Entranced by the Basilisks (Monstrous Matches, #3)

by Lillian Lark

“Just till I fall asleep?” I ask as if I’m not a grown woman capable of turning someone to stone.

“And then we can show Emilia your surprise,” Ari calls from the hallway. “What surprise?” I ask. Jasper starts to regain more of his edge, and he shrugs. “It’s not that big of a deal.” * * * It’s a big fucking deal.

He mercifully hadn’t told Emilia about my association with the turning point in serpent kin history. My lineage is something that has haunted me my entire life.

Last night, we’d watched a movie and she’d forgotten the serpents hiding under her glamour for a moment and rested her head on my shoulder. The slithering bodies against my neck had been startling, but I refused to move until after the movie. They’d tickled but calmed their movements after Ari had started stroking Emilia’s arm. She’d been embarrassed afterward, but I’d assured her that it wasn’t a problem. Because it’s not. I enjoyed her proximity too much to mind the snakes.

“Is this where you should be right now?” Agnes asks. I almost laugh. “This is where I’m always supposed to be, Agnes.” I don’t know who is more surprised by my teasing words, her or me. Agnes softens. “There is more to life than this library.” “You’ve never said that to me before.” “Quite frankly you’ve never had anything more before.” I blink in surprise. “Touché.” “I’m just saying, you’re marvelous at your job, a machine really, but you don’t always need to be a machine and other people can be delegated to.” “Are you going after my job, Agnes?” Agnes makes a disgusted noise. “And speak to the donors in your place, hardly! But we can move some assistants around to cover some of your other duties. You can take time off to work on whatever needs to be done for Emilia. You don’t need to be overseeing it all.” “I don’t oversee it all. You’re instrumental to the running of this library far more than I.” “And I go home every night to my partner at a reasonable hour. You should do the same.” She arches a brow. “I’ll think on it,” I say. “See that you do.”

The man sits in a booth at the back like a king on a throne, and his assistant sees me coming. I’ve always assumed he’s an assistant anyway. Bodyguard to a dragon would prove to be a boring job. He makes a gesture indicating the king will see me now. I don’t know why Kalos comes here. He looks bored in his expensive suit. He has a human appearance tonight, save for the talon-tipped fingers that tap against a glass. His gold eyes are similar to Jasper’s, but lack the warmth.

“I just need time.” “I hope she gives it to you.” He shrugs. “And that she doesn’t try to claw out your eyes when she finds out that, to your knowledge, this is permanent.”

My tormentor, the cause of ills, mental and physical alike and the source of more than a few of my nightmares, strides toward us with his eyes narrowed, two of his regular goons by his side. Fuck.

“Chosen, whose purpose is breeding… ohhh fuck,” I say and the splash of fear douses some of the heat. Ari’s laugh is humorless. “Well, that’s unexpected.”

And if that means keeping the truth about Emilia’s condition from the two people I care about most, so be it.

I should have asked at breakfast, but I’d been so overwhelmed with what we’d done last night that I’d done my mouse routine, trying to huddle in my work as a way to cope. And in the midst of restoring old books and focusing on details outside of this relationship that I’m terrified of screwing up, I’m starting to handle it. My breaths aren’t so tight, my heart isn’t acting like I’m running a marathon, and my brain can process everything.

Ari starts laughing. “That, dear sweet Emilia, my spark, my ember, my flame, was you compelling Jasper. A skill that we haven’t even mentioned yet.” “Oh shit. I compelled you? Are you okay?” I ask. Jasper’s face is the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. “Okay?” His voice is hoarse. “She compels me to fuck her, and she asks if I’m okay?” “She’s considerate like that,” Ari says, amused.

“I can wipe my own ass, thank you very much,” Jasper snaps. His tone pulls a smile from me.

“I want to watch you and Jasper together,” I say, the words falling from my mouth and betraying me with each syllable. I cover my mouth with both hands, my eyes wide. I didn’t want to admit that.

I refuse to sacrifice the triad we’re forming for anything, even the career I’ve worked so hard for.

I will be warning Ari and Emilia, but that’s not the reason for my redirection. I want my mates.

Not for the first time, I wonder if we should keep trying to reverse my condition.

I’m not meant for magic. I’m a quiet woman who loves to restore books. The woman who beams at the two basilisks in front of her isn’t really me. Is she? Could she be?

“Jasper, your hands,” Ari says. His voice is strangely toneless, but we look down. Jasper’s hands have shifted. They’re covered with smooth blue-green scales that shimmer. The texture is sleek against my palm. “Huh, I’ve never done that on accident before.” Jasper tilts his head. “It must be the power Emilia has been pushing into you,” Ari says, but he doesn’t sound convinced. “They’re pretty,” I say cautiously, letting my hand on his neck fall. “I’ve only shifted twice in all my life and each time I couldn’t leave my bed for days.” Jasper releases my hand and brings his up to his face, watching the light glance off the scales. His nails have sharpened slightly but aren’t claws yet. “I couldn’t have told you my own colors.”

Ari rubs a hand up and down my back and his brows crease. “It’s odd to be able to give such power to another. It is usually reserved for those who have already bonded so this is… curious.”

“You did that to him,” Ari whispers into my ear, the words hot and curling. “You’ve given him his second skin. I don’t know how or what this means, but you’ve done something I’ve never dreamed possible.”

“We’re here. We’ll always be here. You are ours no matter where you try to hide,” he says. I frown. Does he think I’m going to hide?

I just need to figure out what I’m willing to do to keep them.

I knew it might come down to this. I’d set both of them up as my beneficiaries on the way here.

“Ari Zeyad, you will be stripped of your wealth. Ten percent of it will be paid as a fine to the Circle and everything else you own will go to the mated pair that you have wronged.” It feels like I’ve been punched in the chest. Logically, I know this isn’t bad. It’s a boon really… but it hurts. My wealth and business have been what propped me up for all the years I’ve been alone. If Emilia and Jasper have everything I could possibly give them, what do they need me for?

“I mean, we probably should,” Emilia says conspiratorially. “It’s so close to the library after all.” Because I’d made sure it was. Even when I thought that Jasper would be my only mate. I picked this apartment for that reason.