by Skye, Sariah
“Why you—” I began, but Rhys snapped his fingers, cutting off my speech as well. He stormed towards me, shaking a murky, gray crystal in my face.
“You see this, Spartacus? I found this in your garage, just outside the door. Rather, Mordred did. There was another outside your house by the front door, but I already destroyed that. Don’t you remember?” He poked me in the bicep. “This is what is making you so angry!” He said, shaking the crystal at me.
You’re full of it, I mouthed with fury, letting my eyes narrow and display the anger I couldn’t shout.
“No you’re full of it, Mathias! Do you think for a second that you could possibly ever show that type of anger for that woman upstairs, crying her eyeballs out? Huh?” He demanded, his dark eyes clouding over with frustration.
I pressed my mouth into a scowl and mouthed: Fuck. You.
“Geez I didn’t expect you to be this stupid. I thought you, of all people who is just this big softie underneath all that sexy muscle would be easiest to convince.” I wanted to lash out when Rhys’ eyes wandered over me with predatory interest, but I was rendered immobile. And that pissed me off even more, knowing that some five-foot-eight wizard with cheese for brains was able to best me. So, he was the most powerful, legendary wizard of all time. So what?
“Want me to prove it to you? I had hoped that maybe you could get over your assholeness and maybe, I don’t know, get Bash analyze it or do whatever smart guy shit he does and maybe—I don’t know—figure out a way to block against it in the future?” Rhys looked at me expectantly, but I didn’t respond. Why the hell would I bother with that? It was just a stupid crystal.
He waved his hand, assumedly giving me back my speaking abilities but I remained stubbornly silent.
“No? Fine. Damn kids, I swear…” he muttered, tossing the crystal swiftly up in the air, and releasing a blast of colorful magic from his hand. It crashed with the crystal and immediately shattered it into a cloud of dust that shimmered in the air. Suddenly it felt like I’d been slapped in the face.
All the words that were uttered towards Ava, and between us came bulldozing into my mind. The shame that followed next was so strong, so palpable it literally brought me to my knees, gasping for air.
“Oh shit… oh no…” Feeling my breath wheeze I set a palm on the hard ground to steady myself before I fell completely over, slack kneed from the shock. Panting, I reluctantly looked upward at Rhys, who simply stood there with an arrogant smile on his face as he adjusted ponytail at the back of his head. Rightly so…
“How did…” I stammered, my voice barely above a squeak, “how did you know?”
Rhys rolled his eyes and scoffed, like it should be obvious. “Duh. It’s devious. And if there is one thing I know, it is all things deviant.”
I snorted a quick laugh.
“She didn’t take one thing in account, though. That either I should be part of the spell, or that I was immune,” Rhys said flippantly, clicking his tongue and shaking his head side to side. “I can’t decide if she’s that cocky, or just that stupid…” he wondered aloud, tapping his bearded chin with his finger and shrugging. He threw up his hands then dismissively. “Oh-fucking-well. Who gives a shit? How are you feeling now?”
I clutched my stomach, it trembled and roiled inside and threatened to explode like a violent volcano. “Not so good…” I uttered weakly. Holy crap…how was it possible that I said the things I said? Not just to Ava but Xander? Out of all the guys our relationships was the most… adversarial. I wasn’t sure why, it was just the way we’d always been.
Rhys patted my shoulder gently. Normally I’d be irate but… I sorta owed him. And that made me feel even worse. “We should get everyone and talk. Though, it’s fun as hell watching you on your knees, though,” Rhys quipped, with a twisted leer of his mouth.
I narrowed my eyes at him and barely managed to lift my hand to flick him off. He just giggled in reply. “Lighten up, Spartacus! I’m just kidding. Just had to see if you’re really back with me.”
“Sure you did.”
“I did!”
“Right. Well…” I nodded slowly, still shaking from the shock. “I’ll go get everyone.”
Rhys grinned. “Eh, don’t bother.” With a snap of his fingers, I found myself suddenly slumped onto the sofa, next to Xander who was buck naked. He reached for a pillow to cover up his manhood, looking slightly embarrassed for a just a slight moment. Cocky as ever though, he flicked his hair out of his eyes and just sat back casually, literally and nearly letting everything hang out.
