by Nicole Hall
Outside, the trees had lost their leaves, and a brisk January wind raised goosebumps on her bare arms. A weather spell? Was that possible? How did he maintain it? She crouched to look at the circle and realized it was basically gravel, the super white kind rich people put in their driveways. Maddie grabbed one of the tiny stones and held it up to the light. It shimmered faintly, and she changed her mind. Not gravel.
Aiden traced a symbol in the air then repeated it in the dirt. A wave of prickling magic brushed against her where she touched the rocks. Before straightening, he picked up a pebble from the not-gravel and stuck it in the pocket of his sweats. Maddie stood and slipped the stone she held into her own pocket. She didn’t think he’d noticed, but it was hard to tell.
“What’s this all about?”
He wiped his palm on his thigh. “I know it seems weird, but the cabin is still there.”
Maddie looked over at the house, then back at him. “I know, as I haven’t suddenly gone blind.”
He stopped scanning the trees and focused all that intensity on her. “You can still see it?”
She nodded. “The same as before, and I can sense the magic you used. I don’t know what it’s supposed to do though.”
“Hmm.” He went through the sigils again, and after the second time, Maddie was pretty sure she could replicate them. “Look now.”
She looked. Trees. Rocks. Cabin. “Same as before.”
He frowned. “My wards always work.”
Understanding dawned. She’d read about wards. Very few people could cast them, but they netted powerful results. Each sigil represented something the caster intended it to do. Aiden’s assumption that she couldn’t see the cabin made her think this ward was meant to hide something. Not a bad idea with Torix running around free.
Maddie made a note of it and reached out a hand. She felt the charge of the magic before she actually came in contact with the ward. Her hand slid to the side as if encouraging her to go elsewhere. Interesting.
Aiden watched her with narrowed eyes. “The ward is there, but it doesn’t seem to work on you.”
She shook the tingles out of her fingers. “I’d say it’s working. That’s a strong suggestion to go away.”
“That’s a different thing. The ward is supposed to shield the cabin and the area around it from everyone.”
She tilted her head. “Can you see it?”
“Yes. It’s my magic.”
“Why can I see it?”
He studied her for a moment. “I have an idea about that. Can I try something?”
She raised a brow. “Depends on what it is.”
A smile crossed his face then was gone. If she’d blinked, she’d have missed it. “It doesn’t involve removing any clothes, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”
“That’s not what concerns me.”
He stepped closer and raised both hands to the sides of her face, but he didn’t touch her yet. “I need to check the way you react to my magic.”
Maddie wasn’t worried about his intentions. He’d had plenty of opportunity to hurt her while she’d been unconscious. She was worried about the reaction she’d have to his touch. He waited until she nodded.
“Relax. This won’t hurt.” His hands pushed into her hair, and his thumbs came to rest against her temples.
She felt the slide of his rough palms all the way to her toes. Her skin felt hyper-sensitive. He tilted her head up a bit, and she saw the same heat she was battling reflected in his gaze. The threat of missing clothes suddenly felt a lot more likely.
Maddie’s muscles quivered as she fought the urge to lean into him. To answer the promise in his eyes. A warm, languid sensation eased through her, and it took her a second to figure out it was his magic spreading down her body. Her nipples tightened, and she bit the inside of her cheek. If this was a sample of what his magic could do, she was in more trouble than she’d thought.
His eyes held hers, so she saw him wince when he touched the shields in her mind. His magic recoiled, then surged forward. Maddie tensed up as panic hit her. She gasped and pushed him away with her hands and her power. An involuntary reaction, but an effective one. He slid back well out of reach, and his magic retreated with him.
Maddie shuddered, as the adrenaline faded. “Sorry. I don’t like it when people touch my shields.”
“I noticed, but it’s fine. I got what I needed.”
“And what was that?”
He called a trod and stepped into the sprite-filled path as if she hadn’t just blasted him back several feet. “The answer to why my wards don’t seem to work on you. Somehow, you’re partially immune to my magic.”
3
AIDEN
Aiden pulse raced from touching Maddie. He’d had his hands on her face, completely innocent, and he’d reacted as if she were naked underneath him. They’d had more contact than that during the night, but his body seemed to have decided that she was fair game since her injury had healed.
She didn’t follow him into the trod right away, but it didn’t take long for her to catch up. “What do you mean immune? Magic immunity is not a thing.”
He sent her a look over his shoulder. “And you know everything about magic?”
She grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Where was my immunity when Torix was inserting more and more of himself into my mind?”
He stared at her hand until she dropped it to her side. Her touch made it hard to think rationally. “Did you have any inkling you had magic before Torix?”
“No. He offered his magic, and I accepted without reading the fine print. Then he took it back when he was free.”
Anger blazed in her eyes, but also fear and vulnerability. She held herself stiff, and he wanted to let his magic sink into her again. For her to relax against him like she’d done before. He hadn’t felt that urge in a long, long time, and the complication made him want to curse.
“You have magic now. Where did it come from?”
She shook her head. “It’s not my magic.”
