Page 61 of The Stone Curse
“Supposedly, yes.”
“And you were there last night when she had an episode?” he asked Curi.
Curi met his gaze levelly. “I helped.”
Silence fell, thick and heavy, and my cheeks burned. “It was bad, and Curi…Curi was there.” I knew how bad it sounded as soon as the words were out, as if he’d been an object to hand that I’d picked up. As if the fact it was him didn’t matter. “I mean…I mean he was close. No. I mean that?—”
“I know what you mean,” Curi said stiffly. “It’s fine. Serath being alive would explain her episode.”
“Not really,” Palia said. “Distance mutes the needing.”
I agreed. “I think this fever is related to my fae blood.”
“Your eyes changed,” Curi said. “During…” He swallowed hard. “They were darker and laced with crimson, and the air…it felt…different.”
“These episodes need you to…” Levi licked his lips. “You have to orgasm?”
“Yes, but not solo. I…uh…It doesn’t help if I do it.”
“Well, this is awkward,” Ginia said.
“But necessary,” Orix added. “If these episodes are linked to the sidhe moon and your fae blood, then we have a huge problem. The elite trials are on a sidhe moon. You can’t enter if you’re…”
“Horny?” I finished for him.
Ginia snort-laughed then clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Why him?” Levi asked. “Why not me?”
“Because I was there,” Curi said. I didn’t miss the edge of bitterness in his tone.
“Not true,” Derek said. “My Cam spoke to Shar and me about this, and she said she would come to you if need be.”
Curi looked across at me in surprise.
“It’s true.”
“Great,” Levi said. “You’d rather go to someone you met a few months ago than come to me, the guy you dated for a year.”
How the fuck was he making this about him? “Yes. Yes, I would, and I can tell you exactly why. I care about you both. But if I have to go to anyone for help with this, it won’t be to the ex who I know is in love with me. It would be much too easy to get lost in the fever, fall into a familiar rhythm, and cross the line. It’ll be with the gargoyle who has the fortitudenotto cross the line.” I turned to Curi. “It’s true that you just happened to be there last night, but if you hadn’t, then I would have chosen to come to you because of the deal we made all those weeks ago. Because I trust the boundaries you’ve set. You helped me last night, but I promise I won’t put you in that position again. I value our friendship too much. I won’t risk losing you.”
Curi’s expression softened, real light bleeding into his eyes. “I believe you.”
I looked to Levi, who had his head bowed. “Levi? Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I understand,” he said. “But I don’t agree. Even the strongest boundaries can get blurred when you’re falling for someone, can’t they, Curi?”
Curi pressed his lips together, refusing to respond.
“This arrangement is not sustainable unless you wish to take Curi as your lover,” Orix said.
I couldn’t…wouldn’t do that. “I won’t play with someone’s heart if I’m not free to give mine in return.”
“Then we speak to Mirrowind,” Shar said. “And we find another way to deal with this fae blood fever, get you through the elite exams, and get Serath and Romi back.”
All we could do was hope that they both survived long enough for us to get to them.
CHAPTER 26
