by Ivy Asher
“You better hope no one stole my wallet. Now, where did you throw it?” Aydin grumbles.
I use my foot to point since I’m still thrown over his shoulder and laugh at the grumpy mumbling coming from Aydin as he vows, “This isn’t over.”
15
I wake up to the sun streaming through the windows, making my bed nice and warm. I stretch and let out the obligatory screech. I should get up, but this is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, and I don’t want to seem ungrateful by abandoning it so soon.
I lay in the embrace of the perfect mattress and pillows, noticing the exposed beams on the ceiling for the first time. I groan and reluctantly pull myself out of my covers, giving the bed an appreciative pat for the awesome sleep it gave me. I straighten the bedding and arrange all the pretty pillows exactly how they were the first time I walked into this room.
Lila greets me merrily when I walk into the kitchen. She hands me a warm omelet, and I stare at it, wondering how she knew to have it ready. I chalk it up to the sisters’ sneaky magic and proceed to straight-up inhale everything on the plate.
I get up, intent on cleaning my dish, but Lila snatches it away as quick as lightning and starts scrubbing it. I gape at her.
“Birdie warned me about you," she laughs over her shoulder.
I shake my head at her. “This means war, Lila.” My attempt at sounding formidable falls flat when she giggles at me. “Seriously, I can fend for myself while the coven is gone, you don’t have to wait on me," I tell her again, but it’s obvious my declaration falls on deaf ears.
Lachlan and the coven left on another case a couple of days ago. I get that the sisters cook and clean when the paladin are here, but it’s just me right now, and being waited on and served feels awkward. The sisters won’t let me help with anything, and I’ve already been lectured twice for trying to eat cereal for every meal.
“I like it, dear," she states dismissively. “My sisters and I have been with the Aylin family for a very long time, and we love what we do, so don’t you go feeling bad about it or trying to put us out of a job.”
Lila gives me a don’t mess with me look and snaps me on the butt with the drying towel in her hands. Like the true badass I am, I squeak and scamper away.
“Go be lazy!” she orders with a chuckle.
I rub my butt cheek and salute her as I head outside to follow orders. I’ve spent the last two days lounging by the pool and reading. I’ve been raiding the library in Lachlan’s office where I discovered a ton of books about casters and magic, and I’ve been completely engrossed.
Today, I decide to do some exploring outside. I walk for hours around the property, making it familiar and getting my bearings. I spot an inviting little path, and I decide to follow it. I walk for a while, running my hands over the trunks of trees and listening to the birds chatter back and forth when I stumble into a clearing that overlooks a big lake.
The clearing is covered in soft grass with little white flowers sprinkled throughout, and it’s so idyllic it looks like it belongs in a painting. The soft grass begs me to take my shoes off and run my toes through the lush green blades, so I do just that.
The grass is cool, and a breeze sneaks by, bringing the smell of rain and something floral with it. There’s a rocky drop off before it meets the dark blue lake, and I sit and watch patches of sun sneak through the clouds to kiss the lake until it sparkles. I brush my hand over the top of the grass, tilting my face back and relishing in the sun, and then the shade when clouds float by, blocking the rays and diminishing the heat.
I’m not sure how long I sit peacefully before the first raindrop hits my skin. I open my eyes and inspect the sky, seeing some darker, more ominous clouds in the distance. I pull myself from the tranquility I’m surrounded by and start heading back toward the house.
The light sprinkle of rain turns into a downpour, and I’m grateful that Lila warned me to take something warm with me when I headed out. I pull my hoodie on, flipping the hood up over my head in an attempt to keep my face and hair somewhat dry.
My stomach growls, and I pick up my pace. The thought of some yummy food and dry clothes motivates me to move quicker. I’m thinking about how I can bottle the smell of fresh rain when I hear the sound of heavy footfall pounding behind me.