He waited, but she didn’t say any more. Humans sometimes developed power after adolescence, but her unique situation made him suspect something else. She didn’t want to share her secrets, and he accepted that. But he’d needed to know what Torix wanted from her, and now he thought he might have figured it out.
Her newfound magic.
Almost more interesting, Maddie had no trouble using the magic she’d developed. He wondered if she was at all happy that she’d gotten the power she’d wanted in the end.
This time, the trod spit them out after a short journey. They’d barely walked five minutes when the path curved and opened up to a suburban street lined with old houses. Morning at his cabin on the other side of the Wood had jumped ahead to late afternoon in Mulligan. Kids played down the street as the sun sank behind the trees. The time shift always made him uncomfortable, but he’d yet to figure out how to control it. Chaos was more his forte.
Maddie grumbled behind him. “I was trying to stay away from them.”
Aiden looked over at the familiar house, dark now, and pointed to the one next to it. “The grandmother’s house is empty. You can stay there for the night while you figure out what you’re going to do.”
After a moment, Maddie nodded. “Thanks for walking me home.” She brushed past him and strode across the street without looking back.
We should team up.
He shook his head. His plan needed some refinement before he was ready to share it with her. She’d be able to take care of herself for one night. Tomorrow, if he got the answers he expected, he’d come back for her. Using her as bait would go much more smoothly if she willingly participated.
MADDIE
Several hours later, Maddie huddled in the dark kitchen, watching Jake and Sera’s house through the window. Weren’t new parents supposed to be exhausted? Especially new parents to a magically-inclined baby? Either they never went to sleep, or they never turned the lights off.
She
’d had no trouble picking the lock on the back door, but Evie’s house had been emptied of furniture and comforts. At least it was clean and kept her out of the rapidly dropping temperatures outside. A storm was blowing in, and the wind had turned from a tad chilly to downright frigid. Thanks to her time with Torix, she had a lot of trouble getting warm. Her body would be comfortable enough, but a shard of ice in her chest made her feel like she needed to shiver all the time.
Except for when she’d woken up in Aiden’s bed. She’d been gloriously warm all the way through. It had stayed with her up until they’d reached the street. With every step she’d taken away from him, the ice had thickened.
Movement behind the kitchen curtains raised her hopes, but the damn light stayed on. She wanted to start a fire in the wood-burning fireplace. The logs and matches were ready, but she didn’t dare until Jake and Sera went to bed. They’d definitely know there shouldn’t be smoke coming out of the chimney.
At long last, the light winked out next door. A soft, flickering glow appeared in the window of their living room, like they’d left candles burning, but the lazy, floating movement belied that. Jake and Sera had sprites living in their house.
Maddie shook her head and waited a few more minutes to be sure. The master bedroom faced away from Evie’s place, so even if they were still awake, they wouldn’t be able to see anything.
The fire lit easily, and Maddie scooted as close as she could to the warmth. She laid down in front of the hearth with her pack under her head and wished for the millionth time that she’d kept her smart phone. Her parents had offered to pay the bill for her so they could keep in touch, but she couldn’t justify the expense. Maddie could move from small town to small town in Europe on surprisingly little money, as long as she picked the right small town. Selling her phone and doing a few odd jobs had kept her going for months, and she could text or call just as well from a basic phone. Despite regular emails from her family, the lifestyle had left her feeling disconnected from the world.
At the moment though, Maddie didn’t want to connect with the world. She had a more specific contact in mind. Aiden’s phone had been on the kitchen counter, and it hadn’t taken much time to find his number. She shivered as she stared into the fire. If she texted him in the middle of the night, would he respond? Judging by his actions thus far, he’d ignore it unless she was calling for help. That’s where she hesitated. He’d helped before, but then he’d left her to find her own way to Torix.
Maddie closed her eyes and pictured him as he’d looked in the garden when he’d seen her. Even in her imagination, his eyes drew her. Magic touched her, and her body recognized it as Aiden’s. She relaxed and let it sink in.
The scene morphed from a sunny garden to his dark bedroom. Moonlight filtered in through the gaps in the curtain. Aiden lay in his bed staring at her in the doorway. The blanket pooled around his hips revealing an impressive bare chest, and all that smooth muscle sent a thrill through her. Without saying a word, he scooted back and lifted the blanket in invitation.
Maddie hesitated out of habit, but what harm could come from a dream? She slid into the bed facing him, and he covered them both with the blanket. Aiden’s warmth immediately surrounded her. He’d left plenty of space between them, but she eased closer anyway. The ice inside her melted away to nothing as she stopped just short of touching him.
“What are you doing here?” His voice sounded rusty, like she’d woken him up, but his eyes burned.
“I was cold.”
He raised a brow. “It’s a dangerous thing to enter a man’s bed because you’re cold.”
“That wasn’t the only reason.”
“Is that so?” His gaze dropped to the pulse point in her neck, the lowest part of her he could actually see. Her heart began to beat wildly, and she realized she wore very little under the covers. A tank top and boy short panties. She hadn’t been wearing that outfit in front of the fire, but the change didn’t matter much.
