it worked on my mother. "But when I heard that Justice was going to bond with the jewels, I couldn't miss it."
My parents took a moment to answer, and I expected it would be Mom that would jump in with something, but again it was Jepati. "We should have extended a formal invitation," he said, sounding apologetic. "It just happened rather quickly. We decided to keep it on a local level. It takes a lot of planning for trans-world events and guests."
Jacob smiled, but didn’t comment.
"What intentions do you have toward my daughter?"
It was finally time for Deloria to speak, and just like me, she didn't fuck around. Getting right to the point.
Jacob's smile was real when he turned toward me, our eyes meeting and holding, like they always freaking did. "My intention is everything," he said simply, returning his gaze to Deloria. "I want everything. I will have everything. Justice is my mate and I intend to cherish and adore the fu—heck … out of her for as long as I live."
I choked down laughter. My parents were pretty relaxed about my love of cursing, mostly because those words didn't mean that much to them; they were too old to have been part of this new craze of copying everything in the human world.
"Mate?" Deloria spluttered out, some of her poised aloofness fading. "It's not possible."
My father sat straighter, peering between us. "I don't sense any bond or joining of your energies yet. Are you saying chosen mate?"
I shook my head. "We’re almost certain that we’re true mates. It's the only explanation for why we've been so drawn to each other. We’re even sensing the other's thoughts and emotions. But we haven't actually … uh, you know, had sex yet, so there's no bond."
Awkward as fuck conversation to have with one's parent, but I refused to let them downgrade our bond because there was no visible joining yet.
A panicked look crossed my mother's face as she reached out and clutched her mate's arm. "A ruby princess cannot be mated to someone that’s not even from the jeweled lands. It's never been done. I don't…"
For fuck's sake. Like, this shouldn't even be a conversation in this day and age. It was akin to racism, sexism, ageism. Time to remind them who their daughter was.
"When I returned, I told you that I would learn about my world … that I wanted to be part of your lives, but I never said that you could control me or my choices."
I moved forward to the edge of my chair, eyeballing both of them. "And my private life is not even remotely up for debate. I've been forced into many things over my years, had to endure the worst of the worst, and when I was finally free, I promised myself that I would never fall to the whims of another person. I would make my own choices, be my own person and accept the consequences of my actions … instead of having to suffer for another person's choice."
I was out of breath, mostly because of how hard these topics were to speak about.
"Jacob is important to me. He’s going to be part of my life, and you either accept him or you lose me forever."
Deloria exchanged a look with Jepati, and it was not a reassuring one. "What?" I snapped. "What does that look mean?"
"Now that you have bonded with the jewels, you must also answer to them," my mother told me. "So you can spout on all you want about making your own choices, but if they don't accept Jacob, then you will no longer hold the connection you do now."
My father cleared his throat. "And the rubies have never accepted someone who wasn't a jeweled fey. It's why the royal family is very particular about who their mates are."
I turned to Jacob, wanting to see his reaction to this news.
His face was grim, and I shook my head. "I don't care."
Murky green eyes met mine. "You would have to choose between being a ruby princess and me," he said, voice threaded with darkness. "I'm not going to force you to lose a part of yourself like that."
"I don't care," I repeated, meaning every word.
My mother opened her mouth; I saw it from the corner of my eye, and I swung around to halt her. "You don't get to speak," I said bluntly. "If you can't support my happiness, then I remove myself from your toxicity."