Before I can so much as look for the source, something slams into me from behind. My legs fly out from underneath me, and I hit the ground hard, landing on my side. Rocks and other debris dig into my skin as I fight to regain the breath that was just knocked from my body. A hand grabs my shoulder and flips me onto my back. My lungs finally inflate, and I gasp in air, trying to get my brain to focus on defense and not on what’s hurting.
“This is private property. What the fuck are you doing skulking around?”
A tanned, masculine face glowers at me, while simultaneously ripping my hood back from my face, taking some of my hair with it. I wince in pain and watch shock fill the hazel eyes of the man pinning me down. He gawks at me, taking in my features, and I feel his grip on me loosen.
I take advantage of his distracted hesitation and punch him in the throat. He falls forward and clutches his neck.
With serious effort, I roll us over and switch our places. The man gasps for air, his hands at his throat, and his eyes tightly shut. I’m not sure how long I have before he recovers from my hit so I waste no time in doing what I can to incapacitate him.
I hit him several times in the face and drop my knee onto his side. I try to knee him a second time, but two huge arms wrap around me from behind. I’m lifted off of the guy who tackled me and thrown at least five feet away.
I roll as I land and come up in a crouch. I call on the runes for several small throwing knives and palm them in both of my hands as I study the newest threat.
My mind stutters for a second as I stare into the same face I was just hitting. No, not the same, I realize as I look to the man still groaning on the ground. These two must be twins. This one’s hair is pulled back into a knot, but the same pissed off expression crosses his face.
They’ve got to be at least six foot five, and they’re sporting lean, defined muscles. They have a golden tone to their skin, strong angled jaws, and full lips. Their noses can join mine in the posh club, and long obsidian lashes surround their hazel eyes. I would wipe my drool from my chin over how hot these guys are, if these assholes hadn’t just picked a fight.
The one still standing forms a ball of magic in his hands, but he just holds it there and glares at me.
“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?” he snarls.
“I live here," I snap back irritated.
“Bullshit, try again,” he sneers at me, feeding more magic into the ball hovering between his palms. Orange and fuchsia-tinted magic crackles over my skin in response to his threat, and I see a sliver of uncertainty on his face before he masks it.
“My Uncle Lachlan owns this house.”
“Funny that, as our uncle is in his coven. I’d think we’d know if Lachlan had a niece.”
The arrogance wafts off him, but his statement helps something click, the boys! These two must be Silva’s nephews. With everyone referring to them as the boys I pictured younger… well…boys. That assumption could not have been more wrong. The boys are two super-hot, fully grown men. I relax my aggressive stance slightly, hoping his body language will mirror mine.
“You should probably call your uncle so he can fill you in on what’s happened while you boys were off camping.”
Confusion seeps into his features, and he reaches for something. My instincts take over, and my hand frees itself of a throwing knife. I watch as the blade flies past his cheek, mere centimeters away, and thuds into the trunk of the tree behind him. The magic ball he holds bursts, and he jerks his head back to look at the knife in the tree.
As his head pivots, a couple strands of hair come away loose from his scalp. The nick in his hair won’t be noticeable, but we both know how close that knife just came to his head. He
looks back at me alarmed.
“What the fuck? I was just reaching for my phone!” he yells at me, and I almost feel bad for scaring him… almost.
I stand up all the way, hoping he sees how nonthreatening I am now, and he reaches for his phone again, his movements slower this time. I watch him carefully as he puts the phone to his ear, his wary eyes fixed on me.
“Hey Sil, we just found a random girl sneaking around the property. She’s saying that she’s Lachlan’s niece, know anything about that?”
He smirks at me thinking he’s caught me in a lie, but I wait and watch his face fall as he gets clued in. He shoots another glance at me then looks away turning to the side.
“Shit, yeah, um, Bastien kind of just attacked her.”
Yelling squawks out from the phone, and he pulls it away from his ear.
“We didn’t know who she was; he just saw someone in a black hood roaming around in the woods, and he took off. You know how he is, attack first, ask questions later," he pauses. “Our phones were dead, we just charged them, and I haven’t checked any of my messages yet.”
