by Billi Jean
Maybe he would be better because he’d be hers.
Is such a thing possible?
Neither of her sisters had searched for nor wanted a mate—Derrick and Torque just showed up. The same had happened with Star, except Ranger had tricked Star just to make sure he could bond her.
With her it was very different. She believed Agni was hers—she had from the first moment she’d met him—and yet, he’d never spoken to her of it. Not once. But she’d been so young…maybe he’s been waiting for me to grow up.
Beauty tipped her head, staring at her with a happy smile. She was so excited. Bethany tried hard to ease her anxiety. Today was about more than her demon or her claim on him. Today she would add her name to the Jade Coven, as one of theirs. Her mother’s coven.
“Mother would be so proud of you.”
Bethany sighed and squeezed Beauty’s hand, surprised that their thoughts had been so similar. “She would, wouldn’t she? We’re all grown up now, aren’t we? You and Torque with your duties on the council, and Samantha and Derrick with their lives in the mountains.”
“We’ve all grown up, even if we didn’t want some of us to grow up quite so fast,” Beauty teased. “You’ve spent more time with the Fay than with us, but I understand,” she hurried to say. “Gregory is a wonderful man—and a good teacher.”
“His is, but he is much too strict, though,” Bethany said, smiling.
Beauty laughed and got up from the bed. “Oh, I bet. Here, let me brush your hair, just once more.”
“Just once more, huh?” Bethany turned slightly so they were both facing the mirror again.
Beauty sighed. “You have such wonderful hair, so smooth and thick.”
“And black.”
“Yes, and midnight black, like ebony silk.”
Bethany rolled her eyes and they both laughed. They sat like that for a while—each simply enjoying being together after their time apart until Beauty paused, staring at them in the mirror again.
“We look alike, don’t we?” Beauty whispered.
Bethany examined their reflections. They were of the same height now, and in many ways they shared similar features. They both had blue eyes, heart-shaped faces, small noses and soft rosebud lips, but there the similarities ended. Bethany’s hair was black, with a few, very few, warmer tones blended in with the dark. Beauty’s was blonde, a golden color that shone with warmth. Beauty was curvier, too and had much more in the chest department.
Bethany examined her breasts critically and could see where a man might be disappointed. Men cared about such things, she believed.
“A little, but I haven’t grown proper breasts,” she murmured. “Have I?”
“What? You have great breasts. They are nothing to frown over. You’re gorgeous and anyone that says different is blind—or possibly insane.”
Bethany gave Beauty a disgusted snort for that. “You’re my sister. Of course you say such things, but really,” she said, considering her smaller frame as she whispered, “that’s not true. Torque would agree with me.”
Beauty choked on a laugh. “I doubt he has ever considered your breasts, darling. He would be shocked to even be asked. My man is, above all else, very old-fashioned. You are my younger sister and for him, that means you will forever be ten.”
“Oh, wonderful,” Bethany said but didn’t mind. Not really. The only man—or demon’s—opinion she worried over was a certain Fire Demon.
“We still have time before everyone arrives. Are you going down to walk on the beach still? Want company?” Beauty asked.
Bethany considered their reflections once more before turning to take Beauty’s hands in hers. “I think I’d like to clear my head. Being back is confusing, a little,” she said honestly, but really that was only part of it. Her last birthday here, Agni had arrived when she’d been by herself in Star’s garden. She hoped he’d come again, this year. What would he say about her now?
“I’m glad you’re back. Maybe you have jet lag from all that world-to-world travel,” Beauty teased.
Bethany sobered at her words. Beauty sounded as if now that Bethany was here, she was home to stay. Wincing, she took a deep breath and said, “I do need to go back, though. You realize that, right?” She regretted her honesty immediately when Beauty gave her a sharp glance.
“Oh? Why?”
At Beauty’s concerned expression, Bethany squeezed her hand. “To continue my studies,” she assured her. “I found I was not only good at creating traps, but at sensing evil,” she paused, remembering her first encounter with a demon there. She’d struggled to bind it, but she had. “I have more to learn.”
Beauty tightened her grip on Bethany’s hand. “Sensing evil is difficult to control. But perhaps this is where your strength lies. The trapping…” she murmured, breaking off only to sharpen her gaze back on Bethany with a great deal more power in her blue eyes, “…might be part of your skill, but sensing evil and confining it is a dangerous path, sister.”
“Our lives are always dangerous,” Bethany responded. “Mine will be—we know this—just as yours is.”
Beauty hesitated only a moment before she murmured, “That’s true.”
Her sister was one of the few immortals alive who could not only sense evil, but also sense good—and lead a person back to the right path. Beauty had done so since she’d first returned—much to the distress of Torque. Bethany had a feeling if her brother-in-law had his way, her sister would never go near evil. Ever.
“And you think you could learn more among the Fay than you could here?” Beauty asked.
Bethany glanced out of the window, not seeing the clear sky here but the endless blue horizon from her home among the Fay. She’d found peace there. The even flow of days and constant study and practice without the odd unease she felt when she thought of Agni had been refreshing. Freeing. But could she go there and stay if…he wants me?
“It’s just a thought,” she said quickly. She’d been happy there. She’d finally found a balance for the endless anxiety—even gone weeks, sometimes an entire month without fretting over Agni. Her training, too, had really only just begun.
“Well, I trust you’ll know what you need to do. Right now, though, I think you should go take a walk before everyone arrives, and you’re bombarded with all their shock and good wishes.”
Her excitement threatened to overflow but Bethany managed a casual nod and waited until Beauty left to jump to her feet.
Her sister suspected something. What, Bethany didn’t know but she didn’t really want to bother fretting over it. She formed a doorway from her room to the beach below and within seconds, she stepped through, heart in her throat and began walking along the rough surf.
Is today the day I’ll finally learn why my body heats at the thought of Agni’s touch?
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About the Author
Billi Jean was born in California but didn't stay put for long. She's lived in New York, Indiana, Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts and Vermont. She's lived in and worked from ranches to beach-side coffee shops to the woods in western Massachusetts. Now living and working in China, she continues to write for Totally Bound Publishing.
Billi has been writing since high school when she couldn’t wait for Robert Jordon to write his Wheel of Time series faster. She writes from home in a little two hundred year old farm house in Western Massachusetts where she shares her space with her active children, an old dog and two lazy cats.
Email: [email protected]
Billi Jean loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com.
Also by Billi Jean
Love’s Command: Running Scared
Love’s Command: Safe in His Arms
Love’s Command: Catch Me If You Can
Love’s Command: Trusting Love
Sisterhood of Jade: Silver’s Chance
Sisterhood of Jade: A Spartan’s Kis
s
Sisterhood of Jade: Midnight Star
Sisterhood of Jade: Golden’s Rule
Sisterhood of Jade: Sorcha’s Wolf
Sisterhood of Jade: Eternal Embrace
Sisterhood of Jade: Claiming a Demon’s Heart
Totally Bound Publishing