by T. S. Snow
“Lucy, you’ve got some ’splaining to do,” she said, blowing a raspberry at my sister, who rolled her eyes at the I Love Lucy reference. Then Char’s gaze fell on me, and her eyes went from amused to surprised to hurt in a second. “Andres? I didn’t know you were coming.”
I lowered my gaze, so I wouldn’t keep seeing the hurt written all over her face, and almost smiled at the shirt she was wearing. Her purple shirt had an opossum with a witch’s hat and the words “Possumbly magical” written on top. I smiled despite myself.
Her quirky shirts were always entertaining, that was for sure, and something uniquely hers.
“Yeah, I, uh…Bast and Gran agreed to help me out, you know, with my dad.” I gave a pointed look over her shoulder to where I saw Blaze approaching. I might have started to respect the guy, maybe even thought we might be friends, now that I knew he wasn’t a total asshole. Or at least as big of an asshole as I initially thought. However, that didn’t mean I wanted him to be privy to Illudere secrets.
After all, he was still a Futhark, and that made him an enemy.
One of the first things any member of an Arcane family learned was to never trust the other families.
“Bast?” Blaze asked from behind Charisma, and all three of us turned to look at him. “Who’s that?”
Charisma turned panicked eyes to Blair, then me. “Oh, you know. He’s, uh, theownerofthishouseandmyboyfriend,” she mumbled, speaking so fast, the sentence was mashed together into one long-ass word.
Blaze’s face went a comical shade of red, then white, as he stared at Charisma.
“But we—”
I decided to cut in before things escalated. If there was one thing I’d learned about Futhark over the last week, it was that he didn’t do well with sharing.
He had a long way to go if he wanted to join Char’s harem. Not that he knew she was going to end up with a harem, but if he thought for a second she’d give Bast up for him…well, he hadn’t seen the way she looked at Bast.
I wanted her to look at me that way.
“What are you crazy kids doing here anyway? I had no idea we were throwing a party.”
Blair rolled her eyes. “As if. We’re working, baby brother, something your flirty little brain cannot quite comprehend. You know, the thing grownups do?” She winked at me to take some of the sting out of her words. “Anyway, we’re late as fuck as is. Char, Blaze, let’s go, yeah? I have a hot date tonight, and I refuse to reschedule yet another dick appointment because of the two of you.”
“Urgh. Too much information, sis. For fuck’s sake,” I complained as Blair turned to leave.
Char ran into the apartment to grab her purse, then ran after Blair. Blaze had no choice but to follow, and I briefly wondered how long it would take him to get around to finding out more about Bast and whether or not Char would tell him the entire truth.
Well, I supposed that was up to her, Bast, and even Blair to decide.
I’d just watch from the sidelines and hope Blaze didn’t blow Blair and Char’s entire world to hell, because if Blaze handed Bast in, that was what would happen. I doubted either one would ever forgive him for it either.
They entered the elevator in silence, and I let myself into Bast’s apartment, closing the door behind me. Before I could call out to warn him I was there, Bast opened the bedroom door and poked his head out.
“Is it safe to come out yet?”
I snorted. “Please don’t tell me you hid in your room and eavesdropped the entire time just to hear what was going on.”
Bast saw me, smiled, and opened the door fully so he could walk out of the room. “Of course not. I eavesdropped because Char was having a moment with one of her men, and it would be rude of me to interrupt.” He shrugged. “Besides, she knew where I was the entire time and she could’ve called me if she needed me. Char is strong, Andres. She doesn’t need me to fight her battles. Speaking of which…”
Faster than I expected, Bast approached me and punched me right in the gut.
I doubled over in pain, all the air leaving my lungs.
Fuck shit fuck.
“Shit,” I wheezed, trying to breathe through the pain and stand up.
I knew I deserved it and I should’ve totally seen it coming, but damn, it hurt like a motherfucker.
