by Sadie Moss
I hardly noticed the dropping temperature. His body was too warm and mine too sated to worry about a little thing like the cold. But the gesture made my heart swell.
How could he ever think he doesn’t protect me?
We lay in comfortable silence for several minutes, his hand tracing an idle pattern up and down my arm while his heartbeat under my ear returned to normal.
“This isn’t at all how I expected the evening to go,” he finally said, a smile in his voice. “I wouldn’t have thought one of the worst nights of my life could turn into the best night, but now I don’t think I’d change a thing.”
My mood darkened slightly, remembering the earlier pain on Corin’s face. “I would. I’d have killed that fucker Nicholas Constantine if I could have.”
His arms tightened around me, and I heard him swallow. “I’m glad you didn’t. I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if you got in trouble.”
Wanting to steer the conversation away from Nicholas for now, I lifted my head, splaying my hand across Corin’s chest as I looked down at him. “My grandma and I had a talk at the palace after you left. That’s why it took me so long to come find you. But she… she seemed like she might be changing her mind. She’s lived in this world for so long it’s hard for her to see another way, but I honestly believe she could be a good person. She wants to do the right thing; she just needs a fire lit under her ass.”
Corin chuckled, his body relaxing again. “Well, lucky for us, lighting fires under asses happens to be your specialty.”
“I think you mean ‘being a pain in the ass.’ That I can definitely do.” I dropped my head back down, snuggling closer against him.
His chest rumbled with laughter again, and he pressed a kiss to my hair.
“Corin?” I bit my lip, almost afraid to ask the question that danced on the tip of my tongue.
“Yeah?”
“How do you feel about… the other guys?”
“They’re my family,” he said immediately, his voice strong and sure.
I swallowed. “But how do you feel about me and them? I mean, you’ve seen me with them. I—I don’t know how to explain it. This bond does weird things, makes me feel… or at least, I think it’s the bond. I really don’t know anymore.”
My question, or explanation, or whatever it was, became a jumble of word vomit as I tried to find a way to make him understand what I felt.
There was a moment of quiet, filled only by the rustling of the drooping willow branches in the wind, and then Corin spoke.
“I think I get it, Lana. And I’m okay with it.”
“Really?” I tilted my head to look at him, shock in my voice.
He grunted. “Don’t get me wrong. If it were anybody else but them, we’d be having a very different conversation. Or no conversation at all. I’ve never really been interested in sharing. But the five of us… our situation is different.”
My palm flattened against his chest, as if I could read the contents of his heart through our contact. “Are you sure? It’s really all right with you?”
“I love you. With or without the magic that connects us, I love you. But I’m bonded to your magic just like they are, and I know how it feels. It’s powerful, Lana—that pull. I can’t ask you or them to deny it. It would tear us all apart if you did. And we need you. They need you, even the ones who won’t admit it yet.”
A shaky breath passed my lips, a sigh of both relief and trepidation. “I… I think I need them too. It doesn’t make any sense, but I feel that same pull.”
His shoulders lifted in a shrug beneath me. “It’s magic. It doesn’t have to make sense.”
I snorted. “Good point.”
“But you know what? There is one thing I’m sure of, one thing that does make sense.” He rolled over onto his side, pressing our bodies together as he captured my lips in a slow, lazy kiss—like he was finally starting to believe we had all the time in the world. “This.”
Chapter 12
We walked back to the house under the moon and starlight, shooting shy, giddy glances at each other all the way.
Tomorrow, all the dangers facing us would intrude again. We’d have to deal with the fallout from the disastrous ball, and I’d have to meet more of the Representatives to see if I could learn anything new from them. But for tonight, I held Corin’s hand and breathed in the fresh, crisp air that smelled of lilacs and hope.
When we reached the large mansion, all the rooms were dark. Beatrice had returned at some point from her meeting with Rain, and the other men had given up waiting for us. Corin made a half-hearted attempt to say goodnight to me at my door, but I pulled him inside the room with a whispered laugh. We threw off our ruined formalwear and curled up under my soft blanket, and for the first time in weeks, I didn’t dream of fear-filled gray eyes, but of blue ones. And green ones, and warm chocolate brown ones, and dark eyes that swirled with mystery.
The next morning, after waking me up with a reminder of why last night was one of the best of either of our lives, Corin nipped the tip of my nose and slipped out of bed, pulling on his pants before running a hand through his sandy blond hair. I smiled at the sight of his lean body in just a pair of dress pants slung low on his hips.
Though it was tempting to burrow back under the warm covers with the sheets that smelled like Corin, I stretched and crawled out of bed myself.
I hurriedly threw on another conservative, fashionable dress. This one had a full, knee-length skirt, which would make moving easy enough. Corin’s eyes heated when I pushed up the fabric to strap the twin daggers to my thighs, and a flush rose in my cheeks. When we’d known each other in Wyoming all those years ago, he’d never been shy about showing affection. I had a feeling that hadn’t changed, a suspicion that was confirmed when he followed me to the door, catching me just before I opened it to sweep my hair aside and kiss the back of my neck.
