Ecstatic (Arcane Mage Series Book 5)

by T. S. Snow

  Because why use the perfectly good doorbell when you could knock with all your might in the hopes someone would be near the front entrance and hear it?

  Though my parents had someone they employed whose sole purpose was to stand near the entrance and open the door for guests. I kid you not.

  Okay, Char. Time to do this. You got this. There’s nothing scary on the other side of that door. You’ll only go in, talk to your parents, and then leave. You don’t need to listen to them anymore, or do what they say. Plus, once you’re done, you can cuddle with your guys and a huge bucket of ice cream. We could even buy donuts or cookies on our way home as a reward. You got this, you fearless awesome possum, you.

  I was the queen of pep talks.

  Taking one last energizing breath, I raised my hand and knocked on the door. And I did it all without even looking back to where Blaze was driving away.

  I kind of regretted having asked him to let me do this alone, but I’d kind of felt like I had to? I mean, Blaze’s presence here would probably just complicate things, anyway. The odds of my parents just getting straight to the topic and letting me go on my merry way if Blaze was present would be slim to none. Alone, I could avoid all the fake pleasantries and bullshitting.

  I knew he was stuck with his own parental meeting, but I was pretty sure his meet-up was not going to go anywhere near as badly as mine was about to.

  They’d probably have a meal or some shit.

  Although, if his phone call with his brother had been any indication, maybe it would be equally as sucky.

  On the third knock, the door opened, revealing a male in his mid-sixties; tall, with thinning hair, and wearing an impeccable suit, he reminded me a hell of a lot of Alfred.

  In fact, in my head, James was Alfred.

  Except, instead of raising an orphan who became a super rich guy with cool gadgets, he got to cater to a family of mages, opening the door for guests and offering them tea.

  “Miss Carter,” he said, stepping back to let me in.

  I winced. It was more of an automatic reaction than anything else, but for some reason, I hadn’t expected James to call me by my chosen name, rather than my given name. I supposed, since he too was a mage—an Elemental, at that—he followed the norm, especially since he worked for my parents. Still, it kind of stung my pride to be thrown the reminder when I was back here.

  His remark had served to remind me of one thing, however. This wasn’t home anymore. Perhaps it never had been. And the people inside this house were not my family. They might have raised me, educated me, fed me, but I was no longer one of them.

  An outcast.

  I shouldn’t have come here. I realized, but it was too late.

  I’d come, and I’d see this through.

  Then I could go back to my family, my real family, the one I chose for myself. My Ohana.

  “Hey, James. How have you been?” I asked at last. I wasn’t about to be rude to him just because he was doing his damn job. James had always been nice, if a little aloof. He’d been one of the staff members I’d liked the most, and who hadn’t really looked down on me, even though his magic was stronger than mine.

  Not hard, really, but a truth my parents had always struggled to swallow.

  Hell. It was hard for me, too, as a kid. When everyone around me had way more magic than I did. It made things…dangerous. The knowledge that any of them could challenge me to a magical duel once I turned sixteen. That they’d win, and I’d be stripped of everything—if I wasn’t killed, that was.

  I supposed, in their own way, my parents had done their best to shield me from those things. They’d ended up employing weaker mages, to try to reduce the threat to me, to them.

  Not that I was excusing their behavior; there were far better ways for them to accomplish all of that than the path they’d chosen. But being away from it all had helped me gain a little perspective.

  “I can’t complain, Miss Carter.” James shrugged, and even his shrug was dignified. He closed the door behind me and turned. “Now, if you would please follow me to the blue room, I’ll tell Mr. and Mrs. Silverstorm that you’ve arrived, and I’ll have one of the maids bring you tea.”

  I followed after James to the living room that served to entertain guests. Like the name said, the room was all done in blue tones, from the walls to the furniture. The shades of blue varied, and it all somehow worked together to turn the place into a welcoming, calming environment. Two couches faced each other, their fabric a blue so light, it was almost white, and there were high back, comfortable chairs in a darker shade so the room could seat a large number of people.

  I chose to sit on the couch on the left, and stared at the crystal vase full of blue roses that adorned the coffee table in front of me.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James leave, closing the door behind him and I picked up my phone, scrolling through my texts as I prepared to wait.

  And they’d make me wait. I knew it as well as I knew this damn room and every other room in this house. It was all part of the play, part of the game.

  I was pretty sure this was all so ingrained in them, that they’d been doing it for so fucking long, they didn’t even do it on purpose anymore.

  Maybe.

  I saw a text from Logan, and blushed.

  Logan: You owe me a date, Miss Carter. When can I see you?

  There was nothing wrong with the text, nothing naughty, and yet…yet I could feel my whole body heating up. Things with Logan had become…interesting as hell. Even though nothing had happened yet, we both knew it was just a matter of time. I thought that him knowing about the guys would discourage him, but it seemed that it had the opposite effect.

  He was still insistent on the date, even though he’d seen me climbing all over Bast, Andres, and even Blaze.

  The selfish person in me kind of loved that.

  I knew that before accepting an actual date with him, I’d have to talk to the guys, make sure they were okay with it. I doubted Bast and Andres would mind, but Blaze…there would probably be a struggle there.

