𝔸𝕧𝕒

Zane attempts to stand, but barely makes a step before he's reeling in pain. His remaining wing flaps erratically and he collapses into a nearby chair.

I jump up and rush to his side, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Talk to me," I say. "What's happening?"

"I don't know... fuck!" he groans. "It... fuck!"

"Do we need to heal him?" I ask Kami. Her usually unshakable demeanor is replaced by a frenzied panic.

"We haven't... the other wing... I'm not ready... I haven't set aside venom for him, I..." she stutters.

"Just kiss him, Kami," I say. "I don't care, I promise! Just help him!"

Kami nods and leans in to kiss him. Without warning, Zane sweeps an arm across and throws her backward across the room.

"No!" he shouts. "Don't fucking touch me!"

She manages to land on her feet in a crouching position, a bright flare of gold appearing in her eyes.

"What the fuck, Zane?" she asks.

"No one..." he says through labored breaths, "but Ava... kisses me."

"You're being ridiculous," I say to him, as Kami begrudgingly grabs a shot glass and fills it with venom. "I said I don't care. It's fine. You're in pain."

"Well I do care," he says. He grunts as he attempts to sit up further and Kami hands him the glass of venom and he downs it.

"Okay," he says. "That's definitely much grosser than the kissing."

"That's your own damn fault, Z," Kami says with an eye roll. "Feeling better?"

He turns around and his wound seals as he pulls his remaining wing back in.

"Fuck," he says. "Not really. Ahhh!"

He hisses in pain and lets out a spree of curse words, about half of which I've even heard before.

"Zane, talk to me," I say, holding his face in my hands. "What are you feeling? What's going on?

"It... fuck. It's like my nerves are on fire," he says.

"Where?" I ask.

"Everywhere—my skin, my muscles... fuck, I swear it's in my bones too."

Unfortunately, I know that feeling too well.

He tries to stand and staggers before dropping back into the chair.

"Can you not walk?" I ask.

"Bloody hell," he says. "I don't know... my vision is spinning and my head is throbbing. Is this what happens to humans when they get hung over?"

"Depends on the human," I say.

Personally, I feel like that all the time.

"Maybe it's a side effect," Kami asks.

Wait...

I feel like this all the time.

"Crap," I mumble under my breath.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asks, dropping to his knees to be closer to me.

"I think this might be my fault," I say.

He's feeling like shit because he's experiencing what I'm feeling. I should've known better. Kami practically said this would happen and I didn't listen.

I start sobbing and before I know it I'm hyperventilating.

"Baby, look at me," he says softly, grabbing my hand. "It's okay. This is not your fault."

"But it is!" I sob.

Zane's eyes widen and his mouth falls open. Kami looks at me with the same expression.

"What?" I ask through choked breaths.

"Zane told you it wasn't your fault," Kami says in a faint voice.

"I know, but it is," I say, sniffling. "That's what I'm trying to say."

"No, baby," he says. "You should've believed me. I was touching you; you should have been charmed by that."

"It worked," she says.

Wait...what?

"I'm... I'm immune to your charm power?"

"It looks that way," he says.

I feel a stabbing feeling in my stomach. He sucks in a heavy breath as if he feels it too. Tears run down my face again.

"Listen, I understand you feeling guilty, but this isn't your fault."

"But it is," I say. "It's literally me—it's my pain you're experiencing."

"Wha-..." Zane starts to speak, but stops, as a knowing look washes over his face. "This is what you're feeling?"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do this to you. I didn't realize... I should have."

He grabs my face in his hands, firmer this time.

"Listen to me, love," he says. "I'm not blaming you. I didn't lie when I said I could handle pain, I just... didn't know you had been handling so much."

"I'm sor-"

"Don't you dare," he says. "I'm the one who's sorry. I'm sorry you're in so much pain."

"That..." Kami says. "What he's feeling... That's what you're feeling?"

"Yeah," I say.

"So, if it worked," she asks, "where is your mark?"

I look down at my wrists and see a few faint lines hidden underneath the ink of my tattoo that weren't there before.

"There," I say, pointing to my wrist. "It's hidden beneath my tattoo."

Kami flops down into a nearby armchair.

"Well I need a drink," she says.

"Bloody hell," Zane replies. "I'm gonna need about 80."

*****

Kami and I sit in the kitchen while Zane is resting in bed.

"So I had a little surprise that I thought would be fun after this but," Kami says, "I'm not sure it's a good idea now."

"A surprise? For who?" I ask.

"Mostly for Zane," she says, "but he's not dealing with things as well as I'd expected."

"I feel so bad."

"Don't. Men are just big babies. He'll learn to deal. If anything I'm just really looking forward to him having to experience 'that time of the month' with you."

"What's the surprise?" I ask.

"I asked Alek and David to fly in," she says. "I thought it would be nice to have a little cocktail party for you guys and give you a chance to hang with another Siren-and-marked-human couple. But he seems relatively under the weather."

"How about we do something smaller?" I ask. "They can come over here and we can just order pizza or something and hang out—something low-key. That way Zane can still rest but he gets to see his friends."

"Hmm," she says, as though she has just encountered the concept of low-key for the first time. "I guess we could do that. I'll text them, let them know there's a change of plans."

