by Laney Powell
Fucking gods, I thought. I hoped I never met one. They were still around, but they didn’t make many public appearances. Good thing. I’d be tempted to try and kneecap one.
“There’s another thing,” Caspian said.
“Oh, because this isn’t going to be challenging enough?” I asked.
He sighed. “She wanted to make sure we knew that Violet wasn’t raised with any magic at all, and she felt that the Concilium might still be keeping her in the dark, so she won’t necessarily be cooperative.”
“We need to have a really good stunning spell, or a sleep spell, or something like that ready. And one of you,” I looked at Matty and Jake, “will need to carry her. I think if we can’t be sure she’ll be friendly, we just assume she’s not.” No one spoke. “What? Worst case, right? If it’s anything else, we’re hopefully in a better spot.”
Silas nodded. “I think that’s a good plan. That way, if she fights us, we’re prepared.”
“We hope we are,” Jake said.
“You have a better idea?” Matty asked.
Jake crossed his arms, thinking about it. “Nope. I think we’ll need to try and talk to her, though. You don’t want her waking up when you need her for the ceremony, or whatever it is you have to do, and trying to make a run for it.”
“That’s a good point,” Caspian said, nodding. “There are a lot of things that have to go right,” he said.
“You think?” I rolled my eyes. “Goddess, I hope this works.”
“If it doesn’t?” Matty asked me.
I sighed, letting myself lean back against Jake. “I’m tired of worrying about Marbys, and I’m tired of Iliana having to be on the run. I hate that my parents are worried all the time. I hate that I’m worried all the time. I just want to go to school and sneak around with you guys, and worry about my next spell project!”
“And it’s not even the first day of school,” Silas said. He leaned over and kissed me. “We’re going to get through this, Olivia.”
We talked a little more, and then Matty got up. “Well, I have some things to take care of. Olivia, why don’t you stay with Jake for a while?” He smiled, and then left.
His exit was so abrupt, it took me by surprise. Silas and Caspian both left as well, closing the door behind them and leaving me with Jake. “I thought this was Caspian’s room,” I said.
He shook his head, smiling. “No. It’s mine.”
“Did you all talk about this before you came to see me?”
“You know we do,” Jake laughed. “That way, none of us try to kill each other. The schedule is clear and everyone knows it.”
“You actually have a schedule?” I asked, incredulous.
“Yes. And no, you can’t see it.”
I laughed, feeling some of the tension drain away. “I’m glad I’m here with you,” I said, lying back onto the bed.
Jake stretched out next to me, wrapping an arm around me and snuggling close. “That makes two of us. I’ve never been so glad to get back to school. I hate not being able to see you every day.”
“I agree,” I said, and I reached for him to kiss him.
His lips were soft, and warm, and it felt like coming home. We kissed for what felt like a long time. It almost seemed as though we were getting to know each other again. This summer had been brief dates, with a time limit, and always the worry of being seen by humans. Now, we were in a room, with a door, and all the time in the world. I mean, classes didn’t start until tomorrow.
Jake moved his hands down and slid them under my shirt. I didn’t want to fool around with this aspect. I sat up and pulled my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor. Then the bra followed.
He laid his head on my chest. “This is what I’ve missed. The ability to just be here with you, and not worry about someone seeing us who shouldn’t.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said.
Jake sat up, and crawled over me to get out of bed. He stripped down, and I took the time to admire his form. He was muscular all over. I loved watching the play of his muscles as he moved. His ass was particularly delicious. I reached out and gave it a squeeze.
He grinned over his shoulder. “You know, you could be getting rid of the rest of your clothes, rather than just lying there and gawking,” he said.
Laughing, I got up and took off my leggings. We stood together, naked, the sun coming in through his window, our hands brushing over one another. I was so entranced by him, by his body, that I wanted to fall back into bed and let him ravish me. But his fingers trailed across my chest, and then down to my belly, and finally, between my legs, and I couldn’t move.
I felt him slide into me, and I was wet and ready for him. The feel of his fingers made me moan, and I reached up to put my arms on his shoulders to steady myself.
Jake leaned down to kiss me, with such passion and tenderness that it made my head swim. Every time I was with one of them, the intensity of being together increased. The last couple of times, I’d almost felt like I did when I was in the Mother’s cave. I’d tried to explain it to them, but it never came out right.
I could already tell, though, that being with Jake was going to be amazing.
Still kissing me, his hand moving between my legs, he walked me the few steps backwards to the bed. The backs of my knees bumped up against it, and I sank down, glad to not have to support myself. The heady feeling was almost too much.
Jake’s hand moved faster, his lips become more demanding. I could feel his hardness against me, nudging against my leg.
“I…I can’t… I don’t want to wait,” I said against his mouth. “I want you. I need you now.” I laid back and brought him with me, pulling him over top of me. I loved the weight of him.
He settled himself between my legs, and I opened them wider, not wanting to wait even a moment more, my hands going down to his butt, wanting him closer.