Jae was just emerging from his room down the hall as Corin and I exited mine. He glanced up at us and froze, his green eyes widening slightly. Something passed over his face, but it was too quick and too subtle for me to figure out what it was. Jealousy? Regret?
I wasn’t sure. Jae’s emotions were still hard for me to read sometimes—except in the presence of his father, when they became as obvious as flashing neon lights.
He recovered smoothly, walking toward us with a steady stride. “Good. You’re up. Akio, Fenris, and I talked last night, and we have a plan we’d like to run by you.”
“Sure. I like plans.”
Jae smiled at that. Corin pressed a kiss to my temple and then headed in the direction of his room, probably to put on some real clothes.
Akio and Fen were already in the kitchen when Jae and I arrived. The incubus perched on a stool at the island with the languid ease of a model posing. Retta was folding linens while Fenris flashed his big, sad brown eyes at Darcy, who somehow resisted his adorableness and smacked his hand as he reached for a loaf of sweet bread cooling on the counter.
“Not ’til everyone is up! If I let you dig into it now, there’ll be nothing left by the time Miss Crow and Corin are awake.”
“Yeah, well, I bet he got something better than bread,” Fenris muttered with a pout before his eyes landed on me. “Killer! You’re awake!”
He bounded over to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and burying his nose in my flaming red locks. Maybe it was the wolf in him, but he seemed to have a real thing for smelling my hair.
“How’s Corin?” he murmured.
“He’s good. He’ll be fine.” I tried to keep my voice neutral as I said it, but Fenris’s chuckle told me I hadn’t been entirely successful.
“I bet he will.” He smirked knowingly.
I’d been more nervous about Fenris’s reaction to my night with Corin than anyone else’s. Fen was the only other one of these men I’d kissed, after all, and as far as I knew, shifters didn’t usually share mates. But then again, this bond was something unique. Maybe he felt the same way Corin did and kne
w that no one of them had more of a claim to me than any of the others. Whatever the case, I was relieved not to see any trace of anger or betrayal in his rich brown eyes as he looked down at me.
Then he steered me quickly toward Darcy, holding both my shoulders from behind and presenting me to her like a prize. “See? She’s here! Now can I—?”
She rolled her eyes, her kind round face scrunching up as she tried to suppress a smile. “Oh, all right. You eat like a wolf!”
“I know.” He raised his eyebrows wickedly at her then attacked the bread like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. It was a testament to how much he liked all of us that he didn’t actually devour the entire thing himself.
Corin joined us a few moments after Retta and Darcy left the room to take care of other chores, and then Jae cast another thin glowing dome of protection around the kitchen island. According to Retta, Beatrice had headed to the palace early in the morning, and although I trusted the two Blighted servants, I still didn’t want to risk them overhearing.
As the rest of us ate at a more restrained pace, I told the men what my grandmother had said last night, about her promise to help me navigate the politics of the palace, and about her worries that I may be in danger from one or more of the Representatives. I didn’t voice my hope that I could change Beatrice’s mind, maybe even recruit her to our side, but I was sure they could all see it on my face.
When I finished, Akio nodded thoughtfully from the stool next to me. The beautiful black tattoos winding up his arms and across his chest rippled as he stroked his chin. He’d neglected to put on a shirt again today, and I was starting to wonder if he had some kind of allergy to fabric. “So what we need to find out is which members of the government lean more toward your grandmother’s side, and which ones would side with Nicholas.”
“Okay, then I guess that means I should head to the palace and schmooze more of the Representatives. See if I can pick anything up.” I flicked a glance at Corin, biting my lip. “But maybe I should go alone this time.”
Corin grimaced, but his face didn’t hold the same pain it had last night.
“That was our thinking,” Jae said, green eyes thoughtful. “With one small addition. We need to resume your training.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Given your grandmother’s concerns, and the fact that you’ll be meeting with the Representatives on your own, its imperative that you have the best tools to defend yourself. Your shifting and charming abilities are advancing well, but spell casting is a much more complex and nuanced magic.”
Akio grunted as if he was offended by that. He rose smoothly from his seat like a predator stalking its prey and leaned over me, voice low. “Oh, I don’t know. I think incubus charm is rather complex and nuanced. Don’t you agree, kitten?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could block out the honeyed tone of his voice as lust and anger spiked my blood pressure. He knew I hated it when he used his charm on me.
“I’m armed,” I ground out through gritted teeth.
“I’m aware.”
His sultry voice promised pleasure and pain, sin and redemption.
“Come on, Akio. Cut it out.” Corin’s voice broke through the hazy fog in my brain, and I felt a puff of air hit my cheek as Akio huffed.
“You all get to have your fun,” he muttered, but his overbearing presence eased away from me.
Ugh. This.
This was why I didn’t know what to think of my bond with Akio.
He ran so hot and cold on me—caring one minute and callous the next, devastatingly alluring but always a little aloof. I knew how Fen felt about me, and after last night, I knew exactly how Corin felt. Although Jae was so controlled it was sometimes hard to get a read on his feelings, I knew that, at the very least, we had a close friendship. But I’d never been able to tell if Akio truly cared about me, or if he just considered me an entertaining diversion.
