I gazed at him, dumbfounded. “Uh …”
Aaron sat up, wheezing, his face red from exertion.
“Just to be clear, Tori,” he panted as Ezra placed the barbell on the rack, “I was at the end of my set before you came in. I don’t normally need a rescue.”
“Sure,” I agreed absently. Frowning, I crossed the room to the bench. The guys watched me examine the setup, then step into Ezra’s spot and grasp the bar loaded with weights.
“Um, Tori—” Aaron began.
I pulled. It felt like pulling on a piece of steel embedded in concrete. Teeth gritted, I strained to shift it. The barbell didn’t budge.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
“It wouldn’t be exercise if it were easy,” Aaron pointed out. “I’d be happy to help you start weight training, but don’t yank on that or you’ll hurt yourself.”
“But …” I looked from the weights to Ezra. “You …”
He blinked. “Me?”
Yes, him. He’d lifted that immovable hunk of metal like it was made of papier-mâché. I pursed my lips at the barbell. Maybe it wasn’t that difficult to move for guys as fit as them, and Aaron had only struggled because he’d been at the end of his endurance.
Aaron poked at my sweater, breaking my trance. “What’s with the getup?”
“I’m in disguise. Who knows if MagiPol is scoping out your house?”
“It’s a possibility, to be honest. It’s not a good idea for you to be here.”
Hurt cut through me. I folded my arms angrily. “Well, maybe I wouldn’t have had to come by if you’d bothered to contact me. I’ve been sitting around for days, not knowing what’s happening or if I’ll ever see you again, while you’ve been going on like nothing is wr—”
“Tori,” Ezra interrupted, his tone unexpectedly sharp. “I told you this was temporary.”
His obvious displeasure surprised me. He was normally impossible to offend. I opened my mouth, then closed it.
Aaron hopped off the bench and slung an arm around me. “Well, you’re here now! Damn, I’ve missed you.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re sweaty.”
“That happens with exercise. We’re two hours into our routine.”
My mouth fell open. “Two hours? Why are you doing such a big workout so early?”
“Early? We started late today.” He steered me toward the stairs. “We’d normally go for another hour, but we can cut it short today. We still need to do a cooldown, though.”
I did some easy math in my head. “A three-hour workout? Is it a special fitness day or something?”
“We train like this almost every day.”
Whoa. Seriously? How did they have time for that much exercise when—
“Wait. Is that why you guys never show up anywhere before mid-afternoon?”
“Did you think we slept twelve hours a day?”
Maybe. “So you’re saying you work out for hours every morning?”
“Yep,” he said, releasing me as we entered the kitchen. Ezra came in after us and tossed Aaron the water bottle he’d carried up. The pyromage took a long drink before continuing. “We need to be in top condition to withstand the drain of our magic. Any mage worth anything trains like an athlete.”
I’d heard that before, but I had given little thought to how much training Elementaria required—especially to be at the top of their class.
“We need to do a cooldown, then shower,” Aaron added. “Give us a few minutes.”
He leaned down to kiss me. I tilted my face up and his lips brushed mine, then he was hurrying back downstairs. Ezra started to follow.
“Ezra!” His name popped from my lips against my better judgment.
He glanced back, head angled so he could see me with his right eye.
I bit my lip. Was I seeing things that weren’t there? But no, awkwardness lurked in his silence. Something I’d said had upset him.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted.
His eyebrows pulled together. “For what?”
“I don’t know.” I wrung my hands together. “But you’re mad at me and I’m sorry.”
His mismatched eyes softened. “I’m not angry, Tori. It’s just that I promised you this was all temporary, and you didn’t believe me. That sucked to hear.”
“I …” I swallowed. “I didn’t mean to not believe you. I just know how these things always play out.”
“How do they always play out?”
My gaze dropped to the floor. “I lose my job and all my new friends forget about me.”
“Do you really think we’re like those other people?”
