Bret scowled. “There are assholes everywhere. We don’t live in a perfect world, darlin’. For every coven mage that lives harmoniously with their town, there are rogues who want to burn the world.”
She shook her head, lips tightening in anger. “That’s your fear talking. It’s that fear that allows them to sequester us behind closed walls and do whatever they like to us. You’re lucky we haven’t revolted long before this.”
He grabbed her arm again. “Don’t even say things like that.”
“It’s just the two of us,” she said, again pulling away from him. “Or can I no longer speak freely to you?”
Running his hand through his hair, he groaned, “Damn it, no. The situation in Harbortown is tense. The townspeople and the former coven mages aren’t the problem. They were living in harmony, even after the coven walls came down.”
“See.”
“But it was a brief peace. Protestors came into town. Mages left their covens to go there. The once peaceful town is now a hotbox of politics and rhetoric and it’s only a matter of time before war breaks out.”
“All we want, Bret, is to be treated like a normal people. I want to travel without papers. I want to own a house. I don’t want to be forced to scribe scrolls and do rituals.”
“Don’t you think everyone goes through the same thing?”
“Uh, no,” she said, unable to see where he was going with the conversation.
“Orphans in the orphanages, students sent away to boarding schools, hell even the coal miners in their mines have the same issues with administration bullies and guards abusing their power.”
“They can leave and not be hunted down,” she said.
“Not if they don’t have any money, they can’t.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. It wasn’t the first time he threw her family’s money at her. She knew she was privileged. That was the whole reason she became The Seeker. Robert had laughed at the name, but to her it meant she was a seeker of justice and fairness. “But if they did, they could,” she said between her teeth.
“Most of them are trapped in their place, just like you’re trapped in the coven.”
“So, that makes it all right, then?” Rose tossed up her hands in disgust.
“I didn’t say that. We have rules and laws to protect the innocent. Even mages. I’m going to report the matron to the town elders for abuse and have her investigated.”
“Get the Captain of the guards and his merry men too,” she grumbled.
“I will, but in the end I’m just one man and you’re just one woman. What good can we do? Maybe if I were a lawman that would change.” He rubbed her arm to try and comfort her, but she didn’t want comfort when there were less fortunate mages out there suffering because she was just “one woman.” His words stung. Even as The Seeker, she couldn’t change a damned thing in society.
“You know the anti-mage laws aren’t fair,” Rose said. “You know it and yet you still won’t speak out against it.”
“Who’d listen to the likes of me?” he shrugged.
“You make your living tracking us down. Bringing us back to slavery is your livelihood.”
A muscle worked in his jaw, but Rose didn’t feel any triumph over the direct hit. “There are worse men out there,” he said.
“That’s your justification? You’re the lesser evil and not all covens are all bad?”
“My grandfather was a mage, you know. That’s why I’m so good at tracking them. I may not be able to set towns on fire or do sex magic.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “But my instincts are never wrong. I’m not strong enough to be in a coven, though.”
“But your grandfather was?” Nothing could have shocked her more. “You never told me.”
“Didn’t seem to ever have the time. If we weren’t fucking, we were fighting.” He intertwined his fingers with hers and she let him. He was right. This was probably the most they’ve talked in ages. And the most serious.
“Did they treat him well?” she asked.
“I guess. He became the coven leader. He was a scary old fart. My father said he could turn into an animal and turn others into animals too.”
Rose had heard of such things. It was rare. Almost as rare as an elementalist. But an elementalist learned his trade via books and research, and animalist had their powers from birth. “Did you ever see him do it?” she asked.
“Nope. He threatened to turn me into a toad once.”
“I don’t blame him,” she grumbled and was rewarded by a flash of his grin. “Did he ever turn anyone into a toad?”
“Not that I heard. He did turn into a bird and fly away every now and then.”
“Did he overthrow any governments or cause mass destruction?”
He chuckled. “Only to a warren of rabbits.”
She shuddered. Poor bunnies. “Could he have lived among the general population, if there weren’t the stupid coven laws?”
Shrugging, he said, "Depends on the town. But yeah, he kept mostly to himself. He was addicted to gambling though. The coven built a casino to try and keep his nocturnal flights to a minimum.”
“Why didn’t he just fly away for good?” she asked.
“Is that what you want to do?”
Rose blew out a breath. “Sometimes. Sometimes I want to stay and help. I couldn’t stay in Demerest, Bret. They would have hurt me and I would have killed them. Then you would be bringing me back to hang.”
A muscled tightened in his jaw. “You don’t have it in you.”
It pained her how little he knew her. And she couldn’t tell him that part of her, not without risking giving herself away as The Seeker. “We all have that part in us. Mage or not.”
Bret shifted in the saddle. She could tell that thought didn't sit well with him. They rode in silence for awhile and when he spoke again it was like he had come to a decision.
“My grandfather liked his coven and they liked him. They treated him like the valued member of the community he was. I’ll grant you, not all covens are like that. But I’ve seen more good than bad, though. You’ll be happy at Greenly. I’ll be there to make sure of it."
