by Riley Storm
“Yes.”
Trying hard not to lose control on the Magi, she sighed and looked up at him. His finger was pointing behind her.
“Not what I meant, and not really the time for bad puns, don’t you think? I’m about to lose control here. It’s too much,” she gasped, on the edge of losing control.
“You must focus,” the Magi said. “If it’s going to come out, unleash it where you want. We’ll teach you how to prevent it from escaping later. First you must be able to direct the wild magic. Do that, and I will show you how to tame it.”
Amber nodded, then followed his finger. It was pointing at Kasperi.
“You want me to use it on him?”
The Magi shrugged. “Of course. Hit him with it.”
“He has no defense,” she protested. “You’re crazy.”
“And you’re about to lose control and succumb. You have strong magic, but you’re stubborn, in the wrong way this time. You must do it, before it takes control of you.”
Amber knew what he meant. The bright light at her center was nearly out, enveloped by the darkness that came from somewhere else, somewhere deeper in her that she hadn’t yet explored. If it breached her last defense, if it slipped a needle-like tendril through a gap in her core, she would never regain control. It was the last bastion that had never failed her before, but the magic inside her had never been this angry, either.
Before, it had always been Amber who was the angry one, and the magic helped her lash out at those that were pissing her off. Now the both of them were angry, and it was making it far more powerful than she’d ever experienced.
“Yes, good. Recognize your emotions,” the Magi said as she stood, fury burning through her system, returning control to her. “They will help you. The magic responds to them, you can use that. Now hit him. He will be fine, I assure you of that.”
She screamed, throwing her hands forward, unable to contain it anymore. The anger at her treatment centered on Kasperi. He may have kept her alive, but he was still one of them, one of the ones who had imprisoned her, and was threatening her with death for something she’d never meant to do.
Red waves of energy billowed out from her hands, swarming across the room and right into a wide-eyed Kasperi. He tried to jump out of the way, but the magic found him, grabbed him, and forcefully hurled him into the far wall. He flipped once on the way, and slumped upside down onto his shoulder, just barely getting a hand up to prevent himself from landing on his head.
The magic cut off abruptly and she slumped too, exhausted. Fear for Kasperi overwhelmed her, and she ran across the room, falling to her knees at his side.
“Are you okay?” she asked, terrified she’d killed him.
Behind her, the Magi just cackled and clapped his hands together, evidently happy with her actions. “Excellent work!”
She picked up Kasperi’s head, resting it on her thighs as he groaned and came around, regaining his senses. “Kasperi, are you okay?” she asked, looking down over him, feeling terrible. What had come over her, thinking he was one of the bad guys? He was the only one who had stood up for her!
“Ow,” he moaned, eyelids peeling back to reveal the circles of pale olive green she remembered so well. “Who sucker-punched me?”
“Sucker-punched?” she asked, confused.
“Only way someone could lay a beating on me like that without getting one in return.”
She laughed, a relieved, choked up sound. He was going to be okay.
“I’m sorry,” she said, stroking his head, then holding onto his shoulders as he sat up, feeling the taut muscles underneath. “I didn’t mean to hit you like that, I didn’t think it would be so strong.”
“You are blessed with strong magic,” the Magi said, coming over to them. “Not as strong as I or the mages of old, but you would be one of the top in the Mage Council if they had known of your existence. It will be tough for you to control that power,” he said solemnly. “But you will learn. Now, how do you feel?”
Amber’s hands slipped from Kasperi’s shoulders as he stood up, shaking himself off, and walking gingerly across the room. She let him go, watching as he stretched and worked the kinks out.
“How do you feel?” the Magi asked, his voice harder, interrupting her vision as he shuffled between her and Kasperi, blocking him from her sight.
Amber sighed, then shook her head and stood up, taking stock of her body. “Strangely…better,” she said. “It feels more reserved.”