I peeked up at him, the intensity of his question catching me off guard. So fast I wondered if I’d imagined his solemn tone, he gave me a quick smile and disappeared down the stairs.
Blinking at the empty doorway, I rubbed a bewildered hand over my mouth. Morning-Ezra was full of surprises.
He was cagey about his past, but I was too, so I didn’t ask questions. What I did know was that Ezra could beat anyone at video games, liked mountain scenery, read thrillers and police procedurals, watched Game of Thrones religiously, disliked Harry Potter for some reason I’d never understand, picked bell peppers out of his food, couldn’t cook a meal without breaking a dish—half blind, remember?—and fell asleep partway through most movies.
I knew way more than that—the little things, the day-to-day things—but when it came to the important stuff, I was left in the dark. None of the guys would let me in. Even Aaron, who I was supposed to be dating, didn’t talk about his childhood, his family, his future, his ambitions, or his wildest dreams.
Was I as much their friend as I thought I was?
Lost in thought, I wandered into the living room and sat on the sofa. A few minutes later, my anxious reverie was interrupted by Aaron, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, rubbing a towel over his dripping hair. I hadn’t heard the shower running in the main-level bathroom, so he must’ve used the downstairs bathroom—a mythical place I had never seen.
“Did you show up just because you missed us?” Aaron joked as though no time had passed. He pulled the towel off his head and smiled roguishly. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course I missed you.”
He blinked, startled by my honesty. He must’ve expected a smartass comeback.
“Give me an update,” I ordered. “What’s happened with the MPD? Did you go to your summons? What about the charges against Ezra?”
Tossing his towel on the coffee table, Aaron flopped onto the sofa beside me. “The investigation? Let’s see. Kai and I went to our summons on Monday. It was easy to rearrange the story to make it seem like the Rivers revealed Nadine’s situation instead of you.”
I nodded earnestly. “Speaking of Kai, where is he?”
“Took his lady-of-the-week out for lunch.”
Glad to see all the chaos surrounding the guild wasn’t interfering with Kai’s love life. I kept forgetting he was a complete player who dated multiple women at once but never for more than a few weeks. He just didn’t seem like a womanizer.
“How could he skip his workout?” I asked jokingly.
“He didn’t. The asshole got up at six.”
“Oh.” I shuddered. “That sounds horrific.”
“Agreed.” Aaron pondered for a moment. “Back to the investigation, Darius had a meeting with the MPD and convinced them to drop the ‘excessive force’ charges against Ezra since a kid’s life was at stake. They’re still searching for you, but Kai and Darius came up with a great cover story that’s thrown the MPD off your trail.”
“Nice! What’s the story?”
“Probably better you don’t know it, in case they ever question you.” He straightened out of his slouch. “That’s basically it. The investigation is ongoing, but when they can’t find ‘Patricia Erikson,’ they’ll post a bounty and be done with it. Then we’ll be back to normal.”
Ezra had said that too, but my doubts remained firmly entrenched.
I blinked. “My turn?”
“Yeah. Something brought you over here first thing. Spill it.”
Right. Hoping to start off on a light note, I dramatically declared, “Last night, my house was invaded by witches.”
As I spoke, the door to the basement stairs clacked. Then—
“Witches?”
I looked toward Ezra’s voice and my mind went blank. Totally blank.
“Dude.” Aaron’s voice barely penetrated my daze. “Why are you naked?”
He wasn’t naked. A towel was wrapped around his lean hips, but aside from that, he was clothed only in glistening droplets, the water clinging to every inch of his smooth bronze skin and hard muscles.
“I forgot to bring clean clothes down with me,” Ezra said. “Tori, what do you mean witches invaded your house?”
Along with his mouthwatering musculature, his scars were on full display—three parallel white lines that raked up one hip, across his stomach, and stopped at his sternum. I’d seen them once before, but they looked more terrible than I’d remembered—the lines thicker and more jagged.