She could stay in Greenly, with him. Rose could give up being The Seeker. She wasn’t making much of a difference anyway. Not enough to warrant being on the run for her entire life, which was bound to be short and violent. While she could still leave and take a ship across the Great Sea to Solace, she didn’t know anyone there. But she also knew she couldn’t sit quietly in the coven and pretend others weren’t suffering.
"What about the rogues, though? The ones that don’t have you and I to protect them. Shouldn’t they have a peaceful life too?"
His features hardened in the moonlight. "They are criminals that should be brought to justice. By not being registered or with a coven, they are breaking the law."
Just when she thought they were getting somewhere.
"It's an unfair law. They don't sequester master swordsmen in barracks."
"Master swordsmen can't burn down a town in less than an hour."
Rose winced. She hadn’t forgotten about the elementalist or the deaths he caused. She was glad he hadn't struck again. She would have heard about it if he had. "Bret, I don't have that type of power."
He looked at her sideways. "You're plenty powerful."
"Do you think I'm a danger to society?"
Smirking, Bret grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Only to us bachelors, like me and Jeb."
She pulled her hand away, but let it rest on his thigh. "I'm serious."
"I don't know, Rose. What would you do if you didn't have the coven? Would you be content to garden and mend my trousers, make my dinner and perform wifely duties?"
"I like the wifely duty parts," she admitted, sliding her hand up his leg.
He took her hand and rested it on his hardness for a moment. "We're almost at the cabin."
"Good," she whispered. Maybe he could convince her to give up being The Seeker and maybe she could convince him
to help the rogue mages or at least work to get the laws changed. Once Harbortown calmed down, maybe more cities would follow in their lead. "If I said yes, would you register me as your partner so I wouldn't have to go back to the coven?"
Bret winced. "Too many people in Greenly know you are a mage. We’d have to go somewhere where they’ve never seen either one of us. You'd have to hide what you were. I don't want you to do that."
"Why not?" It sounded perfect to her.
"Even unregistered you'd be vulnerable from ignorant people, slavers and the like." Bret shook his head. "The safest place for you is in the coven or in my bed. If you're not in one, you'll damn well be in the other."
So much for that idea. Well, hopefully she had a few days to work on him. She’d make him see reason.
The cabin was a few more hours ride and Rose was bone weary and emotionally exhausted by the time they got there. She cast off all her clothes and washed up, shivering from the frigid water in the basin. Hurrying under the big quilts, Rose fell asleep while Bret was securing the horses.
She woke up briefly while he was building a fire in the fireplace and then again when he slipped into bed next to her. Rolling to greet him with a kiss she had been dreaming of, she spoiled it by yawning.
"Sleep," he said, turning her around so he could spoon against her. Her body rallied when she felt his cock pressing into the curve of her ass. But she couldn’t manage more than a contented wiggle. She murmured in disappointment.
"We've got time," Bret said, kissing her neck and cupping her breast before falling asleep. Rose was too tired to use his exhaustion to escape and the hard promise of his body next to her was too much of a temptation to resist.
One more night.
Chapter Ten
Rose woke from an erotic dream on the brink of an orgasm. Gasping, she realized her dream was reality. Bret was between her thighs licking her in long, lascivious strokes.
She clutched at his hair and pulled him close while her hips rose to meet his eager mouth. Each brush of his tongue sent shivers through her and she squirmed for more. Moaning his name, she writhed on the bed as he alternated sucking on her clit and thrusting his fingers inside her eager pussy.
“Good morning,” he purred, sounding too pleased with himself.
Shaking and near incoherent with the crash of desire shuddering through her, she could only ride out the sweet bliss as the orgasm made her head whip side to side.
Bret kissed up her still trembling body, circling her navel and then up to her breasts.
“Hurry,” she urged, hooking a leg over his and arching up, eager for him to enter her.
“Never again,” he said, swirling his tongue around her nipple and then sucking on it while he pinched the other.
Reaching between their bodies, she guided his cock inside her.
“Witch,” he grumbled as the tip caressed her entrance. Unable to stop himself, he dipped in once and then twice before losing his control completely.
Rose groaned in satisfaction as his big body rocked into her. With one hand on his tightly muscled ass and the other holding his head as they kissed, she met him stroke for stroke.
Soon she was crying out, but his mouth took every sound as he refused to stop kissing her even as she came apart underneath him. Without giving her a second to recover, he pulled out and flipped her over before driving himself in her from behind. Holding on to her hips, he took her deeper and harder. The wet slap of their bodies had her digging her nails into the soft bed. The tips of her nipples grazed the soft sheets in another layer of sensation. Rose’s mouth was wide open, but no sound came out. Her very breath stolen by the sweet possession of Bret’s body.
“Fucking dreamed of this every night,” he growled, his fingers tight enough to keep her right where he wanted her.
She nodded, still not able to speak. But as he picked up his pace, savage groans spilled out of her. Unable to bear the crescendo of desire, Rose reached between her legs and touched her clit with quick flicks of her fingers. Stars sparked under her eyelids as she clamped around his cock with a second intense orgasm.