Bash appeared in the chair nearby, setting both of his hands on the arms and sitting up, looking positively enraged from his tense knuckles to his beet red face.
Trystan was sort of flung on his ass on the floor. He looked incredibly confused; his hair was a mess and a red mark was etched on his cheek. When he realized what had happened he deftly got to his feet and formed a fist. He glared and started shouting at Rhys, “Goddamn you, you stinking rat bastard, if you don’t put me back I’ll toss you arse first out of the window!”
“Sit down, Munro. And give Rhys a chance explain,” I ordered sternly, catching his and glaring one eye at him.
Trystan released an irritated growl and relented with an incline of his head my way. “Aye... but I’m not happy about it.”
“Of course you’re not, big boy,” Rhys replied as Trystan sat down in the chair, opposite Bash. “You’re going to feel even worse. Or… are you suddenly feeling bad and don’t know why?”
“What the hell—” he began, then suddenly clutched his chest, his expression fell and softened. “Och, shite… what happened? Suddenly, I feel like jumping off a cliff or something.”
“Little good it’d do,” Rhys retorted, “you’re a fucking bird.”
Trystan replied with a hint of a smile. “Aye, it is true. But…”
My gaze flicked towards Bash who was overcome with the sudden sensation of nausea wracking his body, mixed with terror. I knew that, because that’s what I was feeling. Many of my strongest emotions were attached to my magic, and he was getting a good dose of it now.
“Holy shit, what have we done?” Bash set his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands, releasing a heavy sigh.
“What’s this ‘we’?” Rhys retorted, with an inelegant snort. “It was you, the so-called genius,” he jabbed a finger at me, and then Bash respectively, “and the bird brain over there. He did nothing.” I cocked a brow as Rhys motioned to Xander, who flashed an innocent, uneasy smile.
“Och, he clearly did something,” Trystan observed, smirking at Xander.
“I’m glad someone did,” I muttered bitterly. Xander flashed me a hesitant smile but I reached over and nudged him. “But, uh… Rhys can’t you give him some pants? We really don’t need to see all,” I motioned over him, and he snorted, “that.”
“Jealous?” Xander challenged, looking down his nose at me with a smug grin.
I rolled my eyes and groaned. “You wish, bastard.”
“Do we have to?” Rhys whined, but relented when I glowered at him. “Oh fine!” He snapped his fingers and suddenly, Xander was wearing a pair of navy-blue cotton pants. He removed the pillow and shifted slightly before giving Rhys a dirty look.
“Really Rhys? A thong?” Xander’s upper lip curled in a sneer, and Rhys’ cheeks turned so bright red from stifling his laughter I thought he was going to explode.
“Och, no way!” Trystan covered his laugh with his hand until Rhys turned to him, raising his hand like he was going to snap his fingers.
“You want one too, eagle-man?” Rhys’ eyes raked over Trystan, who wore only a pair of boxes, and Trystan’s eyes widened.
“I’ll pass, laddie.”
“Well, if my work is done here, I have someplace to be. Or… in, rather.” Rhys wiggled his eyebrows and with a wide flourish of his hand I was sure was more for show than anything, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
I eyed the
other guys carefully. “I can’t believe what we did.”
“But… why? And why didn’t you get angry?” Bash inquired, nodding towards Xander, who just shrugged.
“I don’t know. I just accepted this part of Ava a while ago, I guess. I was angry, but I couldn’t get mad. Rhys thinks it’s because I have been jealous in the past,” Xander said, hanging his head momentarily, “it was part of the deal, hoping to pit you against me or… something.”
I felt about two inches tall which was saying something for me. I’d not only said horrible things to Ava, but Xander as well.
“I’m sorry, old friend,” I admitted anxiously, setting a solemn hand on Xander’s arm. “I didn’t mean to… imply…”
“It’s okay, man. Nimue is a tricky bitch,” he replied, and I answered with a frown. Bash reached around and rubbed the back of his neck, frowning.
“How is Ava, Xan?” He asked hesitantly.
