Karsyn’s is the one giving me a warm hug. I can practically feel his embrace as if he’s actually standing in front of me.
And then there’s Elias’s, sitting steadily in my chest, loyal and unbending. He doesn’t demand my attention like Cassian’s does, but I can still sense him keenly.
And then finally, Lucas. A cold brush of air in my chest cavity. Protective. Calm. Fierce.
Slowly, the light engulfing the room recedes, and I come back to myself, shaky and disoriented.
What the…?
I place a hand to my chest where I can still sense my four Devils, as if they truly are a part of me. Right now, they seem confused, slightly frightened, but mostly awed.
“It’s true,” Rose breathes, eyes wide with wonder as she takes a step back. “You guys are soulmates.”
Joshua slowly removes his finger from my head. “Your souls are perfect matches,” he agrees with a small tilt to his lips.
“So it worked?” Cassian stares down at his hands in wonderment before turning towards me. I’m shocked to see tears in his dark eyes, even as he gifts me a slow, seductive smile. “You’re mine now, baby. I’m never letting you go.”
“Stop it with the whole ‘baby’ thing,” I growl, and his smile only broadens.
“Fucking hell, woman!” I’m in Elias’s arms before I can even catch my breath. “I can feel you. Is that…is that normal?”
I run my fingers through his dark hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. “I feel you, too. All of you,” I stress, staring over Elias’s shoulder to encompass them all.
I zero in on the brilliant balls of light inside of me, trying to get a sense of how they feel. I don’t want to intrude on their private thoughts, but I’m suddenly terrified that they’re having regrets. They knew they would be tied to me as my human familiars, but I don’t think they imagined this.
Cassian is still in shock, but combined with that is something akin to glee.
Elias’s emotions are more subdued, though I didn’t expect anything else from him. He’s happy and excited, but I feel a niggle of fear and self-loathing intermixed. I make myself a note to talk to him about that at a later point. He has nothing to be sorry for, though I’m not sure if just saying that to him will be enough.
Karsyn is a myriad of feelings. Happiness, shock, wonderment, and confusion, being the main ones. I sift through his emotions, wondering if he feels any regret or anger, but I can’t find anything.
And then I focus on the cold ball of light. The icy one.
Surprisingly enough, Lucas’s is the easiest to read. It’s one simple emotion. One emotion that screams at me at the top of its lungs.
Love.
Tears fog my eyes as he meets my stare, and I know he felt me prying. But instead of getting defensive, he opens himself up more to me, his emotions pouring through my body like a summer rain.
“This is fucking ridiculous!” Darlene screeches, rounding the table towards me. Her hand raises, but before it can make contact with my face, Joshua steps in front of her, eyes glacial.
“We did the spell. It’s over,” he says curtly. But my mother cannot be easily deterred. I watch as her expression turns cunning, malicious. Those red-painted lips twist into something that I can’t quite call a smile.
“It’s not over just yet,” Darlene says like the cat who ate the canary. “I would like to declare something to the council.” Her viper-like eyes fix on me, and I brace myself, knowing she’s going to officially disown me in front of the coven. What will this mean for me and the guys? I know that we’ll still be bonded, but I also know that the ancestors won’t allow me to tap into my magic if she disowns me. So what will happen? What does this—
“I would like to officially declare that Darlene Simone is no longer my daughter.” Nana’s soft voice, nothing more than a hushed murmur, breaks through the silence like a deafening crack of a whip.
Darlene whirls on Nana, red speckles appearing on her face. “What?” she screams.
“Furthermore,” Nana continues, ignoring her daughter, “I would like to declare that Peony Simone is now under my care. She will be the witch who receives my grimoire after my death.”
“You can’t fucking do this!” Darlene shouts, tears in her eyes.
“Think about what you’re doing, Cardinal,” the older warlock says with a frown. “Once you disown her…”