There was no question he was bonded to me the same as the others were, but that didn’t actually mean he had to like me. Or that I had to like him.
After all, you didn’t have to like someone to….
Fighting the flush that heated my cheeks, I looked up, carefully ignoring Akio’s heavy gaze as I turned to Jae. “You don’t happen to know a spell for turning an incubus into a gerbil, do you?”
The mage’s usually composed face split in a wide grin.
“We’ll see what we can do.”
Practicing magic always made me a little nervous. Although I was slowly gaining control, and my powers had settled down inside me since my four had arrived, I was still wary of accidentally blowing things up in a magic flare. Still, I was prepared to risk the furniture in Beatrice’s sitting room or a few of her shrubs outside if need be for my training.
But as it turned out, Jae had other plans. He ushered me into his shiny silver car and drove us through the Capital to a neighborhood I’d never been in before. It was on the other side of the People’s Palace, about the same distance from the hulking marble monstrosity as my grandmother’s house. The mansion he pulled up to was made of dark stone, and it was even bigger and more intimidating than Beatrice’s place.
“What’s this?” I asked, peering through the windshield at the sprawling estate. It had actual spires piercing the sky, and the dark facade made the whole thing look ominous somehow.
“This is where I grew up.”
My eyes bugged out as my head snapped toward Jae. “Holy fuck. Was your bedroom in one of the towers or something?”
He stopped breathing for a moment, but then his chest rose and fell sharply. “No.”
Shit. I’d forgotten how messed up his family situation was. He probably didn’t have many great memories of this place. I wondered if his dad being such an asshole contributed in some way to Jae becoming the clear-headed, good-hearted person he was. The apple deliberately falling far from the tree.
Jae seemed to recover himself and slid from the car, walking around to open my door for me. As he led me toward the house, he said, “My father has a training room with walls specially designed to withstand blasts of magic. I need to teach you how to fight, and we couldn’t have done that at your grandmother’s house without risking extensive damage. Anyone can see how much she loves you, but I thought we’d put her love to the test another day.”
I squeezed his hand, appreciating his oblique vote of confidence in my ability to win Beatrice over.
Asking her for help would be risky, but I had to believe I could change her perception of things. She’d been stuck in her old way of thinking for far too long, surrounded daily by people who despised and distrusted the Blighted. But she had a good heart. I had to believe that.
“Does that mean I get to blow stuff up?” I asked hopefully, following him through the cavernous interior of the house. The inside was just as dark as the outside. If I’d thought Beatrice’s empty mansion felt like a museum, this place seemed like a prison.
He shot an amused look over his shoulder, a happy grin spreading across his face for the second time today. My chest squeezed at the rare sight.
More of that, please. More smiles like that.
We descended a set of stone steps and walked down a short hallway before Jae pushed open a large door on the left. He ushered me through, and my mouth dropped open into a silent O as I took in the huge room.
It was rectangular and devoid of any furnishings. The ceiling was two stories high, with windows high along one wall admitting shafts of light that fell across the floor in geometric shapes. The windows on the other side of the room looked like they connected to the interior of the house. A viewing area, maybe?
A dark material that felt slightly springy covered the entire floor.
I paced the perimeter of the room, taking it all in. The walls were made of elaborately carved wooden panels, and I ran my finger over the surface of one, sensing the magic within it. “These aren’t wards, are they?”
“No.” Jae shook his head, stepping out of his shoes and wal
king to the middle of the space. I’d never seen him barefoot before, and for some reason, I liked it. It made him look comfortable and casual, as if a part of his carefully composed mask came off with his polished shoes. “Not as you know them, anyway. They’re enchanted to withstand damage from magic. They’re not indestructible, but they can take a beating.”
Nerves and excitement tingled in my veins.
Take a beating?
Whether Jae knew it or not, he was definitely speaking my language right now. I could use a good fight to blow off some steam.
Then again, a magical fight didn’t sound like nearly as much fun as the old-fashioned “fists and blades” kind. I squared my shoulders confidently anyway, slipped off my shoes, and marched into the center of the room to meet Jae.
He walked toward me, green eyes soft and intent. “You’ve been able to conjure both flame and ice. Today, we’ll work on using those elements defensively and offensively, and maybe we’ll add a little wind into the mix too.”
“Are you going to teach me how to put up a shield?” I asked, remembering the giant blue fireballs I’d seen Jae throw at the mage who attacked Akio’s house. I didn’t want one of those flying toward my head unless I knew how to block it.
But Jae shook his head. “Shield magic is actually incredibly difficult, and unless you’re excellent at it, not very effective. The strongest magical shields are static, unmoving. Like wards. But in a fight, you usually can’t afford to remain still. So the best defense is offense. If someone throws a blast of fire at you, meet it with an equally strong blast.”
“So if you hit me, I hit you harder?”
Humor sparked in Jae’s green eyes. His bare feet shifted restlessly on the mat, and it struck me for the first time that he moved like a fighter. I always thought of him as reserved and studious, but that definitely wasn’t the only side of him.