by Chrissy Jaye
“Umm…”
Shush, girl. The words echoed in my mind, sounding distinctly male. I let out a small squeak and pulled my head back in fear.
The rest of the world bloomed behind him, as if coming into focus for the first time. Several yards away, I saw Ben and Liam chatting quietly as they stared down at my prone body, which lay in the grass. What the fuck? I looked down at my arms, trying to make sense of how I could be in two places at once.
Shaking my head, I looked back beyond them. Where there should have been a forest was a thicket of twisting thorns. In places, they glowed with a silvered purple sheen. In fact, almost everything had a shimmering quality to it.
“Am I dreaming?” I asked aloud.
The cat chuffed, grabbing my attention again. No, you’re not dreaming. This is the Thorns.
“The Thorns? What is that exactly and what are you?” I pinched myself, trying to see if I could wake up. There was a dull pain in my arm but nothing like a normal pinch. And I certainly didn’t wake up.
You’re not usually this stupid. I’m a Lynx. What does it look like? And this is the place between the worlds.
“I am not stupid!”
Exactly. So, stop acting like it. The cat yawned and started to circle me, sniffing me from head to toe. I was so short, he barely had to stretch out his neck to snuffle at my hair before dipping down to my torso. He paused briefly between my legs and I had to fight the urge to clamp my legs together. “Your flow is good. I was worried.”
“What?” I stammered, looking down. Had I started my period?
I mean your energy. Not that other thing.
“This is some Narnia shit, isn’t it?” I tried to reason. What else had it said? The place between worlds. I hadn’t meant to do that. Maybe I did need to understand some theory before I started practicing magic.
We’re about to have company, the cat told me, tipping its head to my left.
I glanced over to see Vian and Flynn striding across the lawn toward Ben and Liam. Flynn’s gazed darted in our direction for a moment before taking a seat, he leaned into Liam’s side to whisper something. I moved closer to see if I could hear what they were talking about, but it just sounded like white noise.
I know they’re all very interesting, but I only have a few minutes before something finds you, or I’m needed elsewhere.
“They’re not that interesting,” I said quickly, turning to face the cat. “Wait, what do you mean?”
It purred and brushed against my side before sitting back on its haunches again. A wave of peace swept over me. It felt so familiar and yet foreign.
Why don’t you have the girl with you? he said, leveling me with his gaze.
“What girl?” I asked dazed, trying to figure out why I wasn’t freaking out more. I was outside of my body, yet not, talking to a cat who could talk in my head. Surely that should merit freaking out a bit.
The one sent to protect you. She’s supposed to be here.
Did he mean Emma? I looked down at my hands, wringing them. “If… I… shit. She’s dead,” I managed to get out at last.
I know but, where is she? The cat licked its chops, revealing large wicked teeth. The Thorns aren’t as safe as they should be. We need to hurry.
“I…” I stammered. “I don’t know where she is now. She died. Turned to ash.”
Not her body, her essence. This is bad. She should have come to you.
There was a crashing sound in the distance, like something was breaking through the thicket. I jumped, startled by how loud it was. The lynx sprang to his feet and prowled in front of me, pinning me with his eyes every so often before he would stare at the twisted vines.
We’re out of time sooner than I expected. Listen to me. Bond with your Circle. Go nowhere without them unless you have me with you. I’ll find the girl and be back for you.
“What are you?”
I’m your guardian. Ask your Circle. They’ll explain. You have to go. The lynx stopped pacing and nuzzled into my stomach. The world lurched underneath my feet and a harsh wind ripped at my skin.
I sat up, gasping for breath, back in my body. My wide eyes met Liam’s brown ones. “I have a cat,” I breathed, frantically looking around, waiting for something to jump out of the woods.
Flynn chuckled. “I told you that,” he said, his voice bringing me back from the edge of hysteria.
“No… I mean, I met him. I think. Why is my head spinning?”
