Animus went quiet. His brows knitted together and he narrowed his eyes. He didn't act like this towards Nautilus or Terranus. His behaviour gave me the sense that Mistral was the brother he got along with the least. But they were family. They couldn't truly hate each other, could they?
"It's not important," Animus mumbled. "It's in the past. I just want to talk to him. Once I get the facts, he's useless to me."
But I didn't believe that. Animus dodged his problems instead of confronting them. I didn't want his emotions to ball up in his chest until they festered.
I shifted to human form to put my hand on top of his. His skin was noticeably warmer than it was on our first night together. I wondered if his fiery wings had anything to do with it.
"You said it's not important, but I think it is," I said.
Animus met my gaze. "It won't change what happened."
"It's clearly upsetting you. So if you want, let's talk about it."
He let out a long sigh. "Why do you have to be so smart and logical about everything?"
"I'm sorry," I said, worried that I'd offended him. Sometimes people took my tone the wrong way when I was only trying to help.
Animus smiled and pulled me into a hug. "I like it, my little harebrain. You bring me back down to earth when I'm acting crazy."
"Oh." I smiled, too. "Good."
As much as I wanted to know the full story, I didn’t push him. I waited until Animus had his fill of physical affection. When he pulled away, there was a frown on his beautiful face.
“Where to start with Mistral...” He exhaled. “Not that any of the other spiritsadoreme, but Mistral in particular has had an issue with me for as long as I can remember. When I re-awakened before the incident on the coast, it terrified him.”
“Re-awakened...” I tilted my head. “Were you asleep for a long time?”
Animus gazed into the wide-open sky surrounding us. “In mortal terms, yes. After my big fight with the other spirits, I had no energy left. I fell into what you could call a dormant state.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know. Centuries. Millennia, perhaps.” A cloudiness floated across his eyes. “Yet, unlike a sleeping mortal, I wasn’t fully unconscious. I awakened with new information, like the world’s knowledge had trickled into my very self. Perhaps it was my soul’s way of seeking my old magic. Or maybe my soul was seekingsomeone.”
My heart beat faster. “Me?”
Animus smiled slowly. “That’s my theory.”
“The world’s trickling knowledge,” I mumbled, deeply intrigued. “Is that why you understand sign language? Bear and Starry told us you knew it.”
“Yes, I suppose. I wasn’t aware of the fact that I could understand it until I experienced it. Then it clicked. “It’s not like I was arockwhile dormant. I simply couldn’t move, or speak, or do anything except exist. And wait.” Animus let out a soft, quiet laugh. “It’s funny, isn’t it? I awoke from my ancient slumber right before your cousin Zak met his fated mate.”
“You were the reason they met in the first place,” I pointed out. “If you hadn’t taken revenge on Nautilus by taking back some of your magic, the coast wouldn’t have been in turmoil. That was why Zak left the pack. He wanted to fix it.”
“I didn’tmeanto play matchmaker,” Animus said with a sly grin. “It was a by-product of my righteous fury.”
The pieces of the logical puzzle moved around in my mind. It didn’t seem like a coincidence that Animus had lain dormant until a few days before Zak and Kamari fell in love.
“Do you think,” I asked, “your soul was waiting for something?”
Animus met my gaze. His eyes flashed with realization and emotion. Then he leaned in to kiss me. I met him halfway, surprised but pleased by the sudden affection. It was a warm, gentle kiss that made it feel like butterflies were tickling my stomach.
“You’re a smart bunny,” Animus said.
“How so?”
He smiled as he caressed my face with his unusually warm hands. “My soul waited for you.”
My cheeks felt hot. I stared into his moon-white eyes, mesmerized.