With a swift movement, Jake sheathed himself inside of me. I gasped, and closed my eyes in bliss. This. Yes, this. This was what I wanted. I could almost hear the singing voice of the Mother. I opened my eyes to look at him, and he gazed at me with such desire and care that it nearly overwhelmed me.
“Take me,” I whispered, kissing him as I spoke. “Please. Take me, hard. I need you, Jake.”
His eyes, full of care, blazed with need. He kissed me once, hard, and then he pushed himself up. “Put your hands over your head,” he said, and there was a raspy edge to his voice.
I did as he asked, and he reached up to twine his fingers in mine. Then he kissed me again, and was still, just looking at me. “I love you, Olivia Washington,” he said.
Before I could answer, he thrust into me, burying himself in me. I cried out, arching toward him, spreading my legs to take more of him. Every time he pulled out, he was slow and deliberate, and drove himself into me hard. His hands were gripped mine, our fingers practically fused together as he sought to do as I asked.
Over and over he poured himself into me. Over and over I bucked my hips up to meet him, our hipbones meeting with force. I couldn’t stop. I had to keep pushing, because he and I were not there yet, not at the place where we needed, wanted to be.
My hands were slick in his, and our bodies slid together as we grew more heated. I met his eyes, and I could see that he was straining, pushing himself.
“Oh,” I moaned, feeling a shift. “Oh, goddess. Jake, please, oh, Jake,” I said, not knowing what I was asking for, but knowing it was near.
He ground into me, my heels coming up to wrap around him, to keep him close. With another thrust, and another, I felt him reach his release, and he arched against me. The look on his face was so intense, so… erotic that it sent me chasing my own release, falling into the abyss with him.
I could feel his heart pounding, matched by the thrum of my own. I couldn’t move. I was spent, and deliciously so.
Finally, Jake raised his head. “Wow.”
“I love you, too,” I said.
His eyes widened. “I�
��you do?”
I nodded.
He smiled. The sweetest, most pure smile I think I’d ever seen on him. He kissed me as though I were a treasure that had to be handled carefully, but given what had just happened, he knew that wasn’t the case.
“I love you forever,” he said.
I kissed him, and then he slid out of me, easing himself over to one side, and pulling me to him so that he could wrap his arms around me.
I might be at school, all kinds of crap was just around the corner, but in that moment, in Jake’s arms, I was home.
Chapter Twelve
Olivia
Over the next week, after classes, the guys and I hiked up to the lake, looking for the buildings that Iliana had described. On the second day we hiked up there, I stripped off my clothes, and slid into the water. Iliana had said it was safe for me in the lake. I knew what she meant. I’d been dying to swim, to be my other self. And I was able to shift in front of the guys, to show them now, so that they knew what to expect.
It felt a little weird, honestly. I knew that Silas was a shifter, and I’d even seen him in wolf form, but the act of shifting felt… private. However, there was nothing they didn’t know about me, and that needed to include my shifting.
“You are even more beautiful,” Silas said, looking at me, my reddish orange tail just beneath the water’s surface.
“You’re definitely not a goldfish,” Matty said, his eyes hot with desire.
I laughed, remembering the first time I’d seen my tail. That had been my first thought, which I’d shared when I told them about it.
“Like the sun,” Caspian said.
Jake didn’t say anything. His eyes said it all.
The tension was thick in the air. I wondered if it were possible to—no. I wasn’t sure how it would work with all of us naked together, and it sure wasn’t happening with me in my siren form.
Silas cleared his throat. “So, how fast can you swim?”
“What?” I asked.
The other guys glared at him. The moment was broken.
“Hey,” Silas shrugged. “Every one of us was looking like we wanted to pounce on her. That doesn’t accomplish anything right now.”
“Not sure it was a bad idea,” Matty muttered.
“Maybe after we get the job done,” Silas shot back.
My blood heated at the thought of being with all four of them at once.
Silas continued. “I don’t want us to lose sight of that. We have to do this, so that Olivia can be safe. She’s not safe, not even with us.” His voice held a tinge of anger. He looked at me. “So how fast can you swim?”
I gave him a look, and then dove under the water. The lake was colder than the ocean had been, and it was darker. But it was water, and I could hear the fish around me, sense the movement of the creatures along the bottom of the lake, and I breathed in the rich scent of the water plants. I swam out toward the middle of the lake as fast as I could, and then surfaced, turning to see how far I’d gotten.
Shit. That was far. I waved to them on the shore, looking smaller than I expected. Then I dove in, and swam out further. We’d walked in both directions around the lake, and hadn’t found the buildings that Iliana described. I scanned the opposite shore, not seeing—wait. Off to the left, there was a shift in the shoreline. It wasn’t anything I could describe, it just felt… wrong. I swam toward it, moving carefully, not wanting to make too much noise while I swam. As I got closer, I could see that something was definitely not right.
It was a mirage. A cloaking spell.
Shit. How to break it? I thought about the defensive spells that I’d learned, spells that would shatter an opponent’s defenses. Then it hit me. It didn’t have to be complex. I only needed to see.
What was the spell? This was a Latin based spell. I thought. “Oh!” I had it. I stared at the wonky shoreline, and said, “Ostende te.” Show yourself.
