by Ivy Asher
It sounds like he just recited a slogan of some sort, and I’m not sure what to say. I just told him I could handle myself, but he’s decided I’m wrong. I can protect myself just fine you presumptuous fucker.
“Sabin, you can turn your dad mode off," I suggest, a little irritated.
I hear Knox snicker and then cough to cover it up.
“I can’t speak for other caster females, but I can speak for myself, just like I can protect myself. I don’t need anyone to do that for me.”
I look around the group and continue.
“How they’ve been treating me, it makes me feel like I belong, like I’m part of the group. I like it, it makes me feel safe and secure, and with everything I’ve been dealing with, I need that more than anything. I’m comfortable with what’s happening. Like I said before, if I have an issue with something I’ll speak up, I promise.”
Sabin doesn’t say anything else, but I can tell he still doesn’t really agree with me. That’s fine. He’ll get to know me more and realize that I mean what I say. I smile at him and squeeze Valen on his shoulder. Bastien breaks the silence with a loud clap and starts tossing out instructions to the other guys about what to unload.
“Do we want to swim before or after food?” Bastien asks the group.
“I vote for both.”
“I’m with Vinna I vote for both," Knox agrees.
The rest of the boys all make affirming noises and start stripping off shirts and shoes, and I find myself completely absorbed in watching them do it. I giggle to myself, see, I fit right in… I’m a perv too.
“Whatchya smiling about, Bruiser?”
“Wouldn’t you love to know,” I challenge, batting my lashes coquettishly at Bastien.
I mentally file away the image of these half-naked examples of perfection, to be reviewed at a later, more private time. I kick off my shoes and take my bag off. I start to unbutton my shorts when Bastien grabs me and throws me over his shoulder. He starts running toward the water.
“Bastien no, let me take my clothes off first!” I squeal.
He ignores me and wades thigh deep before he throws me in. He is one strong fucker because it feels like I fly ten feet before I hit the water. My air time gives me plenty of opportunities to take in a big deep breath before I’m submerged.
I hold my breath, getting my bearings and swim stealthily back towards Bastien. I hear a surprised yelp when I grab his foot and yank on it. He loses his balance and falls back into the water. I break the surface laughing, and rush away from him.
I run out of the water and take off my now sopping clothes. I find the t-shirt that Bastien was wearing and lay it flat in the grass. I put my wet shirt and shorts on top of it, giggling at what his reaction will be when he realizes what I’ve done. Ryker and Sabin both watch what I’m doing, and I wink at them conspiratorially.
The twins and Knox are all splashing each other but suddenly stop when I’m walking towards the water.
“What? Are you waiting for a Baywatch moment?” I jest. “Because I’m not going to slow-mo run for you. Especially you, Valen, you’ve had enough boob action today.”
They all start laughing, and I even wrench a chuckle from Sabin before he shakes his head like he’s mentally chastising himself. I wade back into the water with Sabin and Ryker behind me. I look back and catch Ryker focusing on my lower half.
“Not you too Ryker?”
He looks up, and a blush spreads across his cheeks and neck. “I swear I was just looking at your runes.”
Ryker holds his hands up in a gesture of innocence. Sabin passes me, mumbling something, and I turn to watch his hot, grumpy ass dive into the water. I feel Ryker’s chest against my back, and he leans in, his mouth next to my ear.
“I guess it’s lucky for me that you have runes on your ass.”
I gasp in fake outrage and swat Ryker’s ass as he walks by me laughing.
“Uh oh, Vinna has opened the ass slapping door," he announces to the other guys. “She just swatted my butt, so hers is fair game now.”
I put my hands over my butt cheeks and laugh, sinking into the water.
“I don’t make the rules, Vinna I just follow them," Ryker adds, faux innocence dripping from his words.
19
The day is getting even hotter, and the water feels nice against the punishing warmth. We swim around for hours, playing chicken and racing each other. I take out all of the guys in chicken, and I can tell that they were seriously trying hard to win. When it comes to racing, the twins stomp us all, no contest.
I start to shiver in the water, and my teeth are chattering so I climb out to dry off and get warmed up. The guys are still playing, and I start rummaging, hungry, through the packs and cooler to set out the picnic. I get everything accessible and call them in to eat. We all crowd onto the blanket and start digging in.
I take a bite of a sandwich and moan. It’s delicious.
“Did one of you guys make this or do I have the sisters to thank?”
“The sisters," they all admit in unison.
“I swear, every time I eat something they’ve made it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Every single time; how is that possible?”
The guys chuckle.
“I’m going to have to start doing two-a-days in the gym just to counteract their good cooking," I say absently.
“Just start using your magic more, that burns a ton of calories," Knox tells me.
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Aside from fighting and my runes, I’m not sure what other things my magic can even do. I don’t know how to use it except for little things here and there," I admit.
“Has Lachlan put in a request for you to have your reading?” Sabin queries.
“Yeah, some guy in Europe is coming to do it, said he’d be here in a couple of weeks.”
“Tearson is doing your reading?” Ryker asks, surprise and something akin to reverence in his voice.