“Like I said yesterday, I’m letting you off easy because you’re like a brother to me, Andres, but I swear to the Goddess if you ever hurt Char again, all bets are off,” he threatened, stepping away from me and going into the kitchen.
I just stood there, doubled over, counting my breaths until I felt less like I might throw up my breakfast.
Bast had a mean uppercut.
He came back, and suddenly, there was a glass of water hovering near my face.
“Drink this, then let’s go pick up Gran before she decides to try to go to your parents’ house on her own. I’m pretty damn sure she would storm in and expect everyone to fall in line.”
I stood upright, accepted the glass of water, and said nothing. There was no fucking point arguing or even pretending to be mad about what he’d done.
Honestly, I’d expected something yesterday when I fucked up. The fact he waited until we were alone and hit me somewhere that wouldn’t cause too much damage was already a big win.
I gulped the water down like a man dying of thirst, nodded in thanks, and took the cup back to the kitchen, while Bast grabbed his wallet and keys. Then we were off.
6
Theo
“Let me see if I’ve got this right,” said the Director of the Arcane Mage Intelligence Agency, rubbing his eyes as he stood before me outside the interrogation room. I forced myself to stand still, not fidget, and to keep my head up.
I knew I’d skipped all kinds of steps when I contacted the Director of AMIA after my meeting with Jess, but I honestly had no idea what else I was supposed to do. I would’ve called Char, but even though I knew she was an agent, I doubted there would’ve been much she could do.
Christian, on the other hand, was in charge.
And he owed me a favor for spotting the bindings someone had put on Michael Manteis’s soul, preventing him from talking about the resistance. That, and I’d managed to get around them enough that he provided some useful information to the agency, or so Christian had told me.
I just fucking wished people would stop messing up with such a high-level taboo spell. Soul bindings should never be placed on anyone, for any reason.
“You followed up a lead by yourself that you won’t tell me about into one of the shadiest parts of town, and you met up with a member of the resistance who agreed to come here and tell us everything she knows, so long as Carter is the one interrogating her?” Christian’s face was becoming redder as he spoke, and there was a vein on his temple that seemed to be pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
I had to swallow twice before I was able to actually speak.
“Yes, sir. I trust my source. She wouldn’t have led me astray. She also confirmed Jess was a member of the resistance who’s high up enough to have useful intel, sir.”
“And who’s this mysterious source who knows so much and yet chose a Battle Mage to do an agent’s work?” he asked, his booming voice almost echoing inside the tight space.
I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened again to speak, but no sound came out.
Instinct and training had me wanting to just tell him Annie was my source, but loyalty to my sister kept me quiet.
“It’s me, boss. I’m the source,” Annie said cheerfully, materializing right in front of Christian.
The director jumped in surprise before schooling his features into an impassive mask. Well, mostly impassive. That tick on his forehead was a major tell of just how stressed he was. Thank fuck he was a Spirit Mage, or else Annie would never have been able to make herself seen for him, and this whole thing would’ve been pointless.
“Soulbinder,” Christian murmured, as if in prayer, before he shook his head slightly like he h
ad to reboot his own brain.
“Hey, boss. Sorry to scare you, but as you can see, my options were very limited. I knew Theo would listen to me and actually go meet up with her, rather than lose the opportunity.” She shrugged. “Anyway, he also didn’t go in alone. I was totally there as backup.”
Both Christian and I stared at her.
“You…you do realize you couldn’t actually join a magic battle, right?” I finally asked when it seemed the silence would drag on forever.
Annie rolled her eyes at me. “Well, of course not, Weasley, don’t be stupid. I would’ve possessed the bartender and thrown some of those liquor bottles so they’d break over people’s heads.”
I…had no argument against that.
Christian raised both hands and rubbed at his eyes again before turning to Annie.
“Agent Soulbinder, can we trust her?”