Maddie didn’t answer his question, raking her eyes over his expanse of skin. A delicious tension built slowly inside her, and she wasn’t in a hurry to assuage it. Instead, she asked the first question that came to mind.
“How old are you?”
Aiden smiled. “Much older than you think. My kind don’t age easily.”
His kind, huh. “Incubus?”
He laughed. “No, but you’d make a tempting succubus.”
She raised a haughty eyebrow. “Did you just call me a demon?”
“You started it.”
A comfortable quiet settled inside her. Maddie wanted to snuggle closer, to confirm if the heat she felt came from him. She wondered if the reality of a lover would live up to her hazy memories. Doubt kept her still for a moment, but it had never stopped her for long.
He watched as she crossed the gap between them in slow increments. She wanted him, and the old Maddie had never been one to deny herself something she wanted. The more prudent Maddie considered the consequences before taking action.
Would he push her away? She shook her head. There were probably worse consequences than being rebuffed again.
Aiden waited for her to choose, fire in his golden eyes. Her breath mingled with his, and Maddie couldn’t come up with a single reason for not touching Aiden in a dream. Her gaze dropped to his full lips, and she gave in with a slow smile. His ragged exhale ruffled her hair.
“Touch me?” The question came out as a plea, but Maddie refused to be embarrassed.
Aiden lifted his hand, and Maddie held her breath, then she had her answer.
The light touch of his fingers left a scorching trail up her neck until he cupped her cheek. She leaned into his hand, but something felt off. The warmth was there, but not the sensation. His hand created no pressure or skin to skin contact. She moved closer, sliding her bare leg against his, but the same barrier got in the way.
Aiden frowned. “Your shields are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
She blinked. “My shields?”
“That’s why I can’t touch you. Even asleep, your shields are impenetrable. You block your mind from anyone trying to enter.”
She wanted him to enter. Her body begged. It had been years since the last time she’d been touched by a lover. Even then, it hadn’t been like this. She slid all the way against him and sighed. His arm slipped underneath her to hold her there, but she couldn’t feel it.
Maddie flattened her palm against his chest and nearly whimpered in frustration. She tried to shove her shields aside, but they refused to budge. Her head dropped, and he tilted her chin up until she met his gaze again.
“You can let me in. I won’t hurt you.”
“I believe you.”
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. “Let me in.”
An electric current raced through her body, singeing her nerve endings. She closed her eyes and focused on Aiden. On his clean, warm scent and the strength in his arm around her and the sincerity in his eyes. She’d reinforced her shield over and over again, multiple layers interlocking to protect her, but they were her shields, and she controlled them. One of the layers dropped off.
His stubble pricked her cheek as he whispered in her ear. “Let me in.”
Maddie pulled the layers of her shield down one by one. The last barrier disappeared like reaching the surface after swimming underwater for a long time. Her eyes snapped open, and she sucked in a breath. She could feel all of him. The coarse hair against her legs, the heated skin under her hand, and the pressure of him hard against her hip.
Aiden didn’t hesitate. He took her mouth, and Maddie let him in. The kiss was rough, but his hands were gentle. Their tongues danced, and Maddie arched against him. She wanted more. He shifted her under him, and she moaned at the weight of him pressing her down into the mattress. His hand skimmed down her throat and teased the curve of her breast. She nipped his lip, and he smiled against her mouth. None of her experience had prepared her for the desperation she felt for Aiden.<
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He kissed his way to her neck, and she felt the quick sting of a bite that he soothed with his tongue. She tangled her fingers in his hair and dragged his mouth back to hers. Before they could make contact, the room shifted again and her arms were empty.
She was standing in darkness. The area immediately around her was lit with sprites, but there was no other light. Maddie sucked in a breath to cool her ardor and fight the disorientation.
“What do we have here?” The crisp voice caused a familiar cold wave against her overheated skin.
The ice inside her rushed back, worse than ever. “You’re not welcome here.”
A light like a match flare illuminated Torix and his smirk. “I don’t see why not? You were certainly very welcoming to our young wolf.”
Maddie’s heart pounded as she fought off panic. She couldn’t get her shields up fast enough. The layers took time. “I have nothing to say to you.”
He circled her, his eyes roving over the skimpy pajamas she still wore. “A pity, but I don’t need you to speak. Why not show me where you are?”
Maddie clutched the darkness around her and pulled it tight, shivering in the cold. She couldn’t let him know where she slept. Fear made her breathing shallow, but with each layer of shield she rebuilt, his image faded a little.
His eyes narrowed. “I see why I haven’t been able to find you. That’s an annoying little trick you’ve learned. Would you like to see one of mine?”
One second, he was circling; the next, he stood directly in front of her. He grabbed her wrist tightly, and black magic, shiny like oil, oozed out of him and onto her. The tendrils of magic burned as they swirled up her forearm.
He met her eyes and smiled. “Ah, there you are. Welcome home.”