“Good. The magic will control you, if you don’t control it. One method of control, is to use it.” The Magi clapped his hands, then walked back ten steps or so. “Now, use it again. Hit me with it this time.”
Amber started to focus, having to work to keep a smile from her face as Kasperi looked up, saw that he was directly behind the Magi, and scampered off to the side, out of the line of fire. Smart man.
“It’s not there,” she said after a moment, nothing happening. “Like, I can feel its presence, but it’s not trying to escape. It won’t come to me.”
“Use your emotions!” the Magi snapped. “For now, it will be like that. It will feed off your strong emotions, and it will build and build, until it has to go somewhere. If you want to use it now, to really drain it, you must summon it. Think of the same feelings you had, inject other emotions.”
She listened to his words, focusing on the power, and feeding it her anger at being imprisoned by these beasts, her fear at having her life in her hands. Still, it bubbled slightly within, but nothing truly happened. On a whim, Amber fed it the panic she’d felt at the sight of Kasperi collapsed on the ground a moment ago, when she’d thought him dead.
The magic surged to the surface, uncoiling and ready to strike. Amber’s head erupted in pain and she screamed, fire burning its way across her body as it ripped free from her.
“Excellent!” the Magi shouted as a ball of reddish-orange magic formed in front of her, whipping around, pulling at her clothing as it spun, generating wind.
“Fuck you!” she shrieked and flung the ball at the Magi.
For a moment, his hood blew back, revealing a face nowhere near as old as she’d expected, still full of life and vigor; it dispelled the myth about him being old and feeble despite the image his cloaked figure gave off.
Amber smiled, expecting to see the Magi tossed backward as well, just like it had done to Kasperi a few minutes before. Her brain replayed that image again in her head happily.
Instead of leveling the arrogant hooded dick, just before it reached him, the ball curved wildly to the right and slammed into Kasperi, throwing him into the wall a second time, then disappearing in a flash of fire that nearly burned off his eyebrows, turning his face a bright red.
Right in front of her, the Magi howled with laughter, arms crossed over his stomach, unable to breathe, he was laughing so hard. Amber ignored him and raced across the mat-covered floor, once more falling to her knees at Kasperi’s side.
“Are you okay?”
He was sitting against the wall, eyes blinking slowly, breath coming in wheezing bouts. She remembered the injuries he’d sustained before, and wondered if she’d somehow aggravated them with her magic.
“Kasperi? Hey, Kasperi! Are you okay?”
His blank stared turned in her direction, and he nodded slowly, a groan emerging from his mouth. “Ow.”
“Very good,” the Magi said, coming up to her from behind and slipping the collar back into place. “I would say you learned your first lesson.”
On the floor, Kasperi croaked. “And me? What about my first lesson?”
The Magi snickered. “There was no lesson for you today. I just needed her to feel comfortable to lash out.”
“Asshole,” Kasperi muttered.
Cackling to himself, the Magi stood up and moved away from them. Amber tried to help Kasperi stand, but a wave of exhaustion overcame her, and the big shifter was forced to put an arm around her, holding her tight to him so she didn’t fall to the ground.
“You okay?” he asked, not letting go immediately even once she’d regained her balance.
“Tired,” she admitted. “It’s been a long day. I, uh, I could go for some sleep, to be honest.”
She saw the remembrance in Kasperi’s eyes that she’d not yet slept or truly recovered since her ordeal in the snow.
“How are you still on your feet?” he asked, sounding impressed. “You must be exhausted!”
“A little bit. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug though. But it’s fading now.”
“We’ll continue tomorrow,” the Magi said behind them. Then there was the sound of his robe swishing, and a pop that indicated he’d opened a rent, and then silence. They were alone.
“Come on,” Kasperi said, still walking gingerly, one arm holding his ribs, the other holding her. “Let’s go. I’m with you. A shower and rest sound fantastic.”
They meandered through a maze of hallways. She tried to memorize their path, but the place—what had they called it, Ursidae Manor?—was absolutely massive, and she was soon lost.
