Page 58 of Jinx

Instead, Alaric’s face fell into a worried frown. “He did. Pixie…we all do. None of us wanted to lie to you, but the circumstances…the way you were…”

My fingers moved to still his lips. “It’s okay. I understand. Sort of.”

“You do?”

I nodded and tried to think of the simplest way to sum up the bizarre dream-chat I’d just had. “There are people who want to hurt me because of my magic, so to protect me from them, I was hidden from everyone. The whole turning-into-a-mythical-beast thing you’re going to have to explain, though.”

His mouth twitched with a grin. “You’re handling all this pretty well.”

“I’m saving the epic breakdown for after I have all the facts,” I deadpanned. “Deva barely gave me half the story. Give me the rest.”

Ric took my hand, kissing my knuckles with a soft sigh. “The rest is that there’s an ancient order of gryphons, descended from four bloodlines, tasked with protecting humans from shade and keeping hybrids in line. Gryphons are Fate-bound into groups called drifts.”

I wanted to balk. I wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it all sounded, but after the last two days—after the last twenty-one years—I couldn’t. “So, you guys are in one of these drifts.”

He nodded, eyes wary.

I mirrored the movement. “What does that have to do with me?” Because I was fairly positive that I did not transform into a giant cat-bird.

Alaric pressed his lips to my knuckles again, eyes falling shut. “Every drift is blessed with a Heart,” he said. “The Heart binds them together. Protects and empowers them. It’s a designation that’s revealed as a teenager.” His eyes reopened and begged me to understand with a thousand unspoken words.

Tightness gripped my chest. “You think that’s what I am? A Heart?”

“I know it.”

“But wouldn’t I have known it too? If it happens when you’re a teenager…”

Ric’s fingers slid to my neck, and he lifted the chain of my necklace. He brought the pendant into the light, and even in the shadows, I could see it was shattered. “Your moonstone was a powerful cloaking talisman, blessed by the goddess Selene herself. It hid you from our world. And without anyone willing to explain…”

I clenched the ruined moonstone in my fist and sucked in a shallow breath. “So I guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?”

Ric winced at my forced levity.

“You’re where you belong now.” Rami’s words were a gruff rumble against my skin as he woke.

“Hey.” I rolled onto my back to see him with my own eyes, overcome with relief when I met his pale blue gaze. “Are you okay?”

He propped up his head and gave me a soft smile while I ran my fingers through his hair. “You are my Heart, and you finally know it,” he said. His hand, still wrapped around my ribs, flexed possessively. “I am okay, kulta.”

My head was spinning, thoughts chasing around and around. It should have been simple, right? I should have grown up in their world, knowing what to expect, what the possibilities were. Instead, I had some cosmic side-quest forced on me that ruined it all and left me blind to the truth of what I was.

Yeah, it wasn’t simple. It was overwhelming, and I didn’t even know how to start sifting through it all.

“We’re together now.” Alaric tipped my face back toward him. He dipped his head and brushed his lips over mine, igniting sparks that crackled along my skin and migrated south. “We’ll figure it out.”

Except I didn’t want to figure it out. Not right now. I didn’t want to be in my head, buried in thoughts and questions and doubts. I wanted to be released from all of that—to feel and not think. I fidgeted, and Ric pulled away.

“Too much?”

“Not enough,” I whispered, that heat growing into a heavy, pulsing ache. “I need you. Take it away, Prince. Please.”

He didn’t hesitate. Dream world or waking—he knew how to save me when my anxiety reached high tide and threatened to drown me. He claimed my mouth in a kiss that demanded my full attention while his hand slid down my body. “I’ll do anything for you,” he breathed between nips against my lips. He slowly bunched the fabric of my shirt, drawing the hem up inch by torturous inch.

Rami shifted, maybe to leave, but I wasn’t about to let him. He was mine just as much as Alaric was, and I needed them both.

“Stay!” I gasped out, burying my fingers in his silken waves, anchoring him. He relaxed without protest and moved his arm so Alaric could drag the t-shirt up the rest of the way, baring me to them. The cool air of the room contrasted with the heat of their bodies, making my skin pebble and my nipples tighten.

“Olet niin täydellinen,” Rami breathed, moving to kiss the pulse fluttering wildly in my neck. I had no idea what he said, but the sound of it flamed my desire. His big hand moved to my breast while Alaric’s moved between my thighs. I arched against them, the touch almost too much but still not enough.