“Umm, guys, should that be happening,” my twin asked, pointing down to my hands. The grass under my palms was dying quickly, spreading out in a dark circle. My palms tingled, and a rush of something swept through me. The dizziness abated. I shrieked and pulled my hands up, staring at them and then back at the ground.
“Wow,” Ben breathed. I lifted my eyes to meet his. He stared at me with a reverence I found unsettling. “I can barely believe it and I watched it happen. No wonder you barely eat. You’ve been living off the earth.”
“What’s happening to me?” I squeaked.
His eyes softened. “You pulled energy from the ground to save yourself from burn-out on instinct. Most people wouldn’t think to do that.” I turned to Liam and Flynn. Liam just gaped at me, but Flynn… he was unreadable.
“Family meeting,” Flynn barked out, standing abruptly. He reached down and grasped my hands and jerked me upright before leading me into the house.
“Tell me again what he said,” Ben asked again.
I sighed in exasperation and explained it all again. Everyone stared at me with varying degrees of disbelief. All except Flynn who seemed to be getting frustrated with everyone else.
“He said that we needed to bond, well specifically me. And that I couldn’t be alone. That Emma was important somehow and…” I clutched my head between my hands. “I’m trying not to freak out here. I just had a full-blown conversation with a cat.”
“About that,” Ben said. I looked up to see that look in his eyes again and cringed.
“We all have guardians to an extent,” Kieran cut across him with a look. “I think Ben is just surprised by yours.”
“How do you even get a guardian?” I asked.
“They’re asked when we’re born. There’s a ceremony immediately after birth. The first being you bond with is your guardian. Then your parents,” Ben explained.
“So, I’ve always had this…cat guardian, thing,” I was going around in circles.
“I admit, I haven’t read up much on them so I can’t say for sure,” Ben said, chagrined.
“How is that not magic!?” I blinked rapidly before slamming my eyes shut. Everything I learned just brought more questions and it frustrated the hell out of me.
I opened my eyes again when I heard someone get up. Brooke moved from her seat and crouched in front of me. “Take a deep breath, babe.” I did as she said. I hadn’t realized how close I was getting to hysteria. My pulse thrummed in my fingertips. My breathing was erratic. I was hot all over.
“It’s not magic. Or maybe it is,” Kieran finally conceded. Liam sneered at him but didn’t say anything. “We’ve been raised on this as a science. What I do know about guardians is that the stronger ones have a physical body somewhere. But they can be away from it for long periods of time.”
Ben’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “I didn’t know that. Where did you learn that?”
Kieran smirked, clearly happy to know something Ben didn’t. “Mom has several books about them in her library. I’m sure she’ll let you borrow them.”
“I think Livvy needs a break,” Lucien said behind his hands. He was leaning forward, his eyes on me with his fingers steepled in front of his mouth. “Why don’t we get some lunch and then we can all practice Arts together. We’re all supposed to bond with her, according to her guardian. We haven’t been doing enough.” He stood, pulling Liam up with him.
“What does that entail?” I asked, focusing on my hands, trying not to clench them into fists.
“It means,” Lucien sa
id over his shoulder as he dragged his brother behind him, “that you’re going to have to get comfortable with being touched a lot more.” Tossing a wink at me as he went.
Fuck me…wait, no. Don’t fuck me.
I groaned as they left the room, watching Liam’s back disappear through the doorway. It was Liam who was freaking me out the most. He’d been quiet throughout the whole meeting. Barely even looked at me. Like he was almost afraid of me or something. It bothered me, if that was the case.
“It’s fine. He’ll snap out of it,” Vian whispered to me. I shook my head. It wasn’t fine at all. I was usually the one afraid of people. Not the other way around.
Everyone left except Flynn. I was waiting for him to leave. I just wanted a moment alone. Time to digest what had happened.
