Page 45 of The Succubus's Song

Mara paled at the authority in his tone and obeyed.

“I think…” Emmett dropped his glasses on his desk and steepled his fingers. “No. I firmly believe…that baobhan sith can have mates.”

All the air escaped Mara’s lungs. For a few precious minutes, she was sure that she wasn’t breathing. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she tried to understand what Emmett was saying.

Pippa looked just as stunned but was already shaking her head in bewildered acceptance.

“No,” Mara protested. “Emmett, that’s not possible. We’re barely fae. It’s never happened before.”

“How would you know?” Emmett countered, immediately slipping into a distinct tone that he only used when lecturing. “No offense, but most of your society has lived in seclusion. You feed off, and then likely kill, all potential romantic partners.”

“You think we’re killing our mates?” Mara growled. “Now, I don’t subscribe to the way of life that my sisters do, but that’s insane—”

“I don’t think that,” Emmett interrupted and held his hands out in a placating gesture. “I think it’s exceedingly rare with your species, but baobhan sith are fae. Why can’t it happen?”

“Rare doesn’t mean impossible,” Pippa added, shrugging when Mara tossed her an angry glare.

“I don’t have time for this right now.” Mara felt tears welling up in her eyes again. “What does this have to do with anything?” Mara’s voice got increasingly more high-pitched and flustered. “I need to go get Finley. I must save him… I can’t… I don’t think I can breathe…” A sharp, piercing pain ran through Mara’s chest as she fell back into her chair.

Pippa was at her side in an instant, pulling her into a tight hug as Mara collapsed into her cousin’s arms.

“What’s happening to me?” Mara sobbed. “I can’t think straight. I can’t breathe. Finley’s not here. F-Finley.” Mara twitched in Pippa’s embrace until she was a blubbering mess.

Mara couldn’t hear herself as the pain in her chest burrowed deeper, as if it was trying to excavate her heart. Pippa held her still, stroking her hair while Mara muttered ‘Finley, Finley, Finley’ repeatedly.

When Mara finally was able to catch her breath, Pippa helped her sit up in her chair and handed her some tissues from Emmett’s desk.

Emmett’s face was sympathetic as he scratched at his beard. “It has to do with everything, Mara.” He was gentle. “You’re being torn apart right now. That’s not the usual Mara that I know when there’s carnage or revenge afoot.”

“He has a point,” Pippa mumbled, shrugging when Mara tossed her a dagger-filled stare.

“I’m going to kill the next person who doesn’t get to the point,” Mara growled, her eyes flaring red.

“Mara,” Emmett started slowly, “why do you think Finley’s disappearance is causing you physical pain right now?”

“Obviously because I…” Mara trailed off as her eyes got wide, and her knuckles turned white as she gripped her chair. Pippa and Emmett watched on with sympathetic expressions as the blood drained from Mara’s face.

“You don’t mean…” Mara whispered.

“I do,” Emmett agreed. “It makes sense.”

“No, it doesn’t!” Mara stuttered. Her panic manifested as a chill that raced down her spine and made her shiver uncomfortably.

“It does,” Emmett persisted, and Mara could tell that he was trying to be gentle with her.

“I can’t believe it,” Mara shook her head and collapsed back into her chair. Pippa pressed another tissue into her hand.

“It’s going to be easier for you if you just accept it,” Emmett encouraged before leaning down to pick up the papers that were all over the floor. “I started looking into this when I heard you fed from Finley and he…uh, well…survived,” Emmett blushed, “and was consenting to your magic. It took me this long to put it together, but I’m not surprised we never knew before now. Baobhan sith are notoriously closed off from the rest of fae society.”

“Emmett,” Pippa chided gently, twirling her fingers to get him to wrap it up. “Maybe we save the lecture mode for later, and you can go over all your findings.”

“Right, of course.” Emmett stood up taller and went behind his desk, depositing his glasses and folders in their proper places. “We need to move quickly and get to Faerie because Mara…” Emmett looked her dead in the eye and said the words aloud, “Finley McEwan is your mate.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

When Mara heard Emmett utter the words out loud, she thought she would sink further into madness. Instead, the opposite happened.

Everything suddenly snapped into place.

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