From the outside, I can hear the voices of the others. The usual crowd, except for Kragnash, is here. Deg’Doriel at the top of the room, Augustine in his regular seat with Ramón on his left and Nora on his right, and the new guy. I scowl, thinking about how long I have been gone and how much trouble this will cause me. It is Augustine’s fault after mating a being without their knowledge. He is lucky we do not brush paths outside of these meetings.
As I open the door, Delphini grabs my hand, a soft gasp on her lips.
“Orthia,” Nora sounds like a mother whose lost child has returned. I don’t understand why she worries about me. I suppose it is in her nature or something, but it is unnecessary. I have lived centuries before she was even born.
“You’re late,” Deg’Doriel growls, and Delphini doesn’t flinch in her hold on me. She has seen a variety of monsters on the ship, but this group is incredibly unique.
“We aren’t staying.” I look from the demon to Augustine. “I won’t return until I know that he has righted the wrong he has committed.”
He is in the middle of a stupid excuse, trying to convince me his mate is fine, when his phone rings. He brushes by us and out of the room. Delphini scoffs at his behaviour and I hold back my smirk.
“So who’s your friend?” Ramón asks. “She looks familiar.”
The fingers wrapped around mine flinch, but I ignore it.
“I have a problem.”
Deg groans, his tail flicking back and forth across the linoleum. “Let me guess-”
“She’s human.”
I say the words in a rush, loudly cutting off the demon. Everyone in the room looks at me. This isn’t the tension I thought I would have. There isn’t hunger in the air from the vampires or the demons. This isn’t how this is supposed to go at all. No one is taking her away.
“For fucks sake,” Deg pushes his large hand into his face.
“Who cares?” Ramón waves a giant clawed mitt through the air. “I swear I have seen you before.”
Delphini lets go of my hand as the lizard moves closer, crossing her arms over her chest. She’s not scared of him and something about that makes my brain freeze.
“She trusts in us.”
Nora rushes me before I can process Love’s admission. She wraps her big, meaty arms around me and lifts me up. Chills rush down my spine and I want to be furious that her touch has caused the usual icy feelings in me.
“Put me down.” I frown at her.
“Glad you’re alright.” She claps my back once and then takes a step back. “And I understand why you haven’t been around. I wouldn’t want to let her out of my bed.”
“The human has never and will never be in my bed.”
That’s not true. She was in my bed, lounging on the edge and allowing me to get lost in her warmth while I healed her hand. She let me help her despite how close to breaking down she was. Now she haunts my bed, and I wonder for the first time if her presence will haunt other parts of my ship.
“If you ever called your friends back,” she starts, “you would know Nash and Auggie pushed through a motion to get rid of that rule on human relationships.”
“I-” my thoughts stutter. “Why?”
Maybe there were pockets of mixed communities, humans and monsters living together at some point, but there are none now. I have sailed the world more times than any one being can count, and nowhere do our kinds mix in harmony. Gwenmore is the closest we get to living amongst humans with ease. I’ve heard that there are more cities like ours across the States, but there isn’t a world like ours anywhere else.
The mixing of our worlds will surely be an end to something, but fuck knows what.
“Auggie bonded with a human like a drunken idiot,” she starts to cackle, her sharp teeth and shining freckles catching in the light.
“Nora,” Deg’Doriel barks, and the scent of brimstone rises in the air. “Shut your trap, and sit the fuck down.”
His mate is a human? To think the holier than thou monster would fall so hard.No, focus.“That doesn’t matter. I am not in a relationship with that human. I don’t want her. Take her-”
Before I can finish my command, Love takes over me, swallowing the control I have over my body. Their presence warps my vision. There isn’t enough anger in my thoughts nor blood pumping through my veins for them to be doing this, so they must be using their limited power source. They are using it for her.
“If any harm comes to the chosen, revenge will be swift.”The lights flicker, and I am back navigating my own body. I look around the room, again while the others show fear, Delphini looks anything but. She stares me down with such fury in her gaze it makes me think that she may have been the power source Love used to speak or that she may try to take my life.
