are drawn to each other. The great and powerful Aram, God of the Realm, will want you to be…happy. We can use that to our advantage.”
What the actual fuck? But by that logic…
“Um, hold on. Are you suggesting the bond will also make me want to be with him?” I was afraid to ask, but I didn’t want to ignore the elephant in the room.
Cash snickered and shook his head. “If our bond is any evidence of how a hybrid like you differs, I doubt that very seriously, love. Look at how often you refuse me. A bonded mate could never.”
It was weirder that he was bragging about it.
“Is that why you were drawn to me?” I found myself asking him.
As if I’d slapped him in the face, my Fae Karen gaped in outright shock. “Absolutely not. Think of the Season as the catalyst for unlocking every bit of your Fae. This part was stilllocked inside until you crossed over and the Season took hold. It only validated what I already felt for you. We were meant to be, yes, but my feelings for you weren’t born from the bond alone, love. They came long before that connection was made.”
He stared at me like I was the only person in the room. Like the only person in all the realms, really. It gave me all those ooey-gooey falling in love feelings I refused to acknowledge for so long. Was I actually in love with Cash?
Oh my fucking god, I was.
Out of fear of saying or doing something I couldn’t take back, I redirected, “Will I feel drawn to him? I can’t be drawn to him, you guys. That’s a red line I can’t fucking cross.” My breath came faster, slowly drowning me in panic. “My ten-year plan is on fire.”
My face was in Cash’s hands before I could totally lose it. “I won’t let you, love. I’ll be the stronger bond. No matter what it takes, I’ll be the one you choose instead of him. Do you believe me when I say it?”
His confidence usually bothered me, but it was exactly what I needed in this moment. Even with the little bud of fear I knew wasn’t mine, the confidence he felt in us was stronger. So much stronger.
