Page 135 of Daughter of the Serpent

Slowly, his hand unfolded hers, his thumb tracing the lines of her palm as if seeing something unseen.

“Each partner receives the same symbol, a mark to show they are bound as one, for eternity.”

Her pulse quickened. Her eyes traced over his tattoos again, lingering on his chest, wondering if and where such a mark might be etched. The thought of it stirred something deep within her, a yearning she couldn’t suppress.

“I would like to see what that one looks like,” she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. For a heartbeat, silence stretched between them, charged and electric.

“It is the symbol of water.”

Moving his fingers to her forearm he began to trace a pattern on her skin, circling his fingertips round and round. “One perfect curling spiral that is unending.”

She watched his fingers swirling on her skin, trying to imagine it.

“Water is undying. It carves through rock and stone. It moves beyond any obstacle in its path. Water is the source of all life.” His eyes met hers. “Just like love.”

Awe pierced her belly. She wasn’t sure if she had heard anything so romantic. Curiosity peaked as he released her arm and she glided back, leaving more space between them.

“Do you have such a mark?”

He swallowed, his eyes turning thoughtful, and for a moment she thought she saw a certain pain flash through them. “Yes.”

Surprise thrummed through her body at his words. Even though she had suspected, she had held onto the secret hope that such a truth wouldn’t rear its head. If it was true,had she been of his people?

Had she too been lost at the time of their destruction?

“And are you still bound to her?”

For a moment time seemed to slow, as she awaited his answer with held breath.

“She is destined for another.” He said finally, his voice low, measured, but Sylvie could sense the weight he carried. Before she could stop it, her mouth moved.

"How could she not have chosen to be with you?"

His lips twitched with amusement, pulling at the corners, but his eyes - those molten depths - flared with something that stole her breath. He didn’t say a word. Instead, the air around them seemed to thicken with the heat of his presence. Sylvie could feel it, his warmth spreading over the water like a current, magnetic, pulling her closer despite every instinct to hold back. Despite herself, her fingers itched, her hands trembling with the need to touch him - run her fingers through his dark hair, feel the heat of his skin beneath her palms.

“And what of you?” His voice dropped, a sensual promise. “Have you ever known a man?”

Her breath stopped, a soft pink crawling up her neck and across her cheeks. His smile deepened, the wicked play of it igniting something within her she couldn’t quell.

“Touched a man?” His words were barely a whisper, but the weight of them - of him - pressed against her chest as if the water between them had disappeared entirely.

She opened her mouth but faltered, the words barely coming. “It is not permitted.”

His eyes traced the curve of her shoulders, lingering on the delicate flesh as if his fingers were brushing across it, filling every space of her withhis warmth.

“Do you not desire?” The question was blunt, raw, and it seemed to slice through the air between them, sharp and inevitable.

She stiffened, going ridgid, not only by his words but the intensity of his eyes. She wasn’t sure what unsettled her more, the power he held in that look, or how desperately she wanted to give herself to it.

“I am not allowed to desire,” she said finally, instinctively putting more space between them, yet he followed swiftly.

She shifted uncomfortably as he stood in front of her, the space between them swallowed up whole. His fingers grazed her skin, the touch lingering as he traced the line of her shoulder, the curve of her collarbone.

“You do long for things, don’t you?”

Her breath held in her chest as his eyes searched hers. She could feel her body responding to him, betraying her with each shallow breath, each fluttering heartbeat.

“No,” she whispered quickly, her voice barely audible, her heart pounding in her ears.

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