1611

¬Amolet

I'm putting off getting out of bed this morning.

I'm sure I've slept less than an hour, tossing and turning thinking about Cian and Lev. Eventually I decide I can't just lay in bed for the rest of the day, and that I need to eventually face the world, even if I don't want to.

Muttering to myself, I drag myself from bed and numbly pull clothing over my limbs, hoping Cian will tell me we can just return back to where he will let me sleep all day. I'm sure if I asked him he would allow me to, but I don't have the heart to ruin this mission anymore than I likely am. Cian is just being nice, keeping me safe, I don't want to push my luck...

Or maybe I'm telling myself that as an excuse to avoid facing the fact that he is my mate.

I meet Cian and Lev outside of their rooms, waiting to hear what has been planned next. It's very evident from the way Cian examines my face that he can tell I've hardly slept, but he doesn't say anything, sensing Sinful is around and will use any show of weakness as a chance to take advantage of us. Lev doesn't say anything, although sticks close to me, still wary of the Immortal.

"Good morning," we hear as we walk down stairs. Sure enough, Sinful is waiting in the foyer with his hands clasped together, a knowing smile on his face. I refuse to look at him, to see his smugness. "Anything transpire overnight that I should know about?"

"No," Cian replies warily. He probably thinks Sinful is referencing the fact that we left last night to a nearby town in his territory, when I know he is trying to figure out whether I told Cian we are mates. "We are leaving to go speak to Hale today, try to convince him to join us."

"Hmm, interesting," Sinful muses, his smile only growing. "You know Hale is going to love Amolet."

Cian shifts from foot to foot. "He won't touch her."

"You know how much he loves innocent mortals who know nothing about immortals," Sinful continues. I withhold my desire to roll my eyes. I'm not sure how Cian has the patience to handle Sinful and his probing comments. He wants a reaction out of his brother, and will be willing to say anything to get it. I doubt he cares what happens between Hale and I.

I glance at Cian, his jaw is clenched tightly, eyes dark. "I don't care."

"Are you sure, brother?" Sinful asks, taking a step forward. Lev is fidgeting uncomfortably beside me, not liking the conflict between the two immortals. I watch them both carefully, ready to make a run for it if Sinful says anything more to irritate Cian.

At least Cian seems composed, hands tucked behind his back, examining Sinful calmly. The storm of anger rolling under his skin seems contained, but it flourishes wild in his eyes.

"Sinful...Quiet," I snap.

Sinful lavender gaze shifts to mine, a dark brow quirking at my remark. "Amolet is strong, clearly, but is she strong enough to handle Hale's charms?"

I narrow my eyes on him, hating that he thinks I'm so lowly and pathetic in comparison to all these Sin's, that I'm incapable of holding my own. This is how all immortals think about mortals - Cian probably thinks about that too, he just doesn't want to say it.

Staring Sinful down, I imagine I can just walk right up to him with no consequences, no chance he will use his magic on me, and wrap my hands around his neck. And then I would squeeze, until he couldn't speak anymore, that would surely wipe the smile on his face that he uses as another weapon against us.

My vision seems to be so real, that the smile does vanish from Sinful's face, and he startles, hands reaching up to his neck. He starts to couch, clutching his neck like my hand really is wrapped around it, strangling him.

I gasp, looking down at my own hands. I'm a few steps back from him, and yet he is choking right in front of me...

Cian lurches forward, grabbing for his brother, shaking him and asking him if he's okay. Sinful shakes his head, gasping for air as he looks me directly in my eyes. I'm doing this, I realise. He's choking and it's my fault, and he knows it too.

Stepping back, I physically imagine my hands falling away from his neck, and he gasps loudly, collapsing onto his knees as he breathes in deeply. He coughs, Cian kneeling down with him, trying to examine him to see what is going on. All I can do is stare, wondering if I imagined all that, because there's no way I thought about choking him, and was able to do it without even touching him...

Sinful glares up at me. "What did you do?"

I blink, before my own knees fall out from under me, and I'm on the floor, mind reeling. Lev ducks down, draping his arm over my back as he tries to console me, even if he has no idea what is going on around him.

"Are you okay?" Cian asks, moving away from Sinful toward me.

"What just happened?" Lev questions, looking apprehensively at Sinful, who stretches his neck out, still breathing heavily. Could I have killed him by doing that? I'm not even sure if it's possible for anything to kill a pureblood, let alone a mortal girl...

"I would like to know that too," Sinful snaps, getting back to his feet swiftly, recovering unnervingly quickly. "You choked me, Amolet. You tried to kill me."

Cian holds his arm out, shaking his head at Sinful, anticipating his anger. "Don't get any closer."

"She tried to kill me. You think I'm going to allow that?" Sinful demands. I wince, unsure of how to explain what just happened to him, to tell him I didn't intend to do it. Now he's going to kill me for it, whether Cian tries to stop him or not.

"If you touch her, I'll kill you," Cian growls, helping me to my feet. He's threatening Sinful on my behalf when he doesn't even know what happened.

"I have no idea what happened...I just got so angry," I say tightly.

"Has this ever happened to you before?" Cian asks, looking over me, probably in a whole new light. It seems pretty obviously now that I used my mind to choke Sinful, and that no one in this room has answers to how I was able to do that.

"No, never."

"Would you look at that, you discovered your powers at my expense," Sinful mutter sardonically, using the glass entrance to the pool to examine his reflection, looking at his neck for any signs of bruises. Because it was not physical force that was used, there are no marks or evidence to suggest it even happened at all. "And here I was thinking I was doing you nothing but favours."

I look at Cian for answers, but his dark eyes are muddled with as much confusion as I'm feeling. "Powers? There's no way."

"It's okay Amolet, do not panic," Cian says smoothly, although I hear the edge to his voice. "Let me take you back to my place first, and we can talk about this."

"What does this mean?" I ask weakly.

"A lot," Sinful exclaims sourly, still offended. He's probably never faced death like that in the face before, and being immortal, it must have been terrifying. "You just choked me with your mind, and I'm a pureblood."

"And..."

"And no one can inflict powers on purebloods other than other purebloods, or those with power from other realms," Sinful explains, making it sound like I'm stupid, which maybe I am. He steps forward again, but Cian shakes his head, warning him. I don't know what I would do without him here. I'm sure Sinful would have killed me by now...

"So what I just did is a bad thing?" I ask meekly. Of course it's bad, I was able to choke Sinful, as infuriating as he is, with just the power of my mind. I'm still trying to figure out whether I'm dreaming or not. I did get little sleep last night, maybe I was just hallucinating.

"Not at all," Cian assures me, although I don't believe him. "Why don't we get out of here?"

I nod.

Sinful is still glaring at me. If there is anything I achieved from doing that, it's wiping the amusement from his face. "Try to avoid doing that to me ever again."

I hold his gaze as Cian grabs my arm, and then Lev's, and the world around us starts to dissolve. I'm so deep in thought that I don't even notice the feeling of Cian's grip releasing from my arm, until my feet land on solid ground, and instead of feeling the warmth of Cian's home, I feel frigid, painful cold.

My eyes shoot open, seeing Cian and Lev are nowhere to be see, and I'm not in Cian's home, but in the middle of the snow.

And standing in front of me, is Stace.

He smiles. "Good evening, Amolet."

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Sophie_Midika

Midikacrane

~Midika 💜🐼