“Natasha said that out of everyone she knows, you deserve happiness the most,” I replied. “Out of everyone I know? My mom deserves that, too. Maybe what was broken can be fixed, maybe it can’t. But isn’t it worth taking the time to find out? I know that every time Mom was stressed or sad or close to breaking, she touched this.”
I closed a hand over my own claiming mark, feeling the raised scars. I traced the mark, letting myself relive that night and that moment.
I met his eyes and struggled to catch my breath. There was so much pain there. So much regret.
I touched his hand again, gently prying his fingers off the armrest and lacing them with mine. “I don’t believe that the time you spent together meant nothing to her, Nikolai. I don’t believe that you meant nothing to her.”
32
Skye
Lulu scared the hell out of all of us hours later when she suddenly jerked upright with a ragged gasp. Tate jerked awake, my head snapped up, and Dimitri looked ready for war. I must have dozed off myself at some point. My neck ached from how I had been holding it. Rubbing it, I looked curiously at Lulu.
She pressed a hand against her chest, breathing hard. Her gray eyes were huge, her dark complexion looking slightly ashen. “I need to talk to Elias.”
“What?” Dimitri frowned at her, shaking off the remnants of sleep. “We already talked to him, Lu.”
“Explain,” Nikolai said calmly, leaning across the aisle.
Others who had been sleeping around us were now awake and looking over curiously. Natasha stood up from where she had been sleeping and walked down the aisle, leaning her hip against Dimitri’s seat.
Lulu swallowed under the new scrutiny. “I need to talk to him. Actually, I need Skye to talk to him.”
Everyone’s gaze swung to me.
“Me?” My eyebrows rose to my hairline. “I already talked to him. I’m good.”
Lulu leaned her forearms on the table. “For whatever reason, Skye means something to him.”
“Because I’m a damn lab rat to him,” I muttered darkly.
“No, it’s more than that,” she insisted. “When Dimitri and I were with him, he kept asking about you. He wanted to see you.”
Dimitri looked at me, his brows pulled together. “She’s right. It was weird.”
“But why me?” I asked. “I’m no one.”
Nikolai bristled. “You’re my daughter.”
“And as much as I appreciate the fatherly pride, I don’t think that’s it.” I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.
“Actually? That might be it,” Lulu replied softly. Her gray eyes met mine and held. “Skye’s the first female Dashkov that’s been born in over two hundred years.”
“Princess,” Tate muttered, nudging my side with a smile.
“Exactly,” Lulu said earnestly.
“I still don’t get it,” I returned with a shrug. “You’re going to have to break it down for me.”
But not for Dimitri, apparently, who was staring at Lulu with fascination as understanding dawned. “Because females carry the abilities.”
Lulu turned and looked at him. “Yes.”
“It makes sense.”
Their mouths curved into identical smiles. For a beat, it was like they were in their own world.
I cleared my throat to get their attention. “Can someone explain it to me?”
Lulu grinned at me, her eyes practically sparkling with excitement. “Remember how I told you earth magic and women were linked? Because both are the essence of life?”
“Yeah.” I drew the word out slowly, thinking back.
“Our abilities are carried from mother to daughter. My abilities came from my mother. Your abilities came from your mother, but also from the females of the Dashkov line. It’s all linked, Skye. You have a connection that hasn’t been tapped into in over two hundred years.” She smiled at me like I was supposed to understand what that meant.
“Wait, so only women can … do what you do?” Tate interjected.
Lulu made a face. “Yes, and no.”
“That cleared up a lot,” Tate murmured sarcastically.
“Men have abilities, too, but they’re not quite as strong,” Lulu added. “Skye’s bloodline is part of the first shifters, not just the first pack. She’s a direct descendant of the original two shifters, one of whom was the daughter of the strongest Romani ever in our history. That means she’s probably got a little magic in her blood, too.”
“Which Elias would love to get his hands on,” Nikolai growled, his expression turning thunderous.
“I’m not magical,” I said quickly, emphatically. “If I had any magic at all, don’t you think I would have used it to get out of Long Mesa before I did? Or to stop people from hurting me and my mom?”
“Magic isn’t that cut and dry,” Lulu explained. “You may not have even known you were doing it. It could have been a by-product of circumstances around you that you wrote off as a fluke or something.”
Tate turned and stared at me. “At the Summit. When you and Remy …” She gave me a pointed look, raising her eyebrows. “The bonding wave in Blackwater and at the Summit, remember?”
“Bonding wave?” Nikolai pressed, leaning in.
“That sounds fun.” Natasha smirked and winked at me.
“Mama, please.” Dimitri winced. He rubbed his temple with a groan.
Natasha sighed dramatically. “How are you even my child?”
“Wait, what happened at the Summit?” Lulu asked curiously, leaning forward.
I gave Tate a hard look. Apparently details of my sex life were going to be openly discussed again. Awesome. It never got any less awkward.
“The first time Remy and I were together was at the Summit,” I said softly.
Lulu’s head tilted to the side. “But you said that you two bonded in the fall.”
“We did,” I replied, huffing a little. “But we didn’t do that until the Summit.”
“Why on earth would you wait so long?” Natasha asked incredulously.
“Because I spent my life with sex being used as a weapon to belittle, punish, and hurt people,” I snapped, my patience running out as I struggled to keep from blushing. “I wasn’t ready, and Remy was willing to give me all the time I needed.”
Natasha held her hands up innocently. “I didn’t mean to offend.”
“But you know how abnormal that is, right, Skye?” Lulu asked, drawing my attention back to her. “To have the wherewithal to wait? Especially for second gens? The Conclave usually turns into a freaking orgy because the second gen bonds are so strong.”
Natasha grinned. “It is always a fun night.”
“Tasha, maybe we can curtail the commentary until a time when our son isn’t ready to crawl under a seat from embarrassment?” Nikolai murmured.
“More like jump out of the plane,” Dimitri muttered, a disgusted look on his face.
Lulu waved everyone off, focused on me. “Seriously, Skye. You two waiting is like … damn. Your animal instincts should’ve overridden wanting to wait for any reason.”