“Hey, Kasperi, can I ask you one more question?” she said, speaking up suddenly as he slowed near a massive brown door.
“What’s that?”
“Where am I staying?”
12
“You can have the bed or the couch,” he said, pushing open the door.
Amber went to follow him inside, but he felt her stop in the doorway. “Whose bed or couch, Kasperi?” she asked.
Aww, crap. Here we go again.
“Mine,” he said. “Consider it an interest-free loan.”
“Let me just stop you right there.”
He stopped, turned, ready and waiting for the spiel he knew was coming.
“I am not your prisoner Kasperi. You can’t just lock me up in your dungeon, and turn me into your plaything.” She stood arms crossed, the toes of her left foot upraised and resting on the door to keep it open, not quite fully in his room.
Kasperi shrugged. “Could have fooled me, with that collar.”
Shouldn’t have said that. I should not have said that.
Amber turned bright red, fuming to the point he wondered if steam was going to come out her ears. Not that it really mattered how she felt, because she was staying with him. End of story. Nowhere else in the Manor was going to be safe, not with the Asps seemingly determined to find one tiny flaw and kill her. They just couldn’t stand leaving a job unfinished, even if that “job” was a living, breathing person like Amber.
A person who wanted to change themselves, who wanted to be better than was expected of her. How could they justify that? Kasperi looked her over now, ignoring the anger that pulled her eyebrows together like thunderclouds forming over the sea. He didn’t see the slight shake in her fists as she clenched them in impotent fury.
What he saw was a young woman lost in the world, afraid of herself, terrified of anyone near her, and completely vulnerable. She desperately tried to hide it, but something let him see beyond her defenses, to the lonely girl trapped at the center of a storm she couldn’t control. Amber had to stay with him, because it was the only safe choice.
But something in Kasperi was happy about that.
“You’re lucky I’m wearing this collar, or else I’d paste you against the wall again,” she snapped at last.
“Caught me off guard is all,” he said with a shrug.
“Twice?” she said, anger fading to smugness as she took a step forward, trying to rub it in with an arrogant, knowing smile.
The door closed behind her with a heavy click. Neither of them paid it any attention.
“Something like that,” he said, also taking a step forward.
“Whatever. Now where am I staying?” she asked.
“You’re under my protection. Therefore you stay with me.” He said it as simply as possible, to drill home the point that no matter what she said, it wasn’t changing.
“I’m not comfortable staying on your couch, in your quarters,” she retorted, pointing a finger at him as she took another step forward.
“Fine,” he said, stepping closer as he mocked her, crossing his massive arms over his own chest. “Then you take the bed, and I’ll take the couch.”
Amber scoffed. “Right. So you can be between me and the door? I’m not some prisoner to slap in a jail cell.” Step.
He laughed, a biting, sarcastic thing. “Have you seen my bed? It’s more like staying in the penthouse at the Ritz than a prison cell, darling. Besides, stop acting like you don’t have a choice. You can leave if you want to. Anytime.”
Kasperi clenched his jaw tightly as she half-turned to glance at the door behind her. Although he was calling her bluff, he didn’t want her to leave. Something about this height-challenged blonde with the ridiculously long hair called to him. He wanted her to stay.
“Maybe I will,” she fired back, taking a step toward her.
Exaggerating his own step to mock her once more, Kasperi shrugged as well. “Fine. But you’re walking in the wrong direction.”
“Why are you such a dick?” she hissed, taking a step forward as well, drawing herself up as tall as she could to glare up at him through thick eyelashes, partially obscuring the eyes that reminded him so much of the ones he looked into every morning in the mirror.
Could that be what it was? Did her eyes and her stubbornness remind him of himself? Maybe that was why he was so compelled to protect her, despite the multitude of reasons not to. His life certainly would be much easier if he let her do whatever she wanted and deal with her own consequences.
