Page 125 of Inked in Bloom
There’s no greeting. No warmth in her voice—not that I especially find herwarmby any means.
“Corrigan, what a pleasant surprise,” I say with a quaintenough smile. I pull out a chair beside me, and Cherri grabs her a cup and saucer from the cabinet. It’s the one Taylor decorated at my birthday party, cherry blossom petals and ribbons wrapping around it. “I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
Corrigan taps her finger against the edge of the empty cup, scanning over the quiet house. “I didn’t realize you’d moved in.”
“I haven’t.” I swallow the defensiveness rising in my voice.
“She hasn’tyet,” Cherri clarifies, picking up the teakettle and bringing it over to fill Corrigan’s cup.
The prickly Radix lifts a hand and sneers. “Don’t you have anything stronger?”
Cherri sets the kettle down and opens the fridge, unscrewing the top of a bottle of rosé before pouring it into Corrigan’s mug. She moves to take it back to the fridge, but the Radix grabs her wrist, stopping her. Downing her wine in three long gulps, she refills and sets the bottle next to her, smacking her lips together. Cherri and I exchange concerned glances.
“I know Briar and Dani are away… Have either of you heard from them?”
We both shake our heads. Neither of us are sure what we can say other than confirm they are gone. There’s no use trying to lie about that, we’ve been out in Florezca with Briar’s daughters and it’s been over a week since they left.
Corrigan swigs another heaping serving of wine, draining half the teacup. “Do you both truly believe I’m dense? I know where they are… Who they are looking for.”
Her mate. Though she won’t admit it.
“Have you heard from Skylar?” I ask, hoping there’ssomething that will make their search quicker so they can come home.
“No.” Another sip, then another. She swirls the tiny bit of pink liquid around, her neck lined with the tension she refuses to express. “Not since before she left.”
“Briar and Dani will find her,” Cherri says, gently grasping Corrigan’s wrist before she refills her wine. “If anyone can, it’s them.”
“It’s hard to believe that when I can’t even sense her.” She shoves her hands into her lap and stares at her empty cup.
I cock my head at her. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” Her lips press into a thin line. “But it’s concerning. While the connection has faded with time, it’s still always been there. Then all of a sudden—nothing.” She swallows thickly. I stay quiet, shocked she’s admitting Skylar’s her mate to us. “I went to Fate, and she told me about sending my siblings earthside.”
Even when I didn’t want to feel Briar through the bond, tried to push it away, it still remained. It lingered beneath all the ways I tried distracting myself. I can’t imagine that tether being clipped off. Unless… “Could she have found a way to break the bond?”
“That’s impossible,” Corrigan says, venom bubbling through her tone, like I’ve somehow offended her.
“So is having the connection fizzle out,” I hiss. “But whatever the case, isn’t this what you wanted?”
Corrigan huffs. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
My hackles rise. How dare she act so defensive and innocent. If anyone’s to blame for Skylar being MIA, it’s her. And right now, Briar and Dani are out cleaning up her mess. If she’d treated her mate more kindly, no one would bemissing and they’d all be here with us. “You want me to feel sorry for you because you can’t feel Skylar through a bond you had no interest in?”
Corrigan’s chair scrapes against the floor, and she stands, looming over me like a storm cloud. “You think what you’re doing to my brother is any better?” Her hot-pink eyes narrow to slits. “Playing house while he’s gone, having him help you plan a claiming ceremony you don’t even believe in. You’re stringing him along,” she seethes. “Unless you’ve actually decided to give the bond a chance?”
I stand from the table and glare right back at her. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t willing to give it a chance.”
“Well, let’s chat in a few years and see how that goes for you.”
“I won’t make him wait that long.”
“I didn’t think I would either,” she snaps.
Corrigan holds so much beneath the surface, as if it’ll drown the emotions by keeping them there. I hate that I recognize it so quickly in her. Is this how I came off under the guise of control? It’s humbling finding flaws in others only to realize they’re merely holding a mirror to the ones you hate in your own reflection.
“Can’t we sit down and talk this through? Hear each other out?” Cherri waves her arms between us, trying to diffuse the match that’s been lit.
She’s right. This isn’t going to find Skylar or get Briar and Dani back any faster. I slowly sit and Corrigan follows suit. After a minute, I finally break the silence. “I don’t understand why you turned her away.”