I hauled my gawking stare off him and over to Aaron. Eyes on Aaron. Yes. I was dating Aaron, and I would not be that girl.
“Witches!” Hearing a faint note of panic in my voice, I cleared my throat. “They asked the local fae for a friendly witch and got pointed in my direction.”
“You’re not a witch,” Aaron observed dryly. If he’d noticed my punched-in-the-throat expression, he wasn’t showing it.
“They thought I was.” I stared intently into Aaron’s gorgeous big blues. Ezra needed to put clothes on. Why was he standing there in his towel? Him being completely unaware of his good looks was clearly a problem.
Desperate to stay focused, I spoke at top speed. “They said fae have been going missing in Stanley Park for the last four months and they think it’s the work of black witches but no other guild will help them so they asked me but I told them I couldn’t agree to anything but they somehow misunderstood and now they think the Crow and Hammer will investigate and—” I ran out of breath and had to gasp for air. “And that’s about it.”
Aaron gave a slow blink. “You told them we’d investigate?”
“No. Definitely not. I said I’d tell you about it but I couldn’t promise anything.” I grimaced. “At least, I think that’s what I said.”
“You think?”
“I might have been a little drunk.”
“Drunk?” Ezra repeated in surprise.
I almost looked at him again but resisted. Oh my god, go get some damn clothes!
“Why were you drunk?” Aaron asked.
“I did a few shots to go with my cleaning spree. I had nothing else to do.”
Sympathy flickered in his expression. “We should’ve snuck out to see you.”
Damn right they should have, but I’d already made myself seem pathetic enough. “Whatever. It’s fine.”
Aaron rubbed his jaw. “So, the coven expects us to investigate the fae disappearances?”
I wilted. “Sorry.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “We send you home on vacation, and you turn around and sign us up for a job. Well played.”
My lips quirked into a smile. I’d known Aaron would laugh—and Kai wasn’t here to yell at me.
I snuck a peek at the other end of the living room, but Ezra had vanished—presumably upstairs to find clothes. About goddamn time. I’d seen him close to naked before, but not all wet and glistening and—
No, not thinking about that.
“Anyway!” I said brightly. “I did my best to handle it. Now it’s your problem.”
“Thanks, Tori. Appreciate your effort.” His grin melted into thoughtfulness. “Everyone else turned them down, eh? That’s weird. We aren’t the only guild with witches on the roster.”
“The O-sisters claim they even asked Odin’s Eye, but they passed based on money.”
“No surprise there. Odin’s Eye are bounty specialists. They don’t get out of bed for anything less than five figures.”
Footsteps thumped quietly down the stairs, then Ezra appeared in jeans and a thin V-neck t-shirt. As he sat on the armchair, Aaron dusted his hands together.
“All right, Tori. Let’s take it from the top. Tell us everything they told you.”
I ran through all the details, then let the guys mull it over.
“It’s strange,” Ezra finally said. “That many missing fae isn’t something MagiPol would ignore. There must be a posting for it, so why would the other guilds refuse to investigate?”
“There’s definitely more going on here,” Aaron agreed. “And I’ve got to wonder which cards those witches were trying to play.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The witches may have approached you thinking that if they could convince one guild member, a sympathetic witch, to accept the job, it would force the entire guild to follow up.”
“But we have five witches.” Ezra scrubbed his fingers through his damp curls. “Reaching out to them would’ve been easier. Why approach Tori?”
“I wondered that too,” I muttered. More so after sobering up, but no need to mention that.
“Maybe they know more about Tori than they let on,” Ezra continued thoughtfully. “What if they know she’s inexperienced and thought she’d be easier to manipulate?”
My eyes narrowed. “Manipulate” was one of my least favorite words in the dictionary, especially when I was on the receiving end.
Aaron nodded. “Seems unlikely that any fae would call her a witch. They’d know better than anyone she’s not.”
