Bonds of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 2)

The Horned Hook doesn’t get back to us for three days. And maybe that doesn’t seem like a long time, but when you’re stuck in the Veil and can’t be heard or seen or felt…not to mention no eating or drinking or sleeping or anything, yeah, it feels freaking long. Every night while the guys sleep, I fly to the palace and scour the prison towers. Every night, I come away without finding Okot.

By the third day of waiting around, even the guys have become restless. Which I can understand, seeing as how they’ve been banished for five years on an empty island and haven’t been able to go home. Now I’m sort of keeping them from their home for even longer, which I feel bad about.

But finally, the Horned Hook guy sends word by…letter. Yeah. Total letdown on the exciting department. Talk about lackluster. I guess he saves his dramatics for the whole Elder-Tree-naked-chameleen-secret-stairwell-masked-thief spiel. Anyway, the note just gave a location. It didn’t say which of the jobs it referred to. So we could be going to the fae who might possibly bring me back, or the place where Okot is being held. Both fill me with a sense of excitement and dread.

“The location is here on the kingdom island,” Sylred says with a hint of surprise.

“Where?” Ronak asks.

Sylred’s blonde brows draw together. “The Finitsal Ruins.”

“The ruins?” Ronak echoes.

Sylred shrugs. “That’s what it says.”

“Then let’s go,” Evert says, pulling on his boots.

The way to the ruins is apparently longer than the guys want to walk, because they hire a carriage in town. The driver looks surprised at their request to go to the ruins, but he reluctantly agrees.

Sylred and Evert sit on one side, while Ronak takes up the other bench. The space is cramped with all three of them, as evident by the way Ronak has to scrunch down so his head doesn’t hit the ceiling and how their knees keep knocking together.

“Think this is where the fae is who can fix Emelle?” Sylred asks no one in particular.

Ronak shrugs and makes a noise under his breath.

Evert narrows his eyes on him. “What’s with you?”

Ronak whips his head around to face him. “What do you mean?”

Evert points in his face. “That. That tone. What the fuck is that?”

“I don’t have a tone.”

“Yeah, I think you do.”

“Guys…” Sylred sighs.

“No, I want to know what has his balls twisted up.”

“Can we not do this right now?”

Evert crosses his arms. “Spit it out, Alpha. Whatever you’ve been wanting to say for the past few days, just fucking come out with it already.”

“Fine,” Ronak grits out. “What are we doing here, Evert?”

“I think it should be obvious even to you that we’re riding in a fucking carriage.”

“I mean with the cupid.”

Evert scoffs. “The cupid? You can’t even say her name all of a sudden?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do. But apparently you didn’t know what I meant when I said I was serious about being fucking done. I am not going back home to chase some genfin females around. I choose her.”

Holy mother of marinara sauce. My poor little invisible heart just fainted.

“She’s not a genfin!” Ronak roars.

Evert leans forward to get in his face. “So the fuck what? You want her, too. I know you do. And I bet your animal side does, too. I bet that he chose her already, and you’re just ignoring the signs. Your animal reacts to her. Hell, he attacked a pack of beasts to protect her. But you’re being a jackass and not letting him out to see for yourself if he’ll claim her. What the fuck is the problem?”

Ronak throws his arms up, smacking the back of his hands against the carriage walls. “We won’t get our wings, and we won’t get our covey magic. Not without a genfin mate. We’re supposed to help lead our people when we get back. How will any of them respect us if we abandon one of our core foundations by rejecting a genfin mate? We have so little genfin children as it is. They’ll reject us for it, Evert.”

Evert just shrugs like he couldn’t care less. “I’m not living my life for a bunch of Delsheen assholes. If that’s what you care about—politics and power, then have at it. I’m sure you and Syl can find some genfin female to your liking, but I’m gonna stay with Scratch.”

The fury rippling off Ronak makes the whole carriage shake. “She already has a mate!”

“The fucking lamassu. I know,” Evert replies dryly. “I don’t care. I saw her first. The fucking lamassu can get in line.”

“You’re saying you’re willing to abandon us and form a covey with them?” Ronak asks incredulously.

“I’m saying that the choice is yours,” Evert counters. “Either choose power or choose Scratch. Simple as that. I’ve already made my choice. I’ve been up front about this from the start.”

“Gods,” I groan. “How many times do I have to tell you idiots that you’re not breaking up!”

Evert wants to be with me. He chooses me. And there’s a huge part of me inside that’s jumping around and squealing with joy. But there’s another part that is despairing about coming between them. I can’t let that happen.

“What about her threat?” Sylred asks. “She said she’d never speak to any of us again if our covey dissolved.”

Evert’s face turns arrogant, and he shrugs. “She might stop talking to me. For a day. She won’t be able to resist after that. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Cocky asshole,” I grumble. “You’re wrong.” He’s totally right.

“And what about you?” Ronak challenges, swinging his black eyes to Sylred.