Annie nodded. “Yeah. She’s… Well, it’s better if she tells you the story herself. But she knows Char, and the whole blowing up Charisma’s apartment thing didn’t really sit right with Jess at all. Not that Char knows Jess is a member of the resistance. I’m pretty sure she thinks Jess is human. But anyway, yeah. She’s ready to talk, and I’ll be around to add whatever I do know. Becoming a ghost made spying so convenient!”
While Annie was acting all cheerful, the epitome of the whole glass half full thing, I couldn’t help but feel like every single word was a dagger piercing my heart. I’d failed her. It didn’t matter what she said or thought, I should’ve prevented it. Somehow. Some way.
But I’d be damned if I’d lose my Char the same way.
“But why Carter?” Christian asked, and Annie shrugged.
“If I had to guess, she probably wants to come clean to Char rather than have her find out another way. I mean, it’s what I’d do in her shoes. I have no idea how close they even are, but don’t you think it says a lot about her that she wants to come clean?”
I shared a look with Christian. “Not really,” I said. Coming clean didn’t really change any of what she’d done. It didn’t change all the lives she probably took for the resistance’s goal.
And it looked like the Director agreed with me.
“Whatever.” Annie shrugged. “Say what you will, but listen to her, ok? Speaking of which…you gonna call Char here, or what?”
Christian just raised an eyebrow. “No need. She’s on her way. But I’m not letting an agent in there without getting some information first. I’m going in.”
Looked like I was no longer needed here, then.
“Well then, I better, uh, get going. Before she gets here,” I said, turning on my heels and heading towards the door.
Annie materialized in front of me. “Wait, you’re not staying behind to see her? Don’t you want her to know you helped?”
Did I? Yes. But would I? No.
I’d made up my mind to win Char over fair and square, and to do that, I needed to actually get my shit together and find a way to apologize.
But I wouldn’t take credit for something Annie did in order to win her back. No, I’d work from the shadows a little more if I had to, but this time, I’d do good with it.
Or so I hoped.
I shook my head. “No, I…I don’t want her to see me like this. Besides, I’m not an agent.” I turned and nodded to Christian when I reached the door. “Thanks for helping me, Director. I truly hope she has useful information and is able to help you guys catch who’s behind the resistance. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”
“Thank you, Theodore. Stay safe out there, and please don’t go off on your own to do dangerous shit again. You might have years of battle training, but you’re not an agent. And I’d appreciate it if you could keep this conversation a secret from your grandmother.”
I winced. “Yeah, no way am I telling the matriarch about this shit.” Then I turned to Annie. “You coming?”
“No, I think I’ll stay here and see what Jess has to say. Besides, I did say I’d help in the interrogation, and since the director can see me, I might actually be useful. Go. Pretty sure if you stay away for much longer, the matriarch is gonna send the dogs after you. I’m honestly surprised you don’t have a whole security team tailing you at all times already. You know, after…”
After her death. Yeah. The matriarch had tried to convince me to have extra security, but I’d refused. No fucking way did I want people following me and reporting to my grandmother “for my own safety.” I knew damn well she was grooming me to be the next head of the family. It was why I was the heir and not my mother. She’d always believed my parents were too soft. Aunt Kate was too deep under her control for the matriarch to trust she’d stay that way after her death. And Uncle John was just…not trustworthy, but he was the youngest child and nobody had really expected much from him.
“Yeah. I’ll go check-in. You’ll come find me if you need me for anything, right?” I asked her.
I’d lost her once, and I wasn’t ready to lose her again. Even if she could be annoying at times, even if she asked all the difficult questions and forced me to talk about shit I’d rather not, she was my sister.
It might’ve actually been the first time in my life I was glad to be a Soulbinder because it meant so long as Annie chose to stay on this side, I’d never truly lose her. Even if I now had to deal with a different version of her, she was still my sister. She was still the same where it mattered.
The resistance hadn’t managed to take that away from me.