Nothing happened immediately. But then, I saw a ripple in the wonky edge of the shore, and the ripple grew stronger. Slowly, it moved along the edge, and then it was like a curtain dropped.
There were the three buildings. Two were dark, and one had a light on in two of the three windows I could see. All the windows had curtains, so I couldn’t see within.
I heard a door open, and the sound of voices floated over the water.
Oh, shit. I didn’t want to be seen. I ducked down, hoping that my dark hair blended in with the waves. It should, if no one was looking.
And why would they be looking? They were cloaked and hidden, as far as they knew.
“I’ll be back later,” a man’s voice said. “I need to…” the rest of his words were lost to me.
As I watched, a man came into view, and got into a car parked on the side of the house. He looked familiar although I couldn’t remember where I’d seen him. While I was trying to recall where it had been, the car drove away. I ducked under the surface, not sure if he’d drive close to the water, but not wanting to take the chance.
When I came up again, the illusion was back in place. I could feel a niggling sense of worry, and I realized that what I was feeling was the guys. They’d lost sight of me, and they were beginning to get worried.
Now that I knew where to look, we’d be able to watch this place, and figure out how to get Violet out. If she was even there. I hoped that Iliana had it right.
If she didn’t, I thought as I dove underwater and sped back toward where I’d left the guys, we’d just have to see if we could fiddle with the memories of whoever was there. Something was there that someone wanted concealed. Otherwise, why would there be a cloaking spell along the whole shoreline?
When I surfaced again, I shifted, and I walked out of the lake to find all four of the guys in various stages of undress.
“Olivia!” They all yelled.
“Don’t do that again!” Matty said fiercely.
“We didn’t know if something had happened to you,” Caspian said.
“I’m fine. I just wanted to swim. I miss it,” I said. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Tell a person,” Silas said. “I think you gave me a gray hair,”
I rolled my eyes. “All right, Gramps.”
Caspian laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. That broke some of the tension.
Silas rolled his eyes.
“What took you so long?” Jake asked, handing me my clothing.
Damn it. I hadn’t brought a towel, or anything to dry myself off with. I made a mental note to start bringing something. Putting on clothes while wet was the worst. I struggled into my leggings, thankful that I hadn’t worn jeans.
“I found the buildings,” I said.
Then I had to go through it, making sure that I didn’t miss anything, didn’t forget any details. “I feel like I’ve seen the man who drove away before,” I said.
“A teacher? Someone from the school?” Matty asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.” I thought about it some more. “I can’t place him.”
We talked some more, making plans to go to the other side of the lake the next time we came up here. Then we walked back to the school together. I left them once we got back, because I wanted to shower and get to my homework.
But I ran right into Madame Karathos as I was heading back to my pod.
“Miss Washington,” she said pleasantly. “I am glad to see you. I hadn’t seen you yet this year.” There was a note in her voice that asked me why.
“It’s been busy already,” I said. “Even more work than I expected.”
Madame Karathos studied me, her hands clasped in front of her. “Indeed,” she said. “I can empathize. The beginning of the year always feels as though one doesn’t have the time one needs. However, I want to check in with you regarding the work we did last year. Perhaps you’d be so kind to come to my office tomorrow after dinner?”
Shit. “Of course,” I said. We’d planned to go back to the lake, but that was going to have to wait. And mayb
e it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. I’d taken Madame Karathos into my confidence almost from the beginning, and she’d been a strong ally for me.
I just didn’t know how she’d feel about the whole Violet thing.
“Then I look forward to speaking with you,” she said calmly, and moved off.
As I kept going toward my room, I realized that part of the problem was that if she didn’t approve of our plans for Violet, I wouldn’t let that stop me. We had to find her, and get her to safety. If the Concilium had her, it made them an enemy.
But I didn’t want to make an enemy of Madame Karathos. Even though she had a lot of problems with the way the Concilium handled things, she might draw the line at what we planned to do.
And if she did, that would put a rift in the relationship we built.
The next day, I made it through class, worrying about my meeting with Madame Karathos. Between lunch and dinner, I was able to tell the guys that our plans had changed, and my concerns about how Madame Karathos would react.
“You’re not giving her enough credit,” Silas said. “Tell her the truth.”
“I wasn’t planning to tell her anything else,” I said.
After dinner, I walked toward her office, feeling like a cloud of doom was following along beside me. I knocked on her door, hoping that things weren’t about to change irrevocably.
“Come in,” I heard her call out.
I walked in, and she was sitting at her desk.
“Olivia, thank you for being on time,” Madame Karathos said. “Please sit down.”
I sat in the chair I usually sat in, and waited.
“I think you have been continuing your siren training,” she said at last, after studying me.
“I have,” I said, a smile crossing my face. I couldn’t help it.
“You’ve shifted,” she said.
I nodded, smiling even more. “It’s wonderful.”
Madame Karathos sighed. “Being free to be who and what you are usually is. Now tell me what is going on. I don’t know what it is, but I have seen it on all of you, all five of you. You’re up to your eyeballs in it,” she said, sounding more like my mom than my headmistress.