“I don’t know the guy’s name, Lachlan just said that he was in Europe.”
I reply, before shoving another bite of sandwich in my mouth. Ryker stares at me a bit longer with curiosity before he remembers the food in his hand.
“So, what’s with the caster females are all delicate flowers mentality that some people seem to have?” I ask.
The curiosity has been bubbling inside of me since Sabin’s lecture this morning. So far, no one other than him has really treated me like that.
The paladin can’t seem to decide how they feel about me, but the other guys seemed fine to treat me like one of them.
“Well it stems from a couple of things, I guess. One is that there are far fewer female casters than there are male casters--.”
“Why is that?” I interject.
“Unfortunately, female casters have taken the biggest hit when it comes to things like inquisitions, witch trials, and any of the other innumerable events where women were killed for being different or more powerful. Because of that, casters in general almost died out. So, when female casters were born, they were fiercely protected and hidden in an effort to keep our race alive," Sabin explains solemnly.
“The current situation isn’t so dire; the ratio is now probably one female for every six or so male casters. However, that mentality of protect, shelter, and revere has now become embedded in our culture," Ryker adds.
“Not to mention that females are now used to males and covens fighting over them and bending over backward to keep them happy. There’s a certain expectation from females about how they should be treated and what their value is.”
“The delicate flower syndrome isn’t just perpetuated by male casters," Bastien explains. “You’re lucky because Lachlan is the kind of caster that will support any decisions you make when it comes to your magic or the mates that you choose.”
I scoff at what is clearly a delusional assessment of Lachlan being supportive or letting me make any decisions. So far that has not been my experience.
“Many female casters are more
controlled. If not by their families, then by the elders. The stronger the magic in a female, the more the elders will try to match her up with a strong or prominent coven of male casters. There’s a lot of politics and matchmaking that goes on," Bastien continues.
“What do you mean by mates?” I query.
“Female casters take more than one mate," Valen answers cautiously.
“What the fuck?” I ask, with a high pitched squeak. I clear my throat and try again, aiming for less spastic. “I mean, excuse me?”
“No one’s explained this to you?” Ryker asks me, surprised.
“Uhhh, no.”
“Well, because of the skewed ratio of females to males, it became customary for female casters to bind with multiple mates. This allows multiple bloodlines to continue on and not die out. Casters are polyandrous. We all thought you knew," Valen fills in.
Holy shit! Maybe my theory that magic has something to do with my sudden attraction to multiple men isn’t so farfetched. Fuck yes, I don’t have to feel wrong for wanting them…all of them. Well, maybe not Sabin-- oh who am I kidding, I’d pounce on him, too. I’d just duct tape his mouth so I could stare at him without having to listen to him say rude, antiquated, sexist shit.
“So how does it work? You said there is a lot of matchmaking and other things that go into it. Does that mean you date? Like, does a female caster date a group or does she date multiple individuals until she collects all the ones she wants… like a bouquet of males?”
I chuckle at the visual.
“I suppose there’s no real one way that bonds are made. Typically, a coven that is already formed will start looking for a compatible mate. We start piecing together our covens as teenagers. We all grow up together for the most part, and we naturally start to form relationships with casters that have skills that complement our own.”
Sabin gestures to the guys all around him.
“We grew up as friends, but after our readings, when we knew we all wanted to be paladin, we were approved to come together to form a coven. Mates can work similarly. We grow up knowing the females in our community. The elders usually have an idea of the pairings that they want and will facilitate a coven’s interaction with appropriate females.”
“Plus, different areas around the world have different elders, and they all interact with each other and help set up matches that way, too," Knox tells me.
I cringe. Well, that sounds like a creepy meat market. It all seems so clinical to me. A bunch of elders gathered together and trading people like baseball cards.
“Does that mean you guys are paired up already?” I blurt, feeling annoyed and a little panicked.
I want to slap my hand against my forehead. I’ve known this group for like a day. Yeah, I want to pounce like a hungry raptor on each and every one of them, but that’s just sexual attraction. I don’t want to get married, or bind, or whatever the fuck it’s called.
I sure as hell am not ready to be having little magic babies. Casters make the females sound like fragile broodmares. Professional baby maker is not exactly what I envision for my future.
“We’ve been pushed in the direction of a couple of females, but they didn’t fit with us the way we wanted. We’ve all decided we’d rather not bind than settle," Bastien answers.
He looks like he wants to say more but doesn’t, and I catch him exchange a look that I can’t interpret with Valen.
Bastien’s revelation sends a shit-ton of relief coursing through me. The onslaught of that specific emotion creates a solid argument that some part of me does want a claim on these guys, and that freaks me out. It’s too soon for me to feel that way.
We seem to click, but I don’t know them well enough to envision anything long term, and I don’t want to mistake sexual attraction with long-term compatibility. When I look up, they’re all caught up in some kind of silent conversation amongst themselves. Sabin seems to get surlier as it progresses and I’m getting more confused.
I’m clearly out of the loop, which seems to be the story of my life these days. I decide this discussion has gotten way too serious, so I stand up--a mischievous grin stretched wide across my face.