The couch dipped next to me and I startled, looking up to the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. Heat rolled off him like a wave as his gaze bore into my own. He had an intense way of looking at people. I wanted to smooth it away, get him to relax. He was intense by nature, but I had seen a different side to him too. The side that had allowed me to open up and didn’t push for more than I’d been ready to give.
For the first time—possibly ever—I reached up and touched him first. If I had to bond with them, might as well start now. My palm cradled his face and I could feel my own expression soften. I had no idea what I was doing. Internally, I was on the verge of another freak out, but I forced myself to remain calm.
His eyes morphed from intense to something else as a shadow passed through them. Like he was uncertain. If he rejected me right now, I’d lose whatever courage I had managed to work up. My heart beat heavily while I waited for him to say something scathing or to shove my hand away. The seconds ticked by, long enough for me to start trembling and consider dropping my hand.
“I hate the walls you have up,” he finally admitted, leaning into my palm. I held my breath, afraid that if I said something, whatever was happening between us would break. I was so out of my depth here. I didn’t do feelings well. Didn’t get attached to people. I’d lost the luxury to care about them long ago. If I cared, then they could hurt me. Brooke’s words came back to me, bad shit happened to good people and I had to stop running from my hurt.
“I’ll try harder,” I whispered, dropping my palm, as I swallowed around the dryness in my throat.
“No. That’s not…” His eyes closed and he turned his head away. “Never mind.”
“Lunch!” Lucien shouted from the kitchen.
I stood and grabbed Flynn’s arm, giving it a tug. “Come on. You’re not you when you’re hungry,” I quipped, trying to lighten the mood. He smiled at my joke and I had to fight my own smile in return.
Finding a stool in the kitchen was easy as only Ben and Lucien were there. Flynn trailed in behind me and leaned back against the counter next to me.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Remember that surprise I mentioned this morning? You’ll find out tonight,” Lucien said with a smile. He brought me a cup of juice and set a monstrous sandwich in front of me, loaded down with turkey, tomato, and romaine lettuce.
I eyed it warily. There was no way I’d finish it. “We really need to talk about wasting food,” I remarked, picking it up gingerly.
“No, what we need to talk about is eating right,” Lucien said neutrally. “You don’t eat enough. And that changes. Today.” He tapped the counter with a long finger and pierced me with a stare, one eyebrow cocked upward, daring me to challenge him. He turned his head to the other two. “Give us a minute.”
“Right, lecture her about eating but deny us the pleasure,” Flynn muttered as he strode from the room.
Ben shook his head at Flynn’s retreating back. “He knows they took food up. I swear…” He offered me a smile before leaving.
I turned my head in Lucien’s direction. “I don’t eat a lot. I’m tiny. It’s not a crime,” I said defensively. Then for good measure, because he was still staring at me, I took a bite of my food.
“Look, technically it’s Brooke’s job to make sure everyone is eating right, but for some reason she doesn’t like pushing you. The rest of us don’t give a fuck. Well, we do, but fuck, Doll. Just eat. It makes me happy.”
“You know those points you earned earlier?” I asked around another bite.
Lucien snorted and shook his head. “I don’t give a fuck about points. You like me so you’ll eat.”
I huffed. He wasn’t exactly wrong. I did like him and the others. Maybe too much.
“What exactly is bonding?” I asked, changing the subject.
Lucien leaned on the counter, a crooked smile on his face. “Every time people touch, they exchange energy, even humans. There’s a percentage of people who get goosebumps from it. They’re most likely descended from Entwined and have no idea. With a circle, because we resonate at the same frequency, our energy moves through each other, almost completely unnoticeable.” He reached forward and grabbed one of my hands in his. “Right now, you feel nothing. But if I were to…” My hand started to feel warm and my core clenched against my will. I gasped and jerked my fingers from his grasp. He smiled wider at me and I wondered if he knew what he’d done. “In time, we’ll develop unique skills as our natural Arts blend. We have a while for that yet. But I’d prepare yourself for the exchanges.
Fuck, I groaned internally. If all exchanges felt like that, I was in serious trouble.