“I tried to soften the blow, I think she gets it was just a spell… but…” Xander trailed off with a wry smile.
“Well, I’m just glad you were there for her so she didn’t run,” Trystan said, his demeanor darkening.
“Agreed,” I said. I reached out and patted Xander’s shoulder in solidarity, and he flashed me a thankful smile before I glanced at Bash, and then Trystan. “Well boys… I guess it’s time to eat crow, huh?” I gripped the diamond pendant, still in my hand, feeling the sting of the stone, reminding me of all the shit I’d said.
“I suppose it is.” Bash sighed, standing and flicking his hair out of his eyes, wringing his hands in front of him. “This was… really powerful. We’re in trouble if Nimue can so easily do this to us.”
“We owe those two a debt of gratitude,” Trystan said, with a straight-lipped smile. “Mordred and Rhys. Ugh, I hate that… being indebted to that bloody-arse bastard.”
“Where’s Mordred, anyway?” Bash asked suddenly, crooking a brow.
“I’m sure the answer to that question is easily answered by asking ‘where is Rhys,'” I replied, standing and laughing shortly.
“Och, you think they’re…?” Trystan asked, a shocked and confused look on his face. “Hell, better than the witches I guess…”
“That’s the spirit,” Bash replied, with a jovial laugh.
“Okay, let’s go beg for forgiveness or… something.” I dangled the pendant from my hand, and the others uttered words of agreement.
I nodded my head towards upstairs, towards Ava’s bedroom, and we all walked up the stairs, pausing once to laugh quietly at the… sounds… coming from Mordred’s “bedroom.” Normally, I would have been perturbed with the crazy-ass sorcerer but for once, I was extremely thankful he’d been here. Thanks… Merlin, I thought silently as we continued upstairs. And I knew the dynamic between him and us had shifted—for the better.
No one was more surprised than I, I think.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hot. So damn hot…
I felt like I was in an oven, or outside under the hot sun. I was drowning in sweat, and I knew my skin was hot to the touch. Oh god… am I sick?
My eyes opened gently and I tried to sit up, noticing that… I couldn’t. But I noticed the reason for my over-heated state.
Mathias slept peacefully under me, one of his large arms wrapped around me, the other over his head, bent at the elbow. Trystan was wrapped around my lower body, breathing steadily, his auburn hair sticking up in all directions and he twitched gently. Bash and Xander slept on either side of me, arms draped over my upper and lower body.
At least I knew why I was on fire. The windows were closed, and all four guys ran about four hundred degrees, I swore. Even though I was roasting, I didn’t want to move at all.
Last night I had swore that everything was over; up in the air. Despite the fact that Xander said it was all a spell, still, I was terribly afraid.
The very idea that I would be faced with the rest of my immortal life without one of these guys terrified me and shook me to my very soul. My lower lip trembled just thinking about it. We just fit so well together, I couldn’t imagine anything without them anymore. Even after this short time. It’d only been about three months since these guys came into my life and literally changed everything—literally everything—and it shouldn’t have been possible for everything to change in such a short time. But it was what it was.
I guessed time was irrelevant when you were supernatural and in love. And I was okay with that.
Mathias shifted slightly under me, dropping his arm; it landed lazily between him and Xander and I took the opportunity to slowly sit up, just a little. I noticed something tumble from my neck and over my chest. It wasn’t Excalibur; that chain was so long it rested over my boobs. I fingered the object, feeling my heart flutter when I noticed my diamond promise pendant was back; one of the guys put it back on me when I was sleeping. I sighed happily knowing that whatever happened last night—it wasn’t real.
“Ava?” A wounded voice questioned from nearby, and I looked to my left, noticing Bash had woken, propped himself up on his elbow and watched me, his steely-blue eyes glassy with emotion.
I reached over simply, and took his hand in mine, giving him a wry, warm smile. “I know, babe. I know.”
“But…” he stammered in protest, frowning severely. “The things I said—”
“—the things you said weren’t you, Xander explained it. And the fact that you’re all here now means that Rhys was right. It was only a spell making us say all those damn things,” I replied earnestly.