“Last one in the water is a slave for the day!” I shout, sprinting towards the water before I even finish the sentence.
I hear a scuffle behind me, and once I’m in the water, I turn around to catch them battling and manhandling each other as they all rush toward the lake. I’m laughing so hard as I watch Bastien pick Knox up and fireman carry him, in a last ditch effort not to be the last one to touch the water. It works, and Bastien gets his feet wet before Knox can escape the hold.
“Noooooo!” Knox screams and shakes his fists at the sky like he’s acting out a dramatic scene from a movie.
Laugh-tears are streaming down my face, and I’m holding onto my side, which now has a stitch in it. Valen scoops me up in his arms and starts carrying me out of the water.
“To the rope swings we go!”
20
I’m riding piggyback on Knox pretending to whip him and urging him to run faster. We run through the garage into the house, and I can feel and hear his laughter as we slide into the kitchen and slam right into Evrin.
“You’re back!” I squeak in surprise.
Knox doesn’t put me down, and Evrin gives me an awkward high five in greeting. I haven’t talked to any of the paladin, other than Aydin since they left and I’m not sure what the dynamic will be like now that they’re back.
“Well you all look as thick as thieves," I hear Aydin bellow as he rounds the corner into the living room. I jump off Knox’s back and start slow motion running towards Aydin.
“What are you doing?” he asks me with a chuckle.
“They always do this in the movies when there’s a reunion. I’m just recreating cinematic gold," I tell him.
Aydin laughs and starts mirroring my ridiculous slow-motion run. We meet in the middle, and he picks me up and twirls me. Rumbling laughter spills over to us from the kitchen at our antics.
I turn to the guys. “Guess you got your slo-mo run after all," I tease and they laugh even harder.
“We could have used some of your skills on this assignment, Little Badass," Aydin tells me as he sets me back down on my feet.
“Feel free to take me next time then," I reply not missing a beat, but shocked that he’d want to include me in what they do.
“Looks like you’ve forgiven the boys for their attack," He observes and shoots an exaggerated glare over my shoulder. I look behind me, and the twins are looking everywhere but at Aydin and fidgeting.
“I still think we should punish them," Silva declares, as he walks over and gives the twins a bear-hug. He hugs the rest of the guys and looks over at me. “What do you think, Vinna?”
I bring the tips of my fingers together adopting a nefarious pose. “Tell me more," I cackle evilly, and Silva laughs.
“You kids go get cleaned up. We’re going to eat in about an hour," Lachlan--the party pooper--swoops in breaking up the fun. He also hugs all of the guys, and it’s painfully awkward when he doesn’t acknowledge me at all. Yep, he’s still anti-me. Good to know.
I shake my head, refortifying some of the defenses I let drop while the paladin were gone.
I leap onto Knox’s back, trying not to let Lachlan’s and Silva’s slight get to me. He catches me like I weigh nothing.
“To my room, trusty steed," I order, and Knox does a lap around the kitchen island before running through the living room.
I dry myself off from the long shower I just indulged in, when I walk into my closet and freeze.
“What the fuck?” I shout in shock and look around confused.
My closet is completely, and inexplicably, filled with clothes. I pull open my underwear drawer, and it’s full of new underwear, the different styles labeled and separated. I start pulling all of the drawers open and find new bras, new swimsuits, new skimpy things to sleep in. I roll my eyes at that drawer. I’ll stick with tank top
s and t-shirts, thank you very much.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Valen, Sabin, and Ryker all ask in unison as they tumble into my closet.
Aydin comes running in not far behind the guys asking the same questions. I just sweep my arm towards all the clothes in the closet. The guys still look confused, but Aydin quickly realizes what’s going on.
“Um, did magic fairies break into my closet and replace everything?”
Now clued into what I’m distressed about, the guys look around and huff in amusement.
“These are the things we ordered the other day, remember?” Aydin explains.
“Holy shit Aydin, this is a little overboard don’t you think?”
I pull out a light pink lace bustier and matching panties from a drawer.
“Why do I need these?” I ask him waving the scandalous set in front of him.
Aydin blushes and quickly looks away. "I did tell her to get everything she thought a female should have,” Aydin chuckles awkwardly.
“Holy crap, I don’t even know what to do with all of this?” I whisper overwhelmed, and run my fingers through my wet hair in exasperation.
I spin around taking it all in. I spot the rack of new shoes and boots, all of them are flats and totally awesome. Things are arranged by season, and inside each season section, outfits have already been put together.
“Do you like it? Will this work for you?” Aydin asks, sounding a little insecure.
I realize that my shocked ranting is sounding extremely ungrateful, and I mentally slap myself. “I’m sorry. I sound like a complete ungrateful bitch. What’s not to like? It’s incredible!” I tell him and genuinely mean it. “Thank you, Aydin.” I hold my arm out, and we bump knuckles.
“Anything for you, Little Badass,” Aydin, declares and disappears out of the doorway.
“I can’t believe this," I say to the guys in awe.
“He’s taking care of you Vinna, that’s all,” Sabin tells me, with a satisfied smile and leaves.