Chapter 18
The only reason I emerged from the house in a skimpy tank top and tight yoga pants after lunch was because I promised Flynn that I’d try harder. Brooke had insisted I change as practicing Arts was hard work and I’d hate how sweaty I was afterward.
Me? I was more worried about this forced bonding. I just couldn’t seem to get over my personal issues with anyone else touching me. I’d been better about it than I ever had before, but Brooke made it very clear what to expect as we got changed for our workout by grabbing my hands every few minutes. And then linking arms with me as we made our way outside. I began to relax when the same reaction didn’t happen with Brooke.
At the back door, I’d paused. It was with reluctance that she let my arm slip through hers as we observed the guys already stretching on the lawn, I looked for my brother noting that he wasn’t out here yet. The sight of all that exposed muscle was distracting and intimidating, especially since most of them weren’t wearing shirts. I gulped as my eyes swept over them.
“It’ll be fine,” Brooke said after it became clear I wasn’t going to move on my own.
All of them turned toward us when they heard her voice and I wanted to shrivel up and die right on the spot. I’d never been the type of girl to pant after a guy, let alone five at once. Evan was a temporary loss of my sanity; one I got over quickly before swearing guys off indefinitely.
Vian came out as Brooke led me blindly over to where they were. Liam immediately went into instructor mode, taking us through several stretches, most of which my high school gym teacher had never taken me through.
“Kitten, pay attention,” Liam barked.
My head snapped in his direction as I blushed, knowing he’d just caught me staring at Ben’s abs as he stretched his arms in the air.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“It’s fine,” he said, smirking at me. Oh yeah, he definitely caught me staring. Fucking kill me. “As I was saying, once you learn how to control your body with the right alignments and enough will, you can do pretty much anything you can imagine. Our potential is always expanding.”
Nodding, I continued stretching. Liam was beside me, showing me the best way to loosen up my muscles as he explained the theory. I made more effort to listen to his words, but I was starting to get a bit distracted by the muscles in his arm. Especially when he raked a hand through his blonde hair. He caught sight of my face and reached forward to tap my chin. “You’re doing that thing with your mouth again,” he chuckled. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been talking about?”
My mouth smacked shut, unwilling to correct him about the expression on my face. If he wanted to think it was my confused face, I’d let him. He didn’t need to know what I was confused about. He winked at me before he launched into another explanation.
What the fuck was wrong with me? I’d been fine this morning but now I couldn’t seem to stop staring at them. It had nothing to do with their tight athletic wear or flashy muscles. Or the fact that I could clearly tell Flynn wasn’t wearing underwear.
With an internal sigh, I ripped my eyes away from the man in question and cut Liam off. “Do I really need to know the theory to practice?”
Ben turned toward us, cocking his head in thought before answering. “Technically, no. It helps, but really you just need to think about what you want to happen and position yourself in a way that lets the energy flow. Any form would do, but we train so it becomes muscle memory.” His eyelashes fluttered in the sunlight as he spoke, drawing all my attention to his face, but I found myself staring at his mouth. His bottom lip was fuller than the top, with a slight indent when he spoke.
Yep. My expression had nothing to do with him talking because I understood what he was saying. For the second time, I clamped my mouth shut. To my right, Flynn snorted and leaned into Lucien with a smug grin on his face. They whispered back and forth. Those fuckers. Those beautiful, sexy, shirtless…
No. Stop right there.
My tongue darted between my lips as I forced my attention back on Liam. “Let’s just run through some forms then. I’m never going to be good at understanding this stuff if I don’t do it for myself.”
“Wait, so you’re a tactile learner?” Ben asked, a thoughtful look on his face.
“Umm, yes, no, maybe, sure, why not?” I answered as I spread out on the grass and stretched my calves. Liam came around behind and put his hands in the middle of my back.
“Grab your toe,” he said quietly, kneeling behind me before he applied pressure with his hands causing me to lean forward more.