Frenetic (Arcane Mage Series Book 4)

by T. S. Snow

  I was just an unfriendly mailbox opossum and I’d very much like to stay that way, thank you very much. No more attempts on my life, no more coups, no more senseless deaths, and no more insanely hot Arcane heirs stripping down in front of me and showing me all the absurdly tight, toned, and generously-sized goods.

  I’d pull a War Doctor and graffiti “No More” on a wall if I had to. If it worked for him, then it would work for me too, right?

  “Char, are you coming, or are you planning on just standing there considering the pros and cons of running and hiding under our bed?” Bast joked, and I stared at his insanely gorgeous face. Bast was the epitome of “tall, dark, and handsome,” with his ebony skin, almost black eyes, and dark hair. Not to mention the muscles upon muscles and the killer smile. He was so damn handsome, sometimes I had to pinch myself to make sure he was real. Then I’d pinch him because fair was fair.

  I turned to Bast and did the mature, adult thing, which was to blow a raspberry at him before I walked in their direction.

  “Wait, did you just say our bed? As in your shared bed?” Andres asked, though he didn’t wait for a response. “I knew it!” he exclaimed before an evil grin that showed off his dimples popped up on his face. “Oh man, the others are going to be so disappointed. I can’t wait to tell them.”

  “The others?” I asked, tilting my head. Why would anyone be disappointed about my dating life? I mean, I’d understand maybe Blaze being bummed, especially since I still hadn’t answered any of his calls or texts, but that was about it.

  “Yeah. The other heirs,” Andres replied, confusing me further. “There may have been a little bet of sorts going on, where they were trying to decide who could win you over. But if you’re with Bastille… Never mind that,” he said dismissively before brightening up again. “Oh, speaking of which! Hey, bro, did you have the talk with Char about sharing yet? Is she on board? Because I’d like to volunteer to be in your threesome.”

  Andres kept talking, but I could no longer hear him. All the blood had rushed to my ears. I was alone inside my head, and the outside world had become white noise, like an old television with no reception.

  Had he just… Did he just…

  “What bet?” My voice croaked, and I had to clear my throat twice before I managed to form the words, but I finally did.

  Andres stopped speaking, and I swore he blushed.

  “Right. Listen. Uh. Why don’t you sit down? I can explain,” he said, his tone coaxing.

  Fuck that noise.

  “What. Bet?” I asked again through gritted teeth.

  I needed answers, and I needed them now.

  Proving that he was yet again completely in tune with me, Bast spoke from beside me. Or rather, he threatened.

  “You have exactly three seconds to explain what the fuck you’re talking about, Andres, I’ll kick your ass so hard, you won’t be able to sit for a week, and then I’m going to send you packing. The fact you’re like a brother to me won’t matter. Not to mention, I’ll tell Gran on you, and I’m sure she and Blair will have a field day with whatever is left of you. Especially because Gran and Blair really like Char.”

  Bast was pissed. Oh, he was so pissed. But he delivered his threat with a calm, even, cold voice. It made everything even scarier.

  I was seeing a whole new side of Bast, and I loved how protective of me he was getting.

  Andres gulped. “Listen. I’m sorry, okay? I’ll explain everything, I just need you to sit down, first.”

  “No.” I crossed my arms in front of me, standing where I was just to be contrary. “You wanted my help, didn’t you? Well. This is my price. Tell. Me. About. The. Bet,” I demanded.

  No way would I let him get out of this easily.

  I was pissed too. If I understood things correctly, they’d made a fucking bet to see who could, what, sleep with me? What the fuck?

  What the actual fuck?

  This was not okay.

  I curled my hands into fists, wanting to break something, to hit something.

  To hit someone.

  The anger inside of me grew, like a volcano on the verge of eruption, simmering, boiling, and ash venting. I knew I was on the verge of losing my shit completely, but I wasn’t sure I cared.

  Was this all I had been to these men? A bet?

