Page 101 of Entranced By the Basilisks

The serpents are an outward expression of my emotions, and with them hidden, it’s clearer that all the emotions that had been so easy to hide before will not simply be stifled.

I press my hand to my bare chest and sense the magic that beats in me still. My brain wants to cycle through everything and analyze why I can shift to a human appearance now, but I don’t have answers for it. I only know I’ve accepted that like Eve in the Garden of Eden, there’s no going back to how I was before I’d eaten of the tree of knowledge.

My life is different now, but there are parts of it that are more precious because of the difference. I quirk my lips at the shiny waves of hair that could use a brush but is just how I remember it.

But the biggest difference I see in the mirror is my strength looking back at me.

40

ARI

I assemblelunch while Emilia is upstairs taking a shower. Jasper reclines in the living room, reading a book and looking more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him while sitting still. The domesticity of this moment threatens to choke me up.

Everything is coming together better than I ever imagined it in all my schemes. Happiness is bright and sticky, but there are still some flies in the ointment. Emotions that I hadn’t counted on.

The way Emilia and Jasper look at me, the trust and comfort between all of us… I adore it. Jasper whispers he loves me, and Emilia’s eyes say the words even if she doesn’t voice them. I have a home again. I am the safe place for my mates to be… and I have been lying.

I swallow and place my hands flat on the cold countertop. The stone helps ground me.

I need to tell them the truth.

I’ve put it off. Our relationship has grown into the strong and beautiful thing I knew it could be and I’ve been basking in the glow of it. Enjoying the way our bodies twine together in sleep and the way I can instigate the mild-mannered Emilia into snarling and laughing at me at equal turns. My many-times-over broken heart craves the way Jasper lets himself soften for me after all these years of holding me apart.

I glance over at my mate. They are both my mates, whether we’ve done the ceremony required for bonding or not. Jasper’s brows crease and he licks his thumb to turn the page in a way that would probably have Emilia gasping about how that’s bad for the books.

They are mine… and they will not be happy with me.

I may be arrogant, but even I know that there will be a price for not disclosing everything about our situation.

Emilia’s feet slap against the floor as she rushes down the stairs. Alarm stiffens Jasper and me, but it eases at the sight of her smile. Our interest is still piqued though, since she’s only in a towel. We’re both simple creatures in that way.

She’s wearing the glamour again and I try not to feel disappointed. Emilia is gorgeous with or without the glamour, but I wish she didn’t feel the need for it in the privacy of our home.

“I did it!” she cries.

“Did what?” Jasper asks.

She strides toward me, a sexy roll of her hips accompanying the bounce in her step. I don’t notice anything different until she’s wrapping her arms around my neck and her soft hair brushes the skin of my arms. The ever-present quiet hisses from her serpents are absent.

“You shifted!” I say, my smile so wide it hurts.

Jasper is off the couch in a blink. “You did? Congratulations.”

“I have hair again!”

My throat swells at the idea of not seeing her gift from the Goddess again, but it’s not up to me. I still can’t help myself. “Gorgeous, but then, you are always gorgeous.”

She must hear something in my tone. “It’s not permanent. They’re not gone for good. We’ve worked out a system.”

Her voice is warm and the distress that has lingered in my heart for Emilia’s displeasure at being Chosen eases. She’s adjusted to this life so well.

She deserves the truth. “There’s something I have to tell you—”

“Ari, your phone is going off,” Jasper interrupts and I frown at him. He’s right of course, I’d missed the sound with how my heart was thudding in my ears, but it won’t do for either of my mates to go around interrupting me. Especially right now.

I sigh and pull out the phone that rings with the tune I’d programmed for the doorman of the lobby.

“Yes?” I answer. The doorman doesn’t respond to my ire and instead details a visitor that has come calling. My brows shoot up at the description and the name given, but my gaze goes to Jasper. This is unexpected.

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