After Mr. Lancaster left, Serenah paced the room. Anxiety ate at her. She tried to calm herself. Mr. Lancaster had always been nice. She needed to stop imagining the worst and trust in what she knew about Romeo's kind father. Her thoughts screeched to a halt at the knock on the door. She froze mid-step and turned to look at the opening door.
She couldn't hide the relief she felt upon seeing his face.
"Romeo!"
He held out his hand. "Ready for my surprise?"
She gasped, her eyes widening. She hesitated before sliding her hand in his. Her cold hand instantly warmed from his hot touch.
"Are you okay? Your hand is really cold."
"I'm fine," she whispered and squeezed his hand.
"Okay, let's go."
He took her outside, past the courtyard, and toward the alley between his father's building and the empty building next door.
They entered the alley. Standing there were Danny and George.
"Romeo? Why are Danny and George here?"
"Moral support. Plus, they're my best friends."
"Moral support?" Serenah knew she sounded confused, but she couldn't help it. Romeo was being so mysterious.
She gave him her full attention when he took both her hands in his.
"Sera, I've not been completely honest with you about some things."
Her heart clenched in panic. What? What?! Was Romeo ending their relationship? Had her family been right? Had he only been toying with her because he wanted her twin?
She stiffened, her hands clenching in his as her emotions spiraled out of control and flowed into her fated mark. She didn't even try to stop it from reaching him. Her heart and emotions were in disarray. Anxiety-fear-resignation. They screamed through her soul and the link.
"It's okay," he soothed. "It's nothing bad, I promise."
He smiled, but it didn't register with Serenah. Her eyes were locked on his face, her tense posture betraying her fearful anxiety.
"I'm not who you think I am." This time, his words reached her, and she flinched.
"What do you mean?" she whispered the words, her voice strained.
"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just spit it out." Romeo took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Sera, I'm not human."
His intense gaze was locked on her face. Serenah blinked, her thoughts skidded to a halt. Of all the things he could have said, this was the most unexpected. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open in surprise. Her thoughts swirled with confusion, relief, and guilt.
"What do you mean, not human? Romeo, I'm all for jokes, but don't you think you're being a bit much?"
Romeo chuckled. He gently squeezed her hands. "I love you so much, you know that?"
She blushed, her eyes momentarily dropping to stare at the ground. He let go of her left hand and used his fingers to tilt her head up to look at him.
"Remember what I said? No looking at the floor. You are not in trouble. I like looking you in the eyes."
He caressed her cheek and grinned. Serenah leaned into his touch. His touch was electric, sending pleasant tingles through her.
"I'm not joking. Let me show you what I mean."
Romeo released her hands and took two steps back.
"Sera, close your eyes. Don't open them until I say it's okay."
"Romeo, I…,"
"Please, Sera? Do this for me. I promise you won't be disappointed."
He kept surprising her. Her curiosity, though, at what the secret could be, made her oblige him. She closed her eyes. The air was heavy with anticipation. She nervously twined her fingers together as she waited for Romeo's go-ahead to see his reveal.
Serenah licked her dry lips and fought not to fidget. The silence seemed to stretch forever.
"Sera, you can look now."
Serenah opened her eyes slowly. Her hand flew to her mouth. She froze in shock. No, no, no! This couldn't be real! Romeo was a Cornibus!
Her gaze went from Romeo to George and Harry. They were Cornibus, too. She didn't understand how she hadn't realized they had magic. Was it because of Autem masking everyone's auras, since this realm didn't have many magical sources? Or was it because she was so in love with Romeo that she ignored her instincts?
On one hand, she was glad he wasn't human. She'd been so worried about incompatibility and the possibility of her outliving him. Now, that wasn't a concern. Instead, there was a host of other issues that his true self caused. Her thoughts raced as she tried to decide what to do.
She could sense his unease about her reaction to his news. She needed to say something. She lowered her hand from her mouth and closed the gap between them. She stood in front of him, studying him from head to toe.
He was gorgeous. Any woman would swoon over him. His Cornibus form was more muscular than his human one. That meant he probably was a warrior. She could see the muscles and toned beauty that was his body. His eye color, too, had changed from grey to a lovely sky blue. His skin, which was pale even as a human, was even paler in his Cornibus form.
Her eyes traveled to his jet-black wings. They were proportionate to his body and just as muscular as the rest of him. They resembled those of Earth's bats in shape, but the texture was more reptilian in appearance and durable. She wanted to touch his wings but held herself still. It was the height of rudeness to touch another's wings without permission.
"Sera?"
His hesitant tone snapped her back to the situation at hand. She needed to answer him. His feelings: worry, fear, and anxiety at her reaction hammered at her heart through their bond. He had taken a risk to tell her the truth. She had to do the same.
"You're beautiful in so many ways that I can't express them all," she finally replied.
His relieved sigh made her give a faint smile. It was time to come clean.
"You are not the only one who hasn't been honest. Just like you trusted me just now, I ask you to do the same for me. Can the three of you close your eyes?" she instructed as she stepped back and put some space between herself and Romeo.
He frowned, then nodded and gestured for George and Danny to do as she asked. He stared at her long enough for her to fidget before he closed his eyes.
"I trust you, Sera."
Serenah hoped he kept that same attitude once he saw what she really was. She took a steadying breath and prepared to remove the active glamour spell that she wore.
She started to reach into her well of power when her bond to Alaster flared to life. She whirled around and saw him standing behind her with an unreadable expression. When had he got in this dimensional space? She hadn't sensed his proximity until just now.
She glared at him and mouthed, "Don't interfere."
He smirked and stayed in place. Certain that he wouldn't stop her, she dropped the glamour spell. She didn't take it fully off her wings, giving them the appearance of normal Poten wings. She was too insecure to show the true color of her wings.
Steeling herself for his reaction, she said, "Romeo, you guys can look now."
It was time to face this bout of honesty and pray to Autem that she wouldn't lose the one good thing in her life.