  “Char, I know you’re angry, but—”

  “Damn right I’m angry! I’m fucking pissed. What the hell were you thinking? All of you! I’m not some…some…some toy you can make choices for or bet on. I’m a person with feelings, and right now, all I’m feeling is anger!” I was also incredibly heartbroken underneath all the anger, but I’d be damned if I’d let Andres see how much this entire thing had affected me.

  Well, he was obviously seeing how much it affected me, but I would not let him see how much it hurt.

  “Please, beautiful, just sit down. Let me explain,” Andres said again, and I exploded.

  “Stop telling me to sit down. You sit down! I’ll stand and I’ll rage, and I swear if you tell me to calm down, I’ll fucking punch you.” It was taking everything I had not to just do it anyway. I didn’t care that I was probably being unfair to Andres when he hadn’t been the only one involved, but dammit.

  I didn’t realize I’d lost control of my powers until Bast entered my field of vision.

  “Char, love, come back to me, will you?”

  I stared into his deep brown eyes and tried to match my breathing to his. Every time he inhaled, so did I. Every time he exhaled, I forced myself to do the same.

  The world went out of focus. There was just me and Bast.

  The tension in my shoulders eased, and my hands uncoiled.

  “Atta girl. Come back to me, love. There’s my Char.” Bast smiled and stepped back once I calmed down enough.

  The first thing I registered was the smell of smoke. I looked around Bast’s living room and noticed the carpet right in front of Andres was scorched.

  I turned to Bast. “Sorry, I’ll pay for the damage,” I offered.

  Bast just shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ve been meaning to redecorate, anyway. And before you suggest it, no, I’m not taking tips from Gran.”

  We smiled at each other, the mental picture of the kind of shit his grandmother might suggest for decorations helping me settle more than anything else might. After all, giant dino dick statues, weird color schemes, and creepy taxidermy seemed to be acceptable decoration choices to her.

  The problem with my anger ebbing was that it brought the pain right up with full force. And along with it came its buddies, sadness, and self-doubt.

  I’d been working with the heirs since graduation, and all this time…had I been nothing but a joke to the heirs? Had I meant nothing to them? Was a bet the whole reason they’d sought me out? I thought…I thought we’d clicked, had a connection. Logan had started to treat me almost like a normal human being, and sometimes he’d even been kind. And Blaze… Blaze had pushed for an actual relationship. He’d helped me, protected me. Yeah, he’d screwed up and I had yet to hear him out, but now I was left wondering if he’d been faking the entire time.

  Out of all of them, Blaze’s betrayal might’ve been the one that cut me deepest.

  Andres reached out to touch me but stopped before he could make contact. “Char, I won’t tell you to sit anymore, but please let me explain. Just give me a chance. I know I don’t deserve it, but please. If you don’t like what I have to say, you can kick me out. Hell, you can punch me. Actually, punch me anyway, I deserve it.”

  Bast turned to Andres then. “You lost your right to ask her for anything the minute you agreed to a bet to win her over, you dumbass. And if you keep talking, I’ll be the one to kick your ass.”

  Bast then walked to the couch, sat down, and gently tugged me to follow and sit on his lap.

  I considered him for a second, crossed my arms with a pointed look at Andres, and sat down on Bast’s legs.

  Maybe he needed me there to stop him from
hurting his brother just as much as I needed to be held by him.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Andres protested.

  “Then what was it like?” I asked. Here, perched on Bast’s lap as I stared at the genuine remorse in his eyes, I felt stronger. Like Bast was sharing his strength with me.

  I would not cry and I would not break.

  I refused to.

  He could have my anger, but not my tears.

  He’d lost that right.

  I’d gone through worse, and I’d survived it. This? This was nothing.