  I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking about what I could say. How I should phrase my reply.

  Oh well. Sassy does it.

  Char: Do I?

  I answered, the butterflies in my stomach going crazy while I awaited his reply.

  The three little dots appeared and disappeared, sending my anxiety through the roof, before my phone finally pinged with his answer.

  Logan: Yes. And a good woman should always keep her appointments. Should I pick you up at seven?

  I didn’t know whether to find his cockiness sexy, or not.

  Except, I actually did kind of like his extra confidence, even if sometimes he came off as kind of an asshole.

  Char: Sorry. Tonight I have plans with the guys. Group bonding time.

  Surprisingly, it had been Blaze’s idea. He wanted to spend more time with me and the guys as a group to try to adjust to sharing me. The fact he was trying, that he was going out of his way to try, made me so fucking happy. Blaze had come such a long way in just a matter of days and I loved him for it.

  I loved him regardless, but if I needed proof of his feelings for me, the fact he was trying so damn hard was all I needed.

  Logan’s answer took longer this time, the three little dots appearing and disappearing quite a lot. I was almost sure I wouldn’t get an answer at all, when his next text appeared, and my mouth gaped in surprise.

  Logan: Can I join in?

  I had to blink a few times and reread the text to make sure I had read right, because now there was something I had not seen coming, at all. Logan wanted to join group bonding time with me and the guys?

  Logan wanted our first date to be with my other boyfriends?

  I bit my lip. That would certainly take care of the whole finding out if the guys would be okay with him or not. Not that, like, I thought Logan was just going to automatically join my harem nor anything, but he certainly knew what he was in for, no? And still, he
was pursuing me.

  Sort of.

  Logan: It’s okay to say no.

  My blinking intensified.

  Char: Yes.

  Char: Yes, you can join us.

  Char: I’ll text the details later.

  I fired text after text to him before he changed his mind, the smile on my face so big, it hurt.

  Logan Nightshade wanted to spend time with me and my guys during group bonding time. He wanted to be a part of the group.

  He totally wanted to be one of my boyfriends.

  I’d never, not in a million years, thought it was possible. And yet, here we were.

  Logan: It’s a date.

  Hearing the door opening, I slid my phone in my pocket and got up just in time to greet my parents.

  The couple who walked through the door had the look of royalty. They carried themselves with the poise and propriety worthy of a king and queen. My mother’s chestnut hair was up in one of those fancy buns she always wore it in, regardless of whether she was inside the house or outside. Today, her smart suit was a light pastel pink, and the shirt she was wearing underneath a white so pure, it looked brand new. Next to her, my father’s dark-gray suit looked almost black. The only concession to being home he made was the lack of tie and the open suit, which didn’t really make him appear any less formal or dressed down.

  His blond hair had little white streaks in it, which hadn’t been there the last time I’d seen him. Or, at least, I hadn’t noticed. His silver eyes took me in quickly, one glance and then his gaze left me, and he looked around the room, dismissing me.

  It wasn’t until they walked closer, that I noticed something else that was different in both of them. There were bags under their eyes, and their body language was heavy with tension.

  Interesting.

  My suspicions were confirmed then. They knew about Cara—which wasn’t hard, considering news of her betrayal and her role in kidnapping the heirs to two of the most influential Arcane houses had been leaked and spread across the mage news like wildfire.

  Cara’s role with the resistance had become the scandal of the century. It outshone Ricardo’s duel with Andres, his escape, and everything else. Even Ricardo being a part of the resistance wasn’t as big a shock as Cara’s role in it.

  If word got out about their affair, the gossip would become even worse.

  The Silverstorm name had been dragged in the mud along with it, and my parents were fighting to prove they had nothing to do with Cara’s actions. I was pretty sure the reason they’d called me in here today was to help with that. Though I didn’t have the faintest clue what they wanted me to do, exactly.

  It wasn’t like I had any power or sway in the community. Quite the opposite, in fact. Right now, there was only one person in a lower standing than I was, and that was Cara because she’d fucked-up big time.

  Still, here I was.

  Because I was a sucker, apparently.

  “Charisma, it’s good to see you well,” my mother said, walking closer and giving me an air kiss as if we were friends meeting at a country club rather than mother and daughter.

  Goddess, please let there not be small talk, I hate small talk.

  It drove my social anxiety through the roof.

  “Hey, Mom, Dad. How are you?” I asked, stepping back from my mother. I needed the physical distance to help make sure I didn’t revert to bad habits, like teenage me, when I’d still held out hope that if I did things just right, I’d earn their love and acceptance.

  Teenage me was dumb as fuck. Well, that wasn’t true. But she’d been naive and I wanted to make sure I didn’t repeat the same mistakes. I was older now and I’d built up defenses against the people who had raised me.

  “How do you expect us to be, Charisma, when your cousin played us for a fool?” My mother’s every word resonated with indignation, her icy eyes colder than ever. “We gave that girl everything, and this is how she repays us?”

  I cringed, but said nothing. Honestly, there wasn’t anything I could say, except maybe try to hurry things along, but that would never work.