*****

I let Zane know we were going to have some people coming by, so he drank a bit of vodka to dull the pain and made his way into the living room.

"Hey," I say. "How're you feeling?"

"Apparently I'm feeling how you're feeling," he says with a fatigued smile.

"Very funny. You know what I mean."

"She means to ask, how are you coping with what she—a human—handles every day like a fucking champ?" Kami chimes in, putting out a spread of cheese and crackers.

"Ouch," he says. "That's cold."

"Yeah, well, you threw me against the wall earlier, so you'll have to forgive if I'm a little unsympathetic."

"Yeah, er," he says, tugging at his hair between his fingers. "Sorry about that. I'm not really sure why I did that."

"Don't think I won't get you back for that, by the way," she says, narrowing her eyes.

Zane and Kami both turn their attention to the door, and a moment later we hear a knock. Zane seems skeptical over who our surprise guests could be.

Kami opens the door to reveal a stunning man, well over six feet tall, with wide shoulders, a flawless dark-brown complexion, and a shaved head. Beside him stands a much-scrawnier man with pale skin and short, dark brown hair. In comparison, he looks remarkably plain.

It isn't hard to tell which one of them is the Siren.

Oh god. Is that what I look like next to Zane?

Kami welcomes them inside and Zane seems pleasantly surprised, getting up from the couch to greet them.

"Oi, who invited these cunts?" Zane asks with a smile.

The giant man, who I assume is Alek, holds out his hands for a hug.

"C'mere ya cranky ol' git," he says in a deep British accent, pulling him in for a hug.

"This your girl, mate?" Alek asks, gesturing toward me.

"Yep," he says. "Alek, this is Ava."

"So great to finally meet you, Miss Ava," Alek says, giving me a hug as well.

Zane lets out a low rumbling growl.

"Ahh, so you're at the 'I'm going to kill everyone who touches my partner' stage," Alek says with a laugh. "Adorable."

Zane rolls his eyes and glares at him.

"This is my love, David," he says, pulling David in to his side.

We exchange introductions and David opts for a handshake, which only seems to irritate Zane mildly.

"I never thought I'd see the day Zane found his match," Alek says with a smile. "She's beautiful by the way—far too good for you, mate."

"That's a proper fact, right there," Zane says, kissing me on the cheek.

"Oi, c'mon then, you didn't go through all this so you could kiss her on the cheek, mate. Give her a proper kiss."

Zane looks to me with trepidation.

I just go for it, leaning in and kissing him on the lips. I don't feel the instantaneous high, but I still find myself enraptured and wanting more. I guess he doesn't need venom to have that effect on me.

As he pulls away and opens his eyes, he seems genuinely surprised.

"I can't believe I can do that all the time, now," he says with a huge smile. He goes in for another long kiss.

"Aww," Alek says. "Okay, stud, how bout you let her up for air now, ay? Humans still need oxygen you know."

Zane's lips part from mine and I find myself unable to tear my eyes from his. He's still just as captivating as ever.

We chat for a while before David pulls me aside to talk on the patio.

"So how does it feel?" he asks.

"Kind of crazy," I say. "After the whole marking, I was really expecting him to be less... I dunno..."

"Stupidly hot?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say with a chuckle. "I wasn't sure how much of it was his powers and stuff."

"I know what you mean. Sirens, they just can't help it. Everything they do is intoxicating."

"Do you ever feel..."

"Like a basic bitch?" he asks.

I giggle at his comment.

"Pretty much," I say. "I mean how do you even begin to have self-esteem when you're around these Greek gods all the time?"

He laughs.

"I know what you mean," he says. "But a man doesn't cut off his wings for you because he sees you as anything less than perfect. Remember that. It's a big deal to them. Culturally, it's saying that they've chosen you as their one lover for life. Most Sirens could never fathom having just one partner for even a few months, let alone for life."

It hits me just how big of a deal that is—and how much Zane must love me to have even considered it. He puts on a cool, unaffected act, but I should have considered that this meant more than I realized.

"Wow..." I say. "I never really thought about it that way."

"But I guess your Zane has never been a 'normal Siren', has he?" he says.

"So they tell me."

"You know, if you want, there are a few tricks I could teach you."

"Tricks?"

"Yeah, you know, these beautiful bastards can still be brought to their knees every once in a while."

I can't help but delight at the idea.

"For instance, you know how he can feel everything you feel now?" he says.

"Yeah..."

"Well, if you feel something good, he'll feel something good."

I nod, pretending like I understand what he means so I don't look super naive. He chuckles to himself.

"When you touch yourself, your partner feels the sensation," he explains.

I guess my nod wasn't very convincing.

"Oh, and if you want to drive him really wild," he adds. "You know the spot where his wings would come out?"

I nod.

"Dig your nails into his skin there," he says. "They're ultra-sensitive there, especially without their wings."

"But wouldn't that hurt?" I ask.

"Babe, you literally can't hurt him. You're immortal now but you're still not a Siren. You could punch him in the face and he would hardly feel it."

"Are we talking about punching Zane in the face?" Kami asks, walking out to join us on the balcony.

"Yep," David says.

"Good," she says. "I call first dibs."