  Andres ran a hand through his hair, pulling at the strands with enough force, I was surprised he didn’t pull all his hair out. “Theodore set up a meeting for the heirs in his office, and we thought it was going to be to discuss the resistance and how we’d deal with it, you know? Like, sometimes we have those, instead of the family heads. Part of our job as heirs is to learn the ropes, make things easier for them, and learn to tolerate each other so we can work together when needed. When we got there, he was warning us off and laying claim to you. That…didn’t go down well with Blaze, or with any of us. Especially since everyone knows how he treated you like crap. So, uh, while we were antagonizing him just for the hell of it, things kind of escalated out of control. I was the one who said ‘wanna bet,’ but I did not mean for it to be taken as an actual challenge. I’m so sorry for that, Char.”

  I was so shocked, I was numb. I didn’t know what to think or what to feel.

  How long ago? How much of it had all been a lie?

  “Wh…when?”

  “After we caught Michael. Any interaction you might’ve had with any of us before then? That was the real thing, Kitten. And even after that. I doubt any of us actually took the stupid competition seriously. Besides, you vanished from the earth. Nobody even saw you until the funeral, and we’d be worse than worms if we’d tried to make a move on you then. But here’s the thing, Charisma…we want you. Every single man in that room that day took offense to what Theo said and worked to antagonize him because we’re all interested and none of us wanted to give you up. If it helps, though, the word bet might have been mentioned, it was shut down right away. It...it did awaken our competitive spirits, though.” His shoulders slumped, and his eyes shone with regret. “But it was shut down, completely. Blaze was vehemently against it, too, by the way. Besides, this isn’t about Theodore or us. This is about you. The only change is that we all agreed to let you go out and date us as you saw fit. Even if you decided to date all of us at the same time so you could choose.”

  “Wait. Let me see if I got this straight…” I trailed off, not even knowing where the fuck to start. There was so much wrong in everything he said, I needed bullet points and a map.

  Maybe a Death Note. That would teach them.

  “You’re telling me that Theo…staked a claim on me, like a dog pissing on his territory? And then, as if that’s not big enough news, you guys just…made it into a competition. Not because you’re madly in love with me, but because…because you…didn’t like being told no? And your suggestion was to agree to everyone dating me? What if I don’t want to date any of you?” I jumped off Bast’s lap and started pacing around the living room. I was way too pissed to stand still. “Do you guys even realize I have free will? This is not the 1600s. I have control over my life, and I get to make my own decisions. I might fuck all of you, I might fuck none of you, but that’s something for me to decide. Unless I agree to a committed relationship with one of you, which I haven’t, then you get no say in the matter! Except you can say no to fucking me if you’re not interested. It’s not like I’d force someone to have sex with me, but I digress. The point is…” I turned to Andres and pointed a finger at him. “I’m not an object, you don’t get to make decisions on my behalf, and Bast isn’t the only one who can kick your ass,” I added before stomping over to sit on the arm of the couch near Bast.

  Honestly, Bast might’ve had muscles for days and I had no doubt he was strong as fuck, but in a fight, not everything was down to size and strength. I had speed on my side and more than one trick up my sleeve. That made a big difference. Besides, if it came down to an actual fight, I could fight dirty.

  Andres raised his hands in surrender.

  “Look. I’m sorry. I truly am. It wasn’t… It was never my intention to take away your right to choose or to treat you like a plaything. I have a hell of a lot of respect for you, Charisma. I always have. I’d never do that to you or any woman. I may be a player, but I’m always respectful and clear about what my expectations and limitations are. And I may think most of the others are assholes, but I don’t think any of them thinks less of you.” He paused. “Well, maybe Nightshade? But nobody knows what the fuck that guy thinks.” Andres shrugged, then dragged his fingers through his hair again.

  “Char, ask any of the others if you don’t believe me, but I meant what I said, all of it. Yes, it might be crude and…asshole-ish of us, but I swear it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Now you know, and you can make your own decisions based on that.” He smiled sadly at me. “I was also serious when I asked if Bast had had the talk about sharing with you. I wouldn’t mind sharing you with him or anyone else you chose, honestly...and I don’t just mean that as sharing you sexually, I mean all of you. All aspects. I just hope I didn’t completely blow my chance with you.”

  I chose to ignore the whole him wanting to be with me and share me thing and focus on what was really important.

