An Immortal's Song (Dante's Circle #6)(15)

He filled her up, his body shaking to the point he knew he’d be sore the next morning. Tristan took Amara’s lips, then Seth’s, before pulling Amara down so she could take Seth’s mouth.

Tristan ended up on his side with his arms wrapped around Seth and Amara, their breaths coming in pants.

Seth’s heart ached, his body spent, but his mind whirling.

The bond hadn’t snapped into place.

It hadn’t worked.

Tears slid over Amara’s cheeks and her body shook as she wept. Tristan held them both, silent but stoic. Seth couldn’t speak, couldn’t formulate the words for what this meant. Instead, he ran his hands over Amara’s back and promised himself that he wouldn’t let her leave them—bond or no.

When he finally opened his mouth to speak, Amara froze. Her body twisted one way then the other as she lifted her torso off him, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Tristan cursed and quickly sat up, bringing her into his arms. “She’s changing,” he bit out. “Fuck, I didn’t know it would hurt her this bad.”

Seth scrambled up and went to Amara’s other side, holding her close, rocking her body back and forth.

“What does this mean?” he asked Tristan, who looked worried as hell.

“I don’t know,” he gasped. “I just don’t f*cking know.”

Amara’s body would only change to her paranormal half once she’d made love to her mate or mates. That’s how the lightning-struck worked. Yet the bond hadn’t come to be between the three of them.

It didn’t make any sense.

Seth couldn’t think about all of that yet. His mate, his Amara was in pain, and he couldn’t fix it. Instead, he did his best to hold her close and prayed her agony would end soon.

What happened once she woke? Well...that was something they would have to figure out. Because something had happened, and it wasn’t like the others.

When it came to the three of them, nothing seemed to be.





Chapter Four


Amara was dying. There was no other explanation for the fiery burn dancing along her skin and searing her down to her bones. She wanted to scream, but no matter what she did, no sound came out. It was like she was falling from a plane and moving too fast to let a shout escape.

Somehow, she could sense Tristan and Seth on either side of her, holding her close and whispering to her. However, they could be screaming at her for all she knew, she just couldn’t hear it. All she knew was that it hurt, and she wanted whatever was happening to be over.

She’d been through hell before, had her bones broken and her face bruised. She’d had countless cuts and abrasions scattered over her body thanks to hands and fists belonging to those far larger than her. And yet, the agony dwelling within her now, cascading outside her? was even worse.

Her fingers curled and she lowered her head as another wave of fire crashed into her. She sucked in a breath, praying it would be over soon. Dimly, she remembered her friends explaining the pain and agony that had come with changing into their paranormal halves once they’d completed the mating bond.

Only there hadn’t been a mating bond between her, Tristan, and Seth.

She’d cried for that in the short time the realization had taken to unfold, let the tears fall for a future that would never come to be.

And yet here she was, perhaps changing into something non-human altogether.

It didn’t make any sense.

As quickly as it had come, the pain went away. She fell in a heap of limbs, yet her men—her men, dear goddess—caught her in their arms. They ran their hands up and down her sides and arms, kissing her softly on her temple and shoulders, as if they couldn’t help but caress her. Her skin was so sensitive that their slight brushes felt so much deeper, so much more precise, but she wouldn’t take away their touch for the world.

She didn’t want to think about what that meant, or how she would deal once they spoke about their lack of bond.

“Amara,” Tristan said softly. He brushed her hair back from her face before cupping her cheek. “Talk to me, darling. Does it still hurt? What can we do?”

“I…” She coughed, and Tristan looked over her head at Seth.

“Hold her,” Tristan ordered before leaving her and Seth on the bed.

As Seth had already been holding her, he just brought her tightly to his chest and kissed her softly on the lips.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he whispered. “I think Tristan is getting you water.” He paused, and she looked up at him expectedly. “He doesn’t really tell us everything he’s doing as he’d doing it unless it’s in bed.”

She wanted to smile at that but she was too damned tired. “That’s true. And we’re going to have to fix that.” She coughed again, and Seth ran his hands over her.

“Don’t speak. Wait for Tristan to get you the water.”

Even as he spoke, she felt her energy bouncing back, this time with a resurgence she didn’t understand. It was almost as if nothing had happened. Yet she knew that wasn’t the case. She’d purposely not looked at her skin or anything having to do with herself. What had changed? Was she still the same Amara as before, or had she shifted into something paranormal? And if she had changed, what did that mean?

She lay in the arms of one of the men she wanted to be hers in truth, yet she was too afraid to hope that with the possibility of her changing, fate would actually provide for her. It hadn’t in the past, and she didn’t want to think it could happen now. Hope only brought pain and disappointment. It was something she’d been taught at an early age, and it would take more than the idea of magic and fate to change that.