“Yes,” he gritted out and then lost his capability of speech as he came in a series of guttural grunts, before collapsing on her. “Every night.” He kissed her shoulder. “Every damned night I will be in your bed.”
“The coven won’t allow you in my room,” she muttered into her pillow, too satiated to move yet.
“Let them try and keep me out.”
She had to admit, it sounded good.
A few hours later and another round where she got to be on top this time, Rose sat at the kitchen table and watched Bret make breakfast as if this was a normal occurrence in their lives.
“How long were you in Greenly?” she asked. It had taken her a few months to get there even though it was only a two-week journey from Demerest. She had stopped along the way to help mages where she could and did some odd jobs in several smaller towns to earn enough to book a passage to Solace. The money she had with her would be enough to live on but not for the fare to get her there.
“I went to Harbortown first,” he said. “But it was too chaotic. I tried retracing your steps to see if anyone had seen a woman of your description.” He handed her a mug of coffee. “I hope you take it black. There isn’t any milk.”
Coffee was coffee and the bitter taste seemed appropriate for what she was going to have to do if she couldn’t convince him to help her. “It’s fine,” she said. She didn’t want to think about escape or leaving him to sail across the Great Sea.
“It was like you had disappeared.” He looked up from the skillet and pierced her with a glare. “I have men in Harbortown looking for you as well. So, don’t think you can ride there ahead of me and lose me in the crowd.”
She smiled at him and cast her eyes downward. “I’ve learned my lesson.”
Bret gave a rude snort and set a plate of pancakes in front of her. “That’ll be the day.”
“What has Harbortown like with the coven being dissolved?” She dug into her pancakes after pouring a dollop of honey on them. “Aside from chaos.”
“It hadn’t been abolished yet when I was there, but it was in the works.” He sat down at the table with her, his own stack of pancakes in front of him.
“So,” she said with a half mouth full of delicious food. How he could make pancakes like this without eggs or milk was beyond her. She swallowed. “With all the rogue mages around were people being zapped or mind controlled or whatever you norms like to think we’re about when we don’t have a handler?”
“Not that I saw,” he said. “The elementalist wasn’t there either. No spontaneous fires.”
She glared at him. Leave it to him to pick the one extreme example as opposed to the other ninety-nine percent of law abiding citizens. “You haven’t caught him yet?” she asked sweetly. “What about The Seeker? Any leads on him?”
Bret scowled. “No.”
“You’re losing your touch,” she teased.
“You weren’t saying that this morning.” He smiled at her blush. “In fact, you weren’t saying much at all.”
Touché.
The next few days were the best Rose had ever known. They spent most of the time either making love or eating with a ride in the countryside so they could make love in the fields thrown in for a change of scenery. While being returned to the coven was a shadow over her head, she found she could pretend that they were a normal couple. And when she wasn’t looking, she realized she had fallen in love with him.
They were sitting outside enjoying the afternoon on a blanket, their horses grazing nearby when she told him. At first, she thought he didn’t hear her.
“I said, I love you.”
Bret turned to her and cupped her face, stroking his thumb over her lips. “I can’t marry you.”
Frowning, she swatted his hand away and sat up. “I wasn’t asking you to.” She grabbed up her scattered clothes and pulled them on.
Bret sat up but di
dn’t attempt to put his pants back on. She should leave him. Hop on Atalanta and head for Harbortown. She’d have a hell of a head start unless he jumped on Duke bare assed. The son of a bitch probably would too.
“I’m not rich enough to bribe the magistrates into accepting the paperwork.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, stiffly. “I was trying to let you into my heart, not set up a legal contract.”
He sighed. “I was a fool to think this could work.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “Things were going pretty well until you assumed I was trying to get out of the coven by marrying you.”
“Weren’t you?” he said, his lips twisting into a smile. “Or am I supposed to believe that after all these years, you’ve decided that slumming with me is better than living in a mansion?”
“Coven,” she said. “And living in a hole in the ground is preferable to that.”
“Not that you’ve ever done that.”
Rose pressed her lips together and pulled on her boots. She should tell him. Hell, she should grab his sword and teach him a few things about pissed off women. But the sound of a rider coming up fast on them stalled their argument. Rose was mounted on Atalanta before Bret got his pants on. Squinting, she could see that Jeb was the rider. So much for not getting caught.
“Gods damn it,” Bret grumbled as he buckled on his sword belt. He was still barefoot when Jeb slowed the horse down to a trot.
To her surprise, Jeb only nodded at her when he got close enough.
“How did you find us?” Bret asked.
“I took a chance,” he said. “You need to get her into the coven.”
“I don’t have the authority or the paperwork,” Bret said before Rose could protest.
“There’s trouble in Harbortown. An elementalist has called up a water elemental and the mages are battling him for control.”
What were the odd of there being two rogue elementalists? Rose exchanged a look with Bret. “How many mages?”
“Thirty, but they keep dropping like flies.”
That was about two covens worth. It wouldn’t be enough without the proper rituals. However, Rose found that a dagger in the ribs was a simple enough solution. Providing she could get up to him unnoticed.
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