He blew out a breath that released all of his tension. “Thank god for Rhys…”
“I never thought any of us would ever say that,” Mathias piped up, lifting his head gently, his voice was thick and throaty from sleep. “But we really owe that damn fucker.”
“Does this mean we need to be nice to him?” Trystan spoke up in question. I felt him vibrate with gentle laughter. I reached over and playfully slapped his shoulder.
“Ava…” Bash’s voice still trembled, and his thumbs traced lazy circles over my hand. His gaze was downcast, like he was afraid to look at me.
“Hey.” I reached out, sliding my hand under his persistently blond-stubbled chin, and craned his shamed gaze upward; I eyed him with all the warmth and love in the world that I could. He smiled slowly, as I said, “It’s okay. I forgive you.”
“Just like that?” He asked in a hesitant voice, surprised.
I snapped my fingers. “Just like that. Isn’t that what love is all about?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. But—”
“—no buts, laddie,” Trystan interjected, groggily sitting up. He lifted his arms over his shoulders, letting out a quiet, tense groan before he hesitantly reached out, and gave Bash a comforting pat on the leg. I actually quirked a brow at that; Trystan generally did not like touching the other guys. Bash noticed too and quirked a brow of his own. “It’ll be all right, man.”
“I…” Bash bit his lip, shaking his head. “I don’t like knowing that Nimue was able to best me. Again. I just… it doesn’t sit right.”
Xander flew upright, snapping his fingers. “That is why it affected you so bad.”
Bash shrugged. “Maybe. I just… well shit.”
“Look, Ava.” Mathias shifted until he was totally upright, still keeping his legs parting and dragging me by the hips with his big hands between him. His deep brown eyes sparkled with emotion. “We are really, really sorry. Spell or not, I cannot believe we said those things. I was convinced that it was impossible to say such things to you. Ever.”
I nodded, frowning, feeling my eyes sting and a tear fell down my face. Mathias leaned over, brushed his lips over my cheek, and kissed it away. He shot me a small smile and I allowed myself to be enveloped in his arms as I trembled.
“I’m sorry too. I should… I should have taken Rhys and Bash at least. I could have. But I just… when I saw what was going on I panicked.”
“Aye, lassie, Rhys explained it to u
s. You had an urge to protect your people, we get it,” Trystan said, slipping his hand over my back under the shirt I had added last night. I woke up in the middle of the night, noticed Xander was gone and dressed in underwear and a t-shirt—I think it was Mathias’ by the way the neck stretched out—and hoped he’d return. And, they did.
“It’s the same urge we have to protect you, dearest one,” Xander said, and I looked over Mathias’ shoulder and gave him a thankful smile.
“Well, whatever. Let’s put this shite behind us, eh?” Trystan said, his hand sliding down over my satin panties and lightly spanking me. I chuckled and shook my head as he grinned at me widely.
“Agreed,” I said, looking at the other three guys, who all nodded in agreement. Bash reached over and swept his fingertips over my cheek. He eyed between the others momentarily, his gaze landing on my lips and he smirked. He seemed to mouth I don’t care, and even though I was wrapped up in Mathias’ arms, he leaned in and matched his lips to mine. The connection between him and I, plus feeling safe wrapped up in Mathias made me shiver with heat. He kept it fairly chaste—no tongue—but he did nibble gently on my lip. I felt Mathias’ chest rumble quietly, and when we parted, Bash smirked, and Mathias’ breath appeared to be hitched. Before I had a chance to address it, though, Xander sat up severely, and his eyes were trained on something. “Ava…” He pointed hesitantly at the wall behind me and I nearly fell over.
The portal table was shimmering gently. But with Mordred here, who else could it have been?
“Ava?” asked a voice uncertainly. It was slightly garbled, but the sound was unmistakable.
“Dad?” Panicked, I nearly scrambled out of bed, assisted by the guys who were hot on my heels as I dashed across the room and peered over the table. My hand flew to my open-mouth and I gasped out loud, seeing his face appear in the shiny surface. I reached out to touch it, almost not believing it was real.
“Yeah, it’s me,” my father replied.