Page 127 of Spit

“That’s not what this is.” I interrupted, lowering my chin until I looked at the demon in front of me through my lashes. “Don’t you want me?” I asked, allowing my vulnerability to shine through. My heart was in my hands, arms outstretched.

Legion’s dark eyes flashed. “You are young.”

“I know my own mind.” I countered.

The pride demon growled in frustration.

I craned my neck to look at the others. “What do you say?” I lifted my voice. “Do you all want me to leave the red city? Is that what you want?”

Sev lifted a hand. “I want Pinkie Pie to stay.”

Trey laughed, covering the sound with a cough. “I let you go on with this charade, allowing Lexi the choice, but we all know she’s ours. We’ve known it from the beginning.”

Legion turned to Arlo. “And you?”

Arlo smiled, but there was no humor in it. “I agree with the others.”

Legion turned to the two red-headed demons in the corner. Both with fiery hair but vastly different faces and demeanors. Mars and Quinn exchanged a look before turning back to Legion.

“We want her to stay,” Mars said. “Look into our minds and know this to be true; we have claimed her. Lexi might have taken the bond between us as a way to save our lives, but before that, we felt a kinship with her. We had chosen her to be our mate.”

“You speak for Quinn as well?” Legion quirked a brow.

Quinn nodded silently.

“What about you, Legion?” Sev sat forward, his fingers knitted together. “We’ve heard from the group, but I want to hear what you think?”

My fingers tingled, and my breaths grew shorter; I reached out and pressed my hand to Legion’s arm. He turned back to me.

“It’s okay if you don’t want me,” I told him. “It has to be six yeses.”

Without a word, Legion shrugged off his tailored suit jacket and let it fall to the floor. The other demons perked up in interest as Legion unbuttoned his white dress shirt with nimble fingers. He pulled his shirt open, showing his chest.

A strange tattoo sat on his pectoral muscle, right over his heart. It looked almost burned into his tanned skin. It must have hurt. The pattern was Cyclian. A circle with another circle inside and a sweeping line connecting the two. Something inside me, an innate knowledge, recognized the sign for connection. A physical manifestation of the bond.

Legion’s eyes flickered, and he held his hand out for mine. He placed my hand over his scar, letting my fingers trail the lines of the tattoo. My fingertips burned. He pressed my hand against the tattoo, and my world went white, narrowing to a pinprick.

I felt the roar of the bond. Of the others. Of their voices muttering, shouting, and whispering between my ears as if I was in a concert hall listening to a thousand conversations at once. Like glowing orbs on a solar system, I felt their beings connecting by strands. I felt my own threads leading towards the others, a shield in place.

I could see what Legion had been protecting me from. I could see how damaged they were, their glowing suns pockmarked with dark patches and quick fixes. I saw my own light pulsing and growing stronger. The wisps of my curse on the wind, and my shadow, which I had mourned, sat inside the glow, wrapped in golden light.

I felt Legion.

I couldn’t say if he liked me or not. No,likewas too minor an emotion for what he felt for me. His devotion was as well. This was a man that would wait an eternity for me if I asked him to. A man that would walk through fire for me. A man that wanted to push me away, so I wasn’t forced into a life I didn’t want.

Legion.

My eyes opened slowly, the world coming into focus. My lips parted, unable to articulate how I felt about what I saw. His dark eyes met mine, resolute.

Then I kissed him.

I flew at his body, my hands on his cheeks so he couldn’t move. I kissed Legion with the desperation I felt. Wanting him to know how much I wanted him, all his scars and battered edges. I wanted his love. I wanted him to feel mine.

Legion had been the first person I had kissed in ten years, back when I was still cursed.

That kiss had been filled with fear.

This kiss was a world away.

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