“You think the witches know I’m human, and they came to me because I’d be easier to trick?” My hands balled into fists. “I thought witches were all sweet and nature-loving and shit.”
“They’re people, and all people can be assholes. It wasn’t necessarily malicious. I think we need to know why the other guilds hung them out to dry.”
Ezra replied in a murmur and they began discussing theories, but I wasn’t listening. I was too busy seething. Those witches had put on a real good act, but they’d been way too cool about my drunken state and way too happy to explain everything to me—things a mythic should have known. It made perfect sense: they knew I was human, or at least inexperienced, and they’d used me.
Once again, I was the useless human. Why couldn’t I have been born a mythic too? Being back with the guys was driving my desperate desire for inclusion even deeper.
As Aaron headed upstairs in search of a laptop, I tugged on a lock of hair that had escaped my hat. “Hey, Ezra?”
“Mm?”
“When did you first know you were a mage?”
He canted his head at the random topic. “Elementaria is a hereditary class, so … I can’t remember ever not knowing. Young mages develop magic in pre-adolescence, and I was using simple air magic by ten years old. Aaron and Kai started even earlier.”
“What if you didn’t know you were born a mage? How would that work?”
“Magic comes naturally to most mages,” he replied after a moment’s thought. “Making it through my teens without discovering my magic would’ve been all but impossible, even if I hadn’t known to expect it.”
Aaron traipsed down the stairs with his open laptop balanced on one palm, screen already glowing. “Known to expect what?”
“That I was an aeromage,” Ezra said before I could change the subject. “Tori was asking how mages start using magic.”
I suppressed a cringe, praying the guys wouldn’t guess the motivation behind my ill-thought-out question.
“Oh yeah.” Aaron dropped down beside me. “We don’t need training to start. I was drawn to fire as a toddler and igniting everything flammable by kindergarten.”
Wow, Aaron had started young. Having famous mage-trainer parents might’ve helped.
Ezra’s curious gaze swung back to me. “Why do you ask, Tori?�
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“Just wondering,” I said lightly, thanking my lucky stars that Kai wasn’t around. He would’ve immediately guessed why I was asking. “Aaron, have you found anything about the missing fae?”
His fingers were sliding across the laptop trackpad. “Gimme a minute … okay, here. There’s a listing and a standard bounty, but there are no investigative notes and no one has—wait.” He squinted at the screen, then swore.
“What?” Ezra and I demanded in unison.
“The Crow and Hammer is listed as the lead guild in the investigation.”
“What?” Perfect unison again. We even used the same part confused, part outraged tone.
“Looks like the coven made the decision for us,” Aaron growled. He pulled his cell out of his pocket.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Calling Kai and telling him to come home. I want to get to the bottom of this before the coven signs us up for anything else.”
“Oh.” Kai. Returning to the house to hear all about the trouble I’d caused. That sounded like something I’d rather skip. I pushed off the sofa. “I should head home then. Don’t want the MPD catching me here.”
Aaron grabbed the back of my sweater and yanked me down. “Oh no you don’t.”
“But I’m not supposed to be here,” I protested.
His thumb swiped across the screen as he pulled up Kai’s number. “Doesn’t matter. You have to stay now.”
“Why?”
Lifting the phone to his ear, he gave me a look that said I should know exactly why. “Because if Kai decides to yell at someone, better you than me.”
I slumped into the cushions. Goddamn it.
Chapter Six
Kai yelled at me.
Okay, to be fair, Kai didn’t actually yell. He rarely raised his voice, but he had this stern lecture tone where disapproval oozed from every syllable and it felt like being yelled at. Aaron called it yelling too, so I wasn’t the only one.
After his lecture—covering everything from letting strangers into my house to accidentally making promises on the guild’s behalf —he and Aaron decided to investigate the coven to make sure their fae case was legit before proceeding with anything else.
Two Witches and a Whiskey (The Guild Codex: Spellbound Book 3) Page 5