Twin two looks over at me, and I can see him scan me from head to toe.
“I can’t tell, she mostly just looks wet and muddy, but Bastien tackled her pretty hard.”
Seeing that this lovely misunderstanding is getting cleared up, I start walking toward the house. My stomach grumbles angrily, making it clear it didn’t appreciate this delay.
I brush a finger over the runes on the helix of my ear to increase my hearing. I can now hear the phone conversation as if I were standing next to twin two.
“Fuck. I’m sorry Uncle Silva, we didn’t know. Tell Lachlan to stop freaking out. We’ll fix this. Yeah, I have to call Ryker anyway. Bastien’s going to need it.”
Why would Lachlan be freaking out? I thought he’d be all high-fives and baking brownies for anyone who came at me. This mentality of attack first and ask questions later obviously runs in the family, or I guess I should say coven since they’re not all blood-related. Twin two is quiet, listening to whatever Silva is saying on the other end of the phone.
“Because she kicked his ass. He’s all bloody, and his left eye is swollen shut. I think he passed out though; he’s not groaning and rocking around on the ground anymore.”
Twin two sucks in a breath.
“It’s not funny, Silva, it was fucking mental! One minute he’s tackling her, and the next she’s on top of him beating the ever-loving shit out of him. I pulled her off, and next thing I know, she pulls a bunch of knives from her ass. Like literally from her ass!" he exclaims. “She threw one at my head. Thank the moon she missed!”
“I didn’t miss!” I yell back at him and make my way up the back steps into the house. I disengage my runes and walk into the kitchen. Adelaide covers her mouth in shock when she sees the state I’m in.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine. Just had a run-in with the boys. Would you mind if I take some lunch upstairs? I’m starving, but I need to get cleaned up.”
Like the gem she is, Adelaide quickly puts together a huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. I groan it smells so good. I thank her and head up to my room, shoving unladylike bites into my mouth as I climb the stairs. I move straight into the bathroom and set my bowl of pasta on the vanity. I start to strip out of my wet and muddy clothes while I simultaneously shovel food into my mouth.
I lean towards the mirror to check out my new injuries. I have small scrapes on the left side of my face from my temple to my cheek, and some bruises are forming on my hand. I’m going to have some nasty bruises on my side from my impact with the ground.
Guess they can join the ones I already have from Lachlan choking me, and the claw marks the lamia gave me. At the rate I’m getting hit with random attacks, I’ll be one big giant bruise soon. I mumble to myself irritably as I turn on the water in the shower to just below scalding. I hop in and scrub all the mud and crap off me, then relax under the hot spray, letting it work the adrenaline and soreness from my muscles.
After about an hour in the gloriously hot shower, I convince myself to get out. I dry off and finish the last couple bites of cold spaghetti. I use my magic to dry my hair and throw it up in a messy bun. I pull on some workout leggings, a sports bra, and an oversized sleeveless tank with big, comfy armholes.
I decide to hide out in the gym for a while. If twin one is as hurt as twin two said, they might not be too happy about it. Laying low sounds like a solid plan. I grab my phone and see that I missed a couple of calls from Aydin. I text him back.
Vinna: Sorry I was in the shower when you called. Everything okay?
Aydin: You tell me? Silva filled me in on what happened with the boys, you okay?
Vinna: First of all, they are not boys, they are fully grown men! That nickname is incredibly misleading. And secondly, yep, I’m good. Can’t say the same about twin one though ;)
Aydin: LMFAO, Valen gave us a rundown of what happened…he had it coming. I’ll call you later, glad you’re okay.
I sneak out of my door, ignoring the voices I hear coming from the rooms the boys occupy. I gingerly make my way down, breathing a sigh of relief when I make it un-accosted. I sneak to the sink and wash my spaghetti bowl before anyone comes along to stop me. Victorious, I congratulate myself that no one snatched it away from me. Sisters: twelve, Vinna: one.