  My mother would take as long as she wanted to get to the point, and trying to rush her would only make her even more pissed.

  As it was, she was already dangerously close to losing control of her magic. As she paced, the air in the room started to grow colder, little icicles forming around us.

  I should’ve brought a damn jacket for this confrontation.

  Fuck it.

  “Can you get to the point, Mother?” I asked, bracing myself for her reaction.

  Surprisingly enough, my father was the one who answered, while my mother just glared at me.

  “Charisma, it’s time to end this foolishness. Tomorrow, we’ll announce your status as the Silverstorm heir. You’ll be expected to return to your duties effective immediately, and find a suitable male to start producing a new heir. We know your magic is weak, but we have someone in mind whose Elemental magic should be strong enough to ensure the Silverstorm line is carried through, and your child will be the new heir the minute they’re old enough to begin their duties.”

  Say what?

  Epilogue

  Bastille

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

  “Nope,” Andres pitched in from the back, but he was way too cheerful.

  “Stop being a whiny baby and just drive, Bastille,” Gran commanded from the passenger’s seat.

  “I still feel like all of this is just buying trouble. At the very least, we should talk to Char and make sure she’s okay with the idea.” Or, at least, so she would know what the fuck we were up to.

  Andres had arrived at my house when Gran had been with me, and he’d told us about the strange behavior of Char’s ex. Apparently, when he was with her, Theodore seemed to act out of character. As in, a lot out of character.

  It seemed that while he was away from her, he followed like a lovesick puppy—or a creepy stalker—but whenever they were together, he was a jerk, basically.

  I never liked the bastard. Not since he broke my girl’s heart. Even less when I learned he’d called a meeting with Char’s other potential boyfriends to stake some kind of weird claim on her. Like she belonged to him or something. Fuck him and his bipolar attitude. His loss had been my gain, however. And I was at least grateful the asshole hadn’t been smart enough to cherish what he’d had.

  Now Char was mine, ours, and we would treat her right. Give her the love she deserved.

  After Andres had told us all that, however, Gran had wasted no time in consulting her friends from the other side, and she’d had some kind of weird epiphany because she’d demanded to be taken to the hospital to see him before he was discharged.

  She’d also threatened to go on her own if I didn’t take her, so both Andres and I were stuck with her to try to do some damage control. Hopefully.

  Besides, we might have to use Andres’s illusions to get in there.

  “I did not raise you to be such a baby, Bastille Tumba. We’re hardly going in to harm the boy, I just want to see him. Well, see his aura. Besides, that could’ve been my grandchild, too. Do you really want to give up on the girl’s other soulmate?”

  What?

  I slammed on the breaks so hard, we were all thrown forward in the car.

  Thank fuck I hadn’t been speeding, and the street was blessedly empty, or else things might have gone to shit, fast.

  “Goddess above, Bastille, are you trying to get us killed?”

  I ignored Gran’s question, too busy trying to wrap my head around the bombshell she’d just dropped on my lap.

  Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I put the car back in gear. “What did you just say, about Theodore Soulbinder being Charisma’s mate?” I asked Gran.

  I needed the fucking clarification.

  Gran huffed. “I said what I said. Don’t tell me you’re surprised.”

  I frowned, chancing a glance at her. “It doesn
’t make sense, though. He doesn’t act like her soulmate. I mean, he ghosted her for years. He shouldn’t have been able to let her go so easily, not once he had her. It would’ve…broken something inside of me. You know my mother was never the same after her split with Diego. Hell, even Illudere struggled to recover.”

  “And then he met my mom, and fell hard for her. But yeah, I’ve asked him about it, and he said it took him years to get over your mom. For a long time, he thought he’d never love again,” Andres said from the backseat and I nodded.

  That about summed up what I’d learned, too. Andres’s parents weren’t soulmates, but they loved each other. They’d beaten the odds. And now they were stronger for it.

  Gran just huffed. “That’s why I want to see the boy. His sister told me a story that seems true, but I’m sure there’s more to it. If my suspicions are correct…well. I never liked his grandmother, anyway.”

  I was confused. “What the hell does his grandmother have to do with anything?”

  “You’ll know when I know.” Was Gran’s very helpful reply.

  I wanted to bang my head against the steering wheel. Instead, I gripped it tighter and focused on driving.

  By the time I pulled up at the hospital and found a parking space, I was about ready to just drive away and prevent Gran from seeing Char’s ex.

  However, luck wasn’t on my side. I knew if I did that, the minute she was out of my sight, she’d find someone to drive her here, or even just hail a human cab.

  Like a dog with a bone, she wouldn’t simply give up because things were a little trickier. In fact, she’d probably love the challenge.

  I cut off the engine.

  “We go in. You see him. We leave. You’re not going to tell him who we are. You’re not going to tell him anything he doesn’t need to know, and you’ll stay under Andres’s illusion the whole time.” I stared Gran down as I laid out the rules. I needed her to know I was serious about this. We couldn't risk the Soulbinders knowing she was alive. It would be a nightmare.

  Gran brushed me off. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s go.” And then she opened her door and got out of the car before I had a chance to stop her.