The next thing he knew, he was taking another step forward.
“Why are you so insistent on making me be a dick?” he countered, now barely more than a foot separating the pair of them. “I didn’t start that.”
Amber lifted a hand to point at him, but he reached out and wrapped his fingers around her. “It’s not nice to point.”
She shook with barely-restrained anger. Kasperi went out on a limb, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, trying to reassure her and to tell her that it was okay, he meant her no harm.
“What are you doing?” she asked, green eyes darting to where he held onto her hand. She tried to pull it free, but he didn’t let go. Something told him if he gave up so easily, it would make things worse. Amber needed to be out-stubborned if he was going to get to her.
“I’m not your enemy,” he said, dropping her hand this time, but reaching out to lay a hand on her upper arm, feeling her tiny muscles through the double-layer of sweatshirt.
“Everyone is my enemy,” she said, looking down and away, but not before he caught the shame on her face.
“That’s not true. You sucker-punched me twice tonight, yet here I am, offering you up a bed fit for the gods while I sleep on a couch acceptable only to the lower gods.”
She snorted, but still kept looking away. “You’re so hard done by.”
“Truly,” he agreed wistfully. “A real shame.
Amber’s pulse was so strong he could feel it under his thumb, and see it in her neck as her jugular practically throbbed. His own breathing was thicker, deeper, an observation that caught him by surprise. What was going on here? Why was he reacting this way?
“Kasperi?”
She looked up, eyes wide, pupils taking over. Her eyelids fluttered several times, and he watched as her tongue flicked out nervously to run across her lips, dampening the soft skin there. They looked so plump and full. Wondering what they might be like to kiss, Kasperi felt himself sway forward, bending slightly.
Amber didn’t back away. She tilted her head back, opening herself up to him. Kasperi could feel it now, the surge, the need to be with her. To take her, in his quarters, right then and there. No obstacles were in the way, nothing to stop them. It was just him, Amber, and all the time in the—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Something shook his door with heavy, quick pounding.
Letting out a pained gasp as the moment was stolen, he glanced
at the door, then back to Amber. It was done. Her defenses slammed back into place and she straightened, more closed off than before to him as embarrassment strengthened the barrier.
“Aren’t you going to get that?” she said sarcastically, pointing lazily at the door as the person with the worst timing in the history of mankind knocked for a second time.
“Yeah, I guess,” he said dully, taking a deep breath and striding over to the door to pull it open.
Behind him, Amber wandered around, exploring his larger quarters, peeking her head into the bedroom. His lips twitched as he heard her exclaim softly about the size of the bed.
“What?” he snarled, pulling open the door, mood thoroughly foul.
“Kasperi.” Another giant stood in the doorway, steel-gray hair and eyes of dark gunmetal blue looking intently at—and yet also through—Kasperi in an extremely unnerving manner.
“Kincaid,” he said, dipping his head politely in the direction of the Hunter of House Ursa.
The Hunter was a bit of a misnomer. The man didn’t actually hunt anything, so much as he was granted visions of the strands of fate, searching through them to help link shifters with their mates, the one woman or man they would spend the rest of their lives with. Only he could see those links, and then only on occasion.
“Wait,” Kasperi said, putting his hand up to forestall whatever the Hunter was going to say as his brain put things together. “Please tell me you’re not going to say what I think you’re going to say.”
“What am I going to say?” Kincaid asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Kasperi paused, turned slowly to look back into his room where Amber was looking over the books next to his desk, and stepped into the hall, letting the door shut behind him.
“Please tell me this is just a social call,” he groaned.
“What? No, of course not. I came to tell you I caught a glimpse of her. She’s here, in the Manor!” Kincaid looked downright giddy.
At least he enjoys his new job. Have to appreciate that about him at least.
“Let me guess, she’s in my room right now.”
Kincaid blinked, a yellow-gold tint taking over his eyes for a moment. “Why yes! She is! How did you know?”