  Bast’s hand found mine, and he squeezed my fingers but said nothing. I tilted my head to look at him, see what he thought of all this, but he kept his face blank.

  Well, fine. This would be my decision all the way and he’d support me in whatever.

  While I appreciated the sentiment, I really wished he’d just tell me what to do. Or at least tell me what he thought about it.

  Being a strong, independent woman was all well and good, until I needed to decide something big. Then I just wanted to run to someone so they could decide for me. I needed an adultier adult.

  I squeezed Bast’s hand as hard as I could in my own version of punishment, not that it did any good. I was pretty sure I was hurting my hand more than his, but at least I tried. Bast raised an eyebrow at me, and I rolled my eyes.

  Fine.

  I turned to Andres, taking in his disheveled hair, clothes, and the puppy dog eyes he was throwing my way.

  “Okay. I’ll develop your MET. We did sign a contract before this mess, and I plan to follow through with it,” I said at last.

  Andres’s face lit up like Baby Yoda’s when he was riding on Mando's bike. Those damn irresistible dimples of his made an appearance, making him look twice as adorable and hot. “So, you believe me, then?”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t say that. I said I’d help you and I will, but I need time to process…everything else. I want to believe you, honestly, I do, but it’s not that simple. Whether it was done on purpose or not, you guys did make a bet on whether you could win me over, and that doesn’t sit right with me. It never will. I appreciate knowing about it, even if you told me by accident, but it doesn’t make any of this right. So I’ll help you, because you’re Blair’s brother and because I said I would. However, that doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

  Andres opened his mouth to speak, but Bast cut him off. “You heard what she said, Andres. Don’t push your luck.”

  Andres raised his hands in surrender. “Right. Yes. I’m sorry.” He turned to me then. “And I hope one day you can forgive me and give me a chance, but until then…” He took a deep breath. “How fast do you think you can make my MET?”

  I tilted my head, considering. I needed to talk to Christian so I could get access to my apartment, this time without the whole fighting-against-AMIA-agents-who-were-trying-to-kill-us-because-they-thought-we-were-rebels thing. I knew it was risky, but if I could get permission to go in there, I could be done with Andres’ MET the same day, so long as I wrote the program beforehand.

  I alread
y had the folding bow which would be the hardware for the MET, all I needed was to talk through the spells he’d want, code it, and then use my own gear to key the MET into Andres’ magic.

  Shit.

  There was no power there, so the whole using my lab for the last part of it would have to wait. I also didn’t want to use Illudere’s lab. If his own uncle was challenging him to a duel, I did not want to be anywhere near him. Not to mention, with Diego ill, tensions would be incredibly high there.

  Maybe I could find a way to use the Academy’s tech lab for it.

  Well, I’d worry about that when the time came to worry about it.

  For now, I had to focus on convincing Christian I needed to swing by my apartment. This time, I was getting all my shit from there.

  It was about time I found my own place, anyway.

  Not that living with Bast wasn’t completely amazing, but I needed my own tech lab and Bast’s loft didn’t exactly have space for it.

  Bast squeezed my hand to bring me back to the present, and I blinked out of my mental calculations.

  “What?” I asked.

  Bastille chuckled. “I could see the steam coming out of your ears as you worked on hyperdrive. Did you figure it out?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” Turning to Andres, I finally answered his question. “I think three days; sooner, if I can get things in motion. But I need to get a shit ton of info from you, so you might as well come tomorrow and hang around until I have the coding down.” I looked at Bastille to make sure he was okay with it, and when he nodded, I stood up from the arm of the couch.

  “Right. Well, nothing we can do for now. I’m going to head to bed; I’m beat,” I said, heading to the bedroom.

  “Thanks, Char. I’ll swing by tomorrow morning so we can get to work. I appreciate you doing this, even after… Well, thank you.” Andres smiled at me, but this one was different than his usual cocksure grin. It was softer, kinder, and way more deadly than it had the right to be.

  Instead of answering, I nodded and headed to the bedroom door.