An Immortal's Song (Dante's Circle #6)(7)

She took a step back at his words, her hands shaking.

“Oh, that was good,” Seth said with a snort. “Why don’t you just scare her into coming with us? Good plan. Next you’ll be listening to Eliana and wanting to throw her over your shoulder and kidnap her.”

“If I remember correctly, you were the one who mentioned kidnapping first.”

Maybe if she turned and ran away right then, they wouldn’t even notice her leaving. Amara pinched herself, trying to wake herself up from this bizarre dream. There was no way what these two were saying was true.

Kidnapping? Mates?

What. The. Hell.

She needed a drink. Or to wake up. Or something that wasn’t her standing on the side of the street with her mouth gaping like a freaking fish.

“Whoa,” she finally said. She held up both hands, palms facing the two men, and blinked. “I have no idea what the hell you two are talking about, but first, there will be no kidnapping. I know you’re stronger and bigger and have magic and crap, but I’m drawing the line at kidnapping.”

Tristan’s mouth quirked with a smile while Seth winced.

“I didn’t mean actual kidnapping,” Seth said softly.

“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t,” she lied. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore. “Second,” she continued, “Why do you think I’m your mate? Because if that’s the case, then there’s something wrong on my end.” Pain slashed at her chest, but she ignored it. “I’m a bad bet, so you’d better just walk away.”

“Amara,” Tristan whispered. “You’re anything but a bad bet.”

“That’s why we want to take you away from here and figure out what’s going on,” Seth added.

She shook her head and pressed her lips together. The back of her eyes burned, and she did her best not to cry. Crying was for weaker mortals, and frankly, she’d cried enough in her life.

Something the men had said earlier finally penetrated all the other monumental things filling her brain.

“Wait. The others said I should go? As in they don’t want me here anymore?” Anger slid over her like a warm blanket, and she let her hands fall to her sides, curling them into fists.

Seth shook his head quickly. “That’s not what they were saying, Amara.”

“They only want you to breathe,” Tristan added. He stepped toward her, and this time, she didn’t pull back. When he put his hand on her cheek, she gasped at the shock of his skin against hers. “Come with us, Amara. Let’s figure everything out together. It’s long past time we actually talk.”

“I…what if you’re wrong,” she whispered, voicing her deepest fear.

“I’m never wrong,” Tristan said smoothly.

Seth let out a cough. “I’m wrong sometimes about other things, but not about this.” She looked over as he rubbed his fist over his heart. “I know what I feel. And I’m not going to back away because things are different than how they normally are.”

She didn’t know what to say, what to think. It was all too much. But…what if what they were saying was true? What if she was their mate and there was an actual future for the three of them?

She’d never backed down from anything in her life, even when it had almost killed her. Maybe she should take the risk, knowing full well that if the two men in front of her were wrong, she’d break worse than she ever had before.

The others wanted her gone, and even if it wasn’t rational in her mind, she didn’t want to go back in there and see their faces. She didn’t want to see the looks of pity and hope she couldn’t quite understand. The others had their mates, and Eliana…well, Eliana might understand, but she had Malik.

Amara had no one.

Yet she might have a glint of a chance with the two men in front of her.

Seth reached around and touched her hip while putting his other hand on Tristan’s back. The three of them formed a unit, touch to touch, and she gasped at the contact.

“Okay,” she whispered, knowing she might be making the biggest mistake of her life. “Take me to your…realm.”

Tristan smiled full-out while Seth let out a relieved breath. “Then let’s get out of here. Do you want to say goodbye to the others first?”

She blinked. “You mean we’re going right now?” She needed to pack. Or brush her hair. Or something.

Tristan lowered his arm while Seth moved back. She immediately felt the loss. She was already a goner.

“Why not right now?” Seth asked. “It’s Friday, and you don’t work weekends.” He paused. “At least, you shouldn’t. Right?”

She worked seven days a week and was on call twenty-four hours a day, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to say that.

Tristan narrowed his eyes. “You need another job, Amara. That’s just one thing we’ll discuss this weekend.”

She raised a brow. “I’m not going with you if you’re going to spend the entire time telling me what to do. I lived with someone who did that most of my childhood, and I’m not going back to that kind of life.” She closed her mouth quickly as soon as she’d revealed that tidbit. The other women knew of her past, but no one else did, and she’d be damned if she’d let these two find out. They didn’t need to know how she’d grown up. She was past that.