Sylred looks decidedly uncomfortable under the sudden scrutiny. “I think we shouldn’t be having this conversation without Emelle,” he says smoothly.

“Aww, thanks.” It’s always nice to be included.

Evert ignores him. “Is that really your only hold-up?” he asks Ronak. “I want to know. Is it really just the political shit and the powers?”

At first, I don’t think Ronak is going to answer. He’s clenching his teeth hard enough to break at least a molar or two. “Yes,” he finally growls.

“Huh.” That surprises me. I thought maybe…

“So you don’t still “hate” her or hold a grudge?” Evert persists.

“No.”

I scoot a bit closer to him. “That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said about me.”

“I don’t think that’s just it,” Evert counters. “I think you actually like her. That’s what the real problem is.”

My face scrunches in confusion. “I don’t get it.”

“What are you talking about?” Ronak snaps.

“After what Delsheen did, you don’t want to trust another female. You were determined to find a mate that would be good for political reasons, and that’s it. You were going to make sure you didn’t actually have feelings for her. But you like Scratch. And that’s why you’ve been such an asshole this whole time. You don’t want her to have that sort of power over you. You resent that your animal likes her, too.”

My head swivels to Ronak. “Is that true?”

His jaw ticks.

Evert’s voice lowers. “Fuck it all, Ronak. Let’s do what we want with who we want. You know you want her. We all do. It doesn’t matter if she’s a cupid or a fucking demon. She fell ass-first onto our island for a reason.”

“I didn’t fall ass first—”

“Fuck the politics. Fuck outside opinions, and screw the powers. We’re strong enough without them. I don’t want to leave this covey, and you don’t really want to mate with a genfin female you don’t even like,” he declares. “Let’s go all in. For once in your life, do something because you want to do it. Not because you’re supposed to.”

Ronak stares at him, as if he’s slowly churning over Evert’s words.

“How about you, Tune?” Evert asks, looking over at Sylred.

Sylred clears his throat. “We are a covey. We need to stick together. And Emelle…it feels like she’s a part of us already.”

Ronak runs a hand over his short hair and sighs. All the fight has seeped out of him. “She won’t want me.” He says it so quietly that I almost don’t hear him.

“Maybe you should ask her,” Sylred suggests.

I don’t even hesitate. I perch myself onto his lap—which is hard to do without sinking right through, but I manage because I’m awesome—and I blow a huge burst of Lust into his face. His whole body clenches.

Evert and Sylred start laughing. “It’s funny when she’s not doing it to me,” Evert says.

“Hilarious,” Ronak says dryly, while simultaneously covering his crotch with his hands.

“So. We’re doing this?”

“My animal needs to decide,’ Ronak replies.

Evert waves him off. “Yeah, yeah. I’m not worried about that. Are we doing this or what?”

Ronak shifts in his seat and looks between them. Then he nods. He freaking nods! “Okay.”

Evert smirks. “Okay.”

They both look at Sylred. “Okay,” he mimics.

The guys just decided to take me as a mate by okay-ing. I’m okay with it.

My head swims with emotion and I feel like my whole body is about to burst. These damn genfins are choosing me. Thank the gods. And it’s about damn time.

If I really had to go through with helping them find a mate, I probably would’ve shanked someone with a Love Arrow. I’m gonna be a way better mate, anyway.

Evert leans his head back on the carriage wall and closes his eyes. “You hear that, Scratch? We’re keeping you. I knew these assholes would agree. It was just a matter of time.”

Sylred and Ronak have settled back as if they’re going to go to sleep, too.

I scowl at them. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and then go to sleep. You don’t get to just okay yourselves into my super awesome cupid covey.” I mean, they can, but that’s beside the point.

I take in a huge breath and then blow out every last particle of Lust-Breath I have in me until pink tendrils fill the inside of the carriage like smoke. All three sets of genfin eyes snap open.

“Fucking hell, Scratch.”

Sylred shifts uncomfortably while Ronak covers his junk with his hands. “Too much,” he wheezes out.

“Serves you right,” I say primly, leaning up to try and peek at their packages standing up in formation. “And yes. I’ll accept you into my covey. But there will be requirements. We’ll discuss it at a later date. When you can see me. And hear me. And give me orgasms.”

“Does this mean she’s happy or irritated?” Sylred asks.

Evert smirks and leans back again, fixing the front of his pants. “Knowing her? Probably both.”

“My dick can’t take this kind of punishment,” Ronak grumbles.

“Get used to it,” Evert says dryly. “We just chose a cupid for a mate. I have a feeling our dicks aren’t getting off easy.”

With that, all three genfins burst into laughter.

“Hilarious,” I drawl. “You’re freaking hilarious.”

But I can’t help the smile that creeps out onto my face. Because I just got exactly what I’ve been desperately wanting since I came to this realm and saw these three sexy genfin tail guys. It just took me going invisible again to show them what they’re missing. Me.