Page 21 of Demon's Beauty

I can’t bear to have any more expectations put on me.

I can’t handle disappointing anyone.

But, with a deep sigh, I realize the obvious.

I’ve already disappointed Finn.

From what I’ve heard, finding a mate is a huge deal to demons. It’s sacred in their culture, something to be revered and treasured. One of life’s greatest joys.

At the moment Finn was probably feeling like the luckiest man alive, I sent him crashing all the way back down to earth.

But it’s not my fault, is it?

I didn’t ask for this. I didn’tdoanything to make it happen.

I’m just stuck dealing with it.

And so is Finn.

It’s all a mess, way too much for my sleep-deprived brain to handle.

Seren’s still watching me, eyes searching, knowing, like she’s peeled back all the layers of angst and resentment between us. Like we’re still seventeen years old, the two of us together against the entire world.

“I hate to say it, Sol, but you might not have a choice with this one.”

My eyes snap to hers. “I always have a choice.”

“Yeah,” she says carefully—strange, sincecarefulis nowhere near her nature—as she sits down next to me. “But these things, these bonds, they’ve got a way of demanding that you do something with them.”

“So that’s it, then?” I ask, unable to keep the caustic note from my tone. “It’s all settled? I’ve just got to cozy up with this freaking demon like I’ve got no choice in the matter?”

“First of all, don’t write off Finn before you’ve given him a chance. He’s… a good guy. Fun. Lighthearted. He might surprise you.”

If it were possible, my mood gets even darker.

Great. Just what I need. A happy-go-lucky, blond demon sweetheart who’ll eventually realize he’s stuck with the world’s crankiest witch. A witch who is absolutelynotlighthearted or fun by any stretch of the imagination.

“And no,” Seren continues. “This isn’t like, medieval times or something, where you’re going to be married off without your consent. But I think…”

She hesitates, and all the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on-end.

Who is this witch, and what has she done with Seren?

In all the years I’ve known my sister, I haven’t known her like this. Softer. More peaceful. Careful and measured in a way she’s never been before.

She lets out a breath before she finishes. “I think the Goddess knows what she’s doing. With all of this. The mate stuff, I mean.”

It doesn’t make me feel any better.

It especially doesn’t make me feel any better to hear how sincerely Seren says it.

Maybe she’s been body-snatched.

Maybe this isn’t even my sister talking, or maybe the mate bond causes brain damage of some sort.

Part of me wants to interrogate her a little more, ask her a few questions about our childhood so she can prove she is who she says she is, but I am at least sane enough to refrain from doing that.

Seren’s not brainwashed.