Siren's Mark

Chapter 44

𝔸𝕧𝕒

I stare at Zane with my mouth agape.

"What?" he asks.

"Really, Zane?" I ask. "You don't just casually offer your girlfriend immortality!"

"I didn't consider that particularly casual. Besides, I wanted to have a clean slate, be open and honest with you. Like you wanted."

"Okay well, yes, technically I did say I wanted that but... I didn't expect the secrets you were keeping to be, 'Oh hey, by the way, we're soulmates and I can make you immortal.'"

"I... fuck... I don't know. I'm trying to do this right."

"Zane," I say with a sigh. "You don't have to commit to this whole mark thing because you think you have something to prove to me. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm not," he says, pinching between his brows and closing his eyes. "I've known for a long time that you're the one for me."

His eyes open to meet mine and he brushes a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

"I've been around a long time," he says, lightly brushing my jaw with his hand. "What I feel for you... it's so different—so much more—than I have ever felt for anyone in 200 years. Being without you and knowing that I hurt you, even for the few days we were apart, I couldn't stand it. I could hardly bear the pain. I knew taking lethe was stupid, but I was so desperate to make it go away."

I blink at him, struggling to find an adequate response.

"You are, without a doubt, the love of my life," he says, his voice shaking slightly. "There is no pressure for this. Honestly, I don't want you to do it. I'm not sure it's safe. But, it's a decision that affects you, so you should be involved."

"I... I don't know, Zane. This is a lot. We just got back together. Last night I was on a date with another guy and th-"

Zane interrupts me with a low, rumbling growl. His eyes turn bright green. His jaw tenses and he attempts to regain his composure, taking a tight breath through his clenched teeth. He swallows hard and his eyes narrow.

"Sorry, er, go ahead," he says, the green in his eyes slowly fading.

"I just think it's a lot to think about right now."

"You don't have to decide now, love," he says, running his fingers through my hair.

"What does it even do?" I ask. "I mean, what's the process? How does it work?"

"Er... It's a little grotesque, but basically, inside a Siren's wings there are... hmm... it's kind of like the supernatural equivalent of stem cells. They have the power to make human cells immortal, linking them in a way to the original Siren."

"So I'd be a Siren?" I ask.

"No, you'd still be human, you just wouldn't be able to age or die as long as I was alive. Unfortunately you'd still be sick, and my powers wouldn't work on you anymore, so I wouldn't be able to help make your pain go away. Kami thinks you might heal faster, but I'm honestly not sure. Not a lot of people do this."

"Why not?"

"Because not a lot of Sirens fall for humans, and in general the whole cutting off your wings thing is a big deal for some..."

Okay, hold up. WHAT?

"What???" I shout. "You're telling me you'd have to cut off your wings for this to work?"

"Oh uh, yeah," he says, as if we're having a normal everyday conversation. "I mean technically you only have to cut off one but that would be really awkward and you can't use one wing anyway. Most Sirens go for both."