7
Charisma
To say the drive to my old place was uncomfortable would’ve been an understatement.
The tension in the car as Blaze drove us there had been so thick, I could’ve cut it with a damn knife, yet neither Blaze nor I were ready to talk about the elephant in the room. Me because denial was my jam, while Blaze was probably being respectful and not wanting to argue in front of Blair.
I’d shamelessly made use of Blaze’s manners because they gave me time to think. Blair had tried to break the silence once or twice, but we weren’t being very cooperative, so she’d eventually kicked her feet up on the passenger’s panel and started scrolling through her phone.
By the time Blaze parked in front of my apartment, we all jumped out of the car like our asses were on fire.
“Are you going to tell him?” Blair whispered to me as we walked ahead to the building, Blaze trailing behind us to cover our backs. We’d fallen seamlessly into formation, our years of training as agents coming into play.
I avoided looking at Blair as I answered, because the illusion she’d picked the same pimpled teenage boy as last time, and it was unnerving. “I do want to explain about Bast, because what kind of bitch would I be if I called him out on not telling me about his relationship with my cousin if I was just basically doing the same and not telling him about Bast? But…at the same time, a big part of it isn’t my secret to tell. I can’t—I won’t put your family in danger. I won’t put Bast in danger. I just need to find a way to be honest with him without endangering someone I love, you know?”
There was a pregnant pause after my statement as the truth, the weight of my words hung between us.
Then Blair ruined it by turning her head when we reached the entrance to my building and asking Blaze, “Hey, Loverboy, how do you feel about polyamory?”
Blaze paused in his tracks. His illusion was pretty much his true self, except without the tattoos and beard. So basically, an eighteen-year-old Blaze without tattoos. He was cute, but it was too weird. Blaze blinked at Blair, taken by surprise by her question, before he shrugged.
“I think love is love no matter who or how many you decide to have in your harem, Blair. Why, you want to introduce me to your boy toys?” He smirked.
Blair opened her mouth to respond, but I stepped on her foot and glared at her.
This was going downhill fast, and we weren’t even truly inside the building yet. Which was really going against our whole training as agents, honest
ly.
Even though we weren’t technically in danger here, or at least we shouldn’t be. I hoped.
“Hate to break up the chummy buddies moment, but shouldn’t we, like, go inside? We’re just standing in front of a blown-up building, midmorning, attracting a hell lot of attention from passersby.” I gave them my best attempt at a stern look and then turned back to the building. My building. The first time I’d been here, I’d been too caught up on all the things that could’ve gone wrong, in all the rules Blair and I had been breaking, to really process the situation.
And while I’d gotten used to the idea that I no longer had a home… Well, I had Bast’s house, which did feel a hell of a lot like home, but this had been my place. A place I’d bought with my own money, fruit of my own labors, my haven that I’d painstakingly built and decorated exactly how I liked it. All gone, just like that.
All gone because a bunch of dumbasses thought violence would solve all their problems.
I stood frozen in the front foyer while Blair walked past me, headed for the stairs. Blaze stopped when he reached me and touched my arm in comfort. “We can go back if you want, Little Spitfire.”
I tilted my head to look into the depths of his mossy green eyes, marveling at the tiny specks of gold I could see near his iris, like tiny suns in an alien sky. They were kind, earnest, and compassionate, even on his too-young face.
A little piece of the ice I’d built around my heart melted at his show of support with no questions asked.
But I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. It was my idea to do this, and I’m all right. Besides, we’re closer to catching who did this, aren’t we? So it’s all for the best, anyway.”
Blaze smiled and released me, prepared to follow after Blair and head to the stairs so we could reach my floor. Before he made it there, I held his arm, stopping him.
“Blaze, listen. About what happened in the apartment… I didn’t mean to…I mean, I technically did. I almost kissed you, but it wasn’t… It was a mistake, and I’m sorry. I’m with Bast now, you know? I love him, and I won’t give him up.”