16
Hours later, I’m still in the gym, working through several combinations on the punching bag and jamming to Trapt’s “Headstrong.” I love working the bags, and I always save them for last, like they’re my workout dessert. I’m sweaty and buzzing with adrenaline as I move into punch-kick combos. Some sweat threatens to trickle into my eye, and I pull up the bottom of my loose tank top and wipe at my face. That’s when I notice I’ve got company.
Four hulking figures stand by the door whispering to each other like they’re playing telephone. I run my finger over the runes on my ear so I can hear what they’re saying.
“Why is there a hot chick raging in your gym?”
The question belongs to a tall guy with buzzed black hair, mocha skin, and stunning gray eyes. He has a square jaw, thick neck, and if the rest of his body is as cut as his arms, then he is all hard angles and delectably chiseled muscles. He has a very hot jock vibe about him.
“Knox, seriously, do you ever pay attention? That is Lachlan’s long-lost niece.”
“You’re telling me she’s the one who did that to your face and ribs?”
The owner of that question is shorter than the others. He’s still taller than the average guy, but shorter than the group surrounding him. He’s blond with hair almost to his shoulders. His nose and jaw are angled, but his lips are plump and soft looking. He has a defined runner’s build, and I would suspect he’s fast and agile.
His eyes are a dramatic bright blue that reminds me of Laiken’s. She had pretty blue eyes just a touch lighter than this guy’s. Melancholy blooms in me as I picture her, and I embrace it like the old friends we are.
“She’s faster and stronger than she looks,” one of the twins defends.
The twins are standing shoulder to shoulder, their wavy hair past their collarbones. It’s the color of the most decadent dark chocolate, and my fingers twitch with the need to run my fingers through it. I figured one of them would be just as bruised as me, but neither one of them looks worse off after our run in.
According to Aydin, one of them is named Valen, but I haven’t the foggiest clue which one. They stop whispering when they realize I’m no longer punishing a punching bag but watching them instead. I disengage my runes, and my hearing goes back to normal.
“Ready for round two?” I ask, only half joking while scowling at the twins. I’m not sure which one of them tackled me, so they both get a crusty look.
“Um, yeah, I’m really sorry about that,” one of the twins steps forward looking adorably bashful. “I feel shitty about what happened.”
“You don’t look like you feel shitty about what happe
ned," I say gesturing to where injuries should be visible on one of them.
He chuckles and points a thumb at the blond guy.
“That’s because Ryker fixed me up. You broke some ribs and my cheek," he murmurs, rubbing a hand against the latter.
“Well, don’t go around tackling unsuspecting women and maybe that won’t happen to you again.”
I use the bottom of my tank top to wipe more sweat from my face. When I pull it down, I watch as each of their gazes sweep back up my body and I fight a smirk. There are worse things than getting checked out by a bunch of stone chiseled eye-candy.
“You guys need something?” I ask.
“We brought Ryker to fix you up, and we thought we should introduce ourselves in a way that didn’t involve throwing punches,” one of the twins explains, finishing with a smile.
Holy shit! I thought they were hot when they wore angry or confused expressions, but a smile with full lips, straight white teeth, and a cheeky twinkle in the eye makes them worship worthy. I force myself to blink and start talking my libido down.
“I’m Bastien, the asshole who tackled you,” the twin smiling at me explains.
“I’m Valen, the better looking and less aggressive twin.”
“I’m Knox.”
“And I’m Ryker.” The blond with pillow lips takes a hesitant step forward. He holds his arms out non-threateningly like he’s approaching a wild animal. When I don’t move to bolt or hurt him, he continues to get closer. He stops about a foot away from me and pauses.
“Can I touch you?” he asks.
His tone resonates in me and goosebumps rise up on my whole body.
“That’s a loaded question," I reply, my voice sounding a bit breathier than I want.
What the hell is going on? I’m drooling like a teething baby all over these strangers, and I have no idea where that’s coming from. Your vagina, Vinna, it’s coming from your vagina. I wave off the unhelpful thought.
“It’s just to heal you,” Ryker explains, with a small chuckle.