"Jez?" Seth croaked, eyes squinting against the harsh overhead lights of the hospital room.

I reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. My heart felt beat hard against my chest. I didn't want to ever let go of him, again. He had been my lifeline for a long time in this place. I hadn't realized just how much I had needed him until he had been taken from me.

"Are you crying?" He questioned softly.

I shook my head, wiping at my tears of relief, "I was just really worried about you. I'm glad you're going to be okay."

"What happened?"

I felt thankful that he had no memory of what had happened. Cian had said that might be the case and I was happy he had been right. I didn't want Seth to know about what had happened to him, what had happened to me. I didn't want him to know I was different. I wanted him to look at me the same way he always had, "You went out into the storm because you thought you heard someone crying for help. You got lost, nearly died of hypothermia." I lied with ease.

He stared at me, blinking in confusion, "Then everything that happened was a just dream?" I watched him relax against the pillow in relief, eyes fluttering close. So, he did remember. It was better for him to think it a dream. I bit into the inside of my cheek, feeling my glamour shimmer for a moment as I lost grip for a moment.

"Not everything was a dream." I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his, soft and slow. I think I took him by surprise but then I felt the subtle twitch of his lips before I felt the pressure of him kissing me back. It sent my heart soaring high. He lifted his hand and threaded his fingers through my hair, bringing us closer. All the emotions had me losing grip on my glamour and It had me pulled away from him quickly. I turned away from him, breathing heavily as the shadows danced in my vision.

"Jez?"

I turned back to him with a forced smile, "Everything's fine. Just got a little carried away." I could tell he wasn't entirely convinced but he didn't push it.

"I'll go tell them you're awake." I slipped away from him, body still on fire from his touch as I walked out of the room and headed straight for the nurse's station. I needed to learn to keep a better grip on my emotions or I was going to get myself into serious trouble. After alerting a nurse I turned back toward the room to find Cian was leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He looked surprisingly normal in this glamour, practically human.

I moved towards him with slight suspicion, "What are you doing here?"

"Came to see how your human was faring."

I rolled my eyes, "You're a terrible liar. We both know you don't care about Seth."

He shrugged his shoulders as he pushed away from the wall, "I care about him because you seem rather attached to him. Though I don't understand why."

"And you don't need to." I replied quickly, cheeks heating. His gaze felt hot as it rolled over my body in a leisurely manner, "I thought you would be long gone by now, back to wherever you come from."

"Soon, but first I needed to talk you..."

My brows furrowed, "About?"

"About our kiss." My body bloomed with heat as my mind recalled the kiss we had shared, "it meant something..."

"It didn't mean anything." I interrupted before he could say anything more, my heart racing, "Everything I did was for Seth. I love Seth." He seemed to cringe slightly at my words, gaze hardening. I wanted to pretend that the kiss had never happened. I wanted for forget the way it had felt. I wanted to forget how I had craved more, and how having him close made it hard to think about anything else.

"I don't care about that. I wasn't questioning your feelings for the human."

"Seth." I interjected, wanting him to know that the human had a name.

His lips captured my attention as they turned down into a frown, "The kiss we shared, it did more than change you. It bound us together, Jezebel."

I mirrored his frown, stomach knotting, "What do you mean 'bound us together' ?"

I watched as he ran his finger through his hair. Why was it that guys always did that when they were flustered? I didn't understand why that had to be the universal sign. A breath rushed from his mouth, "It means that you are to be my Queen."

"What?"  My jaw fell through the floor. I was sputtering for the how to respond to that news. I was shocked, confused, and angry. I held onto the anger, grabbed it with both hands, "First, those people pledging themselves to me...now this. You knew this before we kissed but didn't tell me, why?"

"Would you have kissed me if I had told you?"

I didn't know. I had wanted to save Seth. I was happy to have him back, but this changed things. I glared at him, shadows dancing on the edge of my vision, "You manipulated me. For all I know you led those hunters to Seth and I, to force my hand into helping you. You're a selfish bastard." I poked him in the chest with my finger.

He stared at me unflinching, "I am very selfish. Almost everything I do is to serve my own self-interest. I won't apologize for that." He neither confirmed or denied my words. I found myself uncertain how to proceed, Seth was just on the other side of the door, waiting for me. I was tired of fighting. I had spent almost my whole life fighting.

"What now?" 

Cian's expression softened only a fraction, "We learn to try and get along, for both our sanities."

I tried to resist the urge to smile, knowing it would be inappropriate. It was like laughing at a funeral. You knew you shouldn't do it but still had to fight the urge, "I'm not leaving Seth." 

"Nobody was asking you too." He replied dryly, "I would suggest you stop with the assumptions, because you'll only continue to be wrong." I blinked at him, crossing my arms over my chest. He heaved a sigh, obviously understanding my body language well enough. His amber gaze flipped towards the door that led to Seth, before returning to my face, "You should get back to your human. We can talk later about all of this. There's no rush at the moment. I just needed you to know that we had more to discuss..." 

I didn't like the idea of leaving so much up in the air but I was also exhausted after everything. I nodded my head, "You know where to find me." I turned away from him, fingers wrapping around the smooth metal handle.

"I would like to ask something  thing before you go..." I turned my face toward him, curious, "Do you think Seth will love you when finds out who you truly are? What you truly are? He fell for that shy, and timid shell you paraded around as. But he has no idea what your capable of now, what you'll do when your pushed to the edge." He was so close now, our noses nearly touching. I felt the heat of him blistering my skin, "I know you, Jezebel. Back in the otherworld, you felt powerful and brave. You were the girl you've always wanted to be. You were finally where you belonged. It was written all over your face."

"You don't know anything  about me."  

His hand was sliding around the back of my neck, pulling me closer. I've forgotten how to breathe. His lips were only inches from mine. I should push him away. I knew this was another trick, but I couldn't get my hands to work, "I do know you and that terrifies you. You and I are not as different as you would like to believe. Someday you're going to get tired of pretending for your human and I'll be waiting."

"You're going to be waiting an awfully long time, Cian." I whispered breathlessly, trying to keep my eyes from fluttering.

His lips turned up into a crooked smile, "Good, thing we have nothing but time, Jezebel." He pulled away from me, "See you soon, my queen." His queen? I felt blushed as I watched as he turned and walked away, leaving me with a twinge of doubt. I shook my head as I opened the door, taking in the sight of Seth. He turned his face in my direction, a warm smile on his lips.

This was my choice. That would never change, Cian could wait forever.