Alexi gave a short laugh, took a step back, maki
ng enough space for her to twirl. Her long skirt brushed against his calves. He pulled her back against him, but left some space between them. “You’ve just described the power of a cambion. Or, of an Alluring One, if you increase it tenfold.”
Sophie furrowed her brows. “This means you and Kain were using your powers on me?”
“No.” He smiled, hoping she’d understand. “It’s in our nature. What you’ve felt just now, and probably with Kain a couple of minutes ago, wasn’t us using our powers on you. It wasn’t an attack. If it were, you’d be on your knees now, begging for… well, let’s just leave it to begging.”
“How charming.” Should she have been angry? Sophie didn’t know anymore. Alexi didn’t look like the kind of guy who would lie to her or do anything to harm her. He just had this tendency of being painfully honest.
“I’m sorry. I’m… I’m doing my best to explain this to you. We are equally humans and demons. We can suppress one of these sides as needed, but when we’re being ourselves, as we always are at Lure, the people we come in contact with can see both sides. Except that one side might sometimes dominate the other depending on our thoughts and emotions. When I’m so close to you, Sophie, my demon gains ground. It’s what your body does to my body, what the smell of your skin does to my senses. It happens involuntarily because I’m not trying to suppress it, to hold back. But, you’ve figured it out. You didn’t allow yourself to be overwhelmed by my magic, which means that your powers are more developed than you think they are.”
Sophie looked into his eyes, incapable of coming up with something clever, or at least decent to say. She could only think of how much she liked him and how different he was from Kain. He was warm, kind, and patient. He’d make a wonderful mentor, she knew it. The song ended, and they stopped moving. They were frozen in the middle of the ball room, in an intimate, yet relaxed embrace. Alexi was the one who took a step back, then lifted her hand to his lips and planted a soft kiss on her knuckles. Sophie took note of his gesture and compared it to Kain’s possessive hold on her and his refusal to let go when she had pushed lightly against his chest. However, could she really choose one over the other and never regret it? The grandfather clock behind the stage struck four.
?
For what felt like the hundredth time that night, all eyes were on her. Sophie should have gotten used to it by now, but the truth was she just wanted it to be over. It was 5 AM and she’d never been so tired in her life. She was standing in front of the stage with Lilith by her side, the glass goblet with the two claim rings between them. She spotted Alexi leaning against the wall, in the shadows, with a glass of red wine, looking as if he was deliberately trying to isolate himself from the crowd. Kain was on the opposite side of the ball room, perched up on a table like he owned it. Sophie thought it was a bit rude of him but, at the same time, she found it sexy.
“Sophie,” said Lilith. “We’re all waiting for your decision. The claim rings have their owner’s name engraved on the underside, so you simply have to pick one and slip it on your finger.”
“Yes…”
Sophie looked at the transparent goblet, uncertainty dancing in her eyes. She had had three hours to make up her mind, three hours in which she had weighed both possibilities, tried to assess the consequences, and struggled to figure out if she’d regret it if she chose Alexi over Kain, or vice versa. Seven minutes ago the clock had struck 5, and she still hadn’t made a decision. She was in the same place she had been when the two cambions had let their rings drop to the bottom of her goblet.
“Sophie?” Lilith’s voice was smooth and encouraging, but it didn’t quite reach her to snap her out of her conflicting thoughts.
“Yes. I… just a second.”
“Don’t overthink it.”
“How in hell’s name could I not overthink it?” she thought. She took a deep breath and decided to weigh the two possibilities once more. She swore to herself it was the last time. Kain Svjetlo: hot, stubborn, domineering, most likely the most selfish guy she had ever met, and his aura could burn her like a scorching summer day. Alexander Volkov: sexy, kind, patient, a true gentleman compared to the blond, and his aura tickled her senses like rain tickled the trees before soaking the damp earth. She exhaled softly and her hand reached for the rings. There was only one solution to her dilemma.
Neither Alexi, nor Kain could see which ring she picked up. They saw her slip it onto her finger and they prepared themselves for Lilith’s announcement. But, when the succubus wanted to speak, Sophie’s hand went back inside the goblet, picked the second ring, and slipped it onto her finger next to the first one. Everyone in the ball room held their breath for a long moment, their eyes wide with disbelief. No, she hadn’t accepted both claim rings, had she? It wasn’t possible. No one in the history of Lure Academy had ever had more than one mentor.
Kain jumped off the table and walked towards the podium, the cambions around him moving out of his way without him even asking. Alexi watched the blond then finally decided to leave his obscure corner. Neither of them had expected this to happen. It had begun as a challenge, actually, as a game of power. Sophie hadn’t paid attention when it all started because she had been too paralyzed by panic to be aware of her surroundings, but everyone had seen that Alexi had been the first one to drop the claim ring into her goblet. They had both approached the stage then, roughly at the same time, Alexi one step ahead of Kain. If Alexi had chosen Sophie as his apprentice because he hadn’t wanted her to feel alone and unwanted, or so he thought, Kain had chosen her to defy Alexi, to draw his attention and force a reaction out of him. Or so he thought. Now, they were both walking towards Sophie, who was admiring the two rings on her finger. However, when she lifted her eyes and saw their tense expressions, hard eyes, and pursed lips, her heart almost froze in her chest. She thought they would both be pleased with her choice. She couldn’t choose one over the other, so she figured she could get the best of both worlds and not offend either of them. After all, Lilith hadn’t said that she absolutely needed to choose only one mentor.
The headmistress smiled tensely. She cursed herself for not telling Sophie to settle for one mentor. At least then she would have had to deal with one mad cambion, not two. Alas, the harm had been done and there was no way she could change it. Alexi and Kain working together? That was pure fantasy. She stole a glance at Sophie and wondered how long the girl would last. Such a shame, really. Lilith knew the young cambion had incredible potential. The silent rivalry between Alexi and Kain would ruin it. Sophie would become their battle field.
“Let’s hear a round of applause for the most unusual triad Lure Academy has ever seen.” Lilith’s voice sounded loud and clear, and it didn’t betray any of her thoughts. The cambions started applauding timidly, but no one cheered. The incubi and succubi chose to remain silent at their isolated table.
Sophie managed a shy smile. Alexi responded with an almost imperceptible nod, and Kain winked, but the sensuality of the gesture was lost on his straight face and unsmiling lips.
“Well,” said Kain. “I guess I’ll see you next week for the first session.”
“Yes…”
Kain turned to Alexi. “Coming to Occidens, partner?”
Alexi threw him a sharp look. “I feel like taking a stroll first.”
Kain smirked. “Suit yourself.” He headed towards the door, ignoring Sophie completely.
It wasn’t like she was waiting for him to kiss her and bid her good night, but she couldn’t deny she had hoped for a proper smile, at least. Alexi stared at his shoes, waiting for the blond to reach the door and step out into the cold morning air. After he had probably given him enough time to reach their shared dorm, he stole a glance at Sophie and mumbled a weak “see you around”, then nodded towards Lilith and walked out of the ball room.
Sophie’s left hand flew to her lips and the two claim rings caught the artificial light. She bit lightly on her thumbnail and turned to Lilith.
“What have a done?”
The redheaded succubus touched Sophie’s wrist and pulled her hand away from her lips.