Page 41 of Hers to Keep

“I wish you’d called me,” Cisco said, his voice even despite the turmoil she could sense from him.

“Dohal was there.I promise I wasn’t in any danger.I really just wanted to get answers out of him.”

“Did he touch you?”Cisco asked, the grumbling discontent finally creeping into his tone.

“No, he was very respectful of my personal space.”

Dante muttered, “I sense a but coming.”

Mari took a breath and nodded.“But he wants to.”

One tick of a growl escaped Cisco before he reined it in.“I’m going to tear his intestines out through his nose if he so much as breathes on you, Mariana.”

“That’s why I didn’t call you.”She sighed.“I appreciate your anger and your desire to protect me.But I needed to talk to him without having to worry you were going to get yourself killed trying to defend my honor or nullify the terms of the contract.”

“That fucking contract,” Cisco spat.

“I need you to listen to me, okay?”She waited for his grudging nod before she continued, “Since I freed Dohal, I’ve been able to sense emotions from all of you, and I can usually tell how far away you are.Sometimes I can even send things.I think you’ve all noticed?”

She glanced around at all of them, waiting for them to agree before she went on, “It’s strongest with Dohal, and when he’s in the room it’s like I’m supercharged with it.”

Rio looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “It sounds like a side effect, of your mate bond with him.Maybe it’s a power of his that you’re borrowing.”

“That’s what I think too.”Mari smiled.“But here’s the thing, when it was just the three of us in a room, it worked with Ashdei too.”

She could tell that Cisco wanted to grumble about that, but he kept his objection to himself.

“So, he is one of yours,” Rio said.

“I think so.”She put her plate on Cisco’s desk.“I’m not saying I trust him, because I don’t.But my magic does, and so does the goddess.”She took a breath and met Cisco’s eyes.“I think I at least need to keep talking with him until we figure this out.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, wings flaring out in annoyance.“What is it you haven’t told us yet?I know there’s something.”

Mari swallowed.“He said if we completed the circle, whatever that means, I would be the next Prince of Earth.”

The outburst she had expected didn’t happen.The three of them were quiet with their own thoughts for nearly a minute.While she still felt uncertainty from Cisco, the other two were coming around.

Finally, Rio spoke up first, “Did Dohal think he was being honest about that?”

Mari nodded.“I thought so too, with whatever we’re going to call this sense of you all that I have now.”

Dante looked up and shrugged.“I don’t trust the demon, but I trust the goddess.”

Rio tilted his head.“I trust Mari’s vibe checker.”He tossed a wink her way.

All of them turned toward Cisco, waiting for his response.

He clenched his jaw a few times before he spoke, “Dohal is in the room with you whenever you talk to him.”

Mari agreed without hesitation.“That seems wise.”

He held her gaze for a long moment.“I love you.And I trust you.And if this is something you want to pursue, I will support you in whatever way I can.”

“I love you too.”She let out a breath.“I wasn’t going to do it if you said no.I want you to know that.”

“I know.”He smiled briefly.“That’s what made it easy for me to say yes.”

Humming to herself, Mari walked along the path from the main house to the grove.She was looking forward to her night with Dohal, though she hadn’t decided yet if she was going to let Ashdei watch.Part of her craved that more than anything, but she was still unsure if she wanted to be that vulnerable in front of him.

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