by A. K. Koonce
Sinister’s shoulder brushes against mine as he leans closer once we’re out of sight.
“She’s almost as good of a lying mage as you were.”
I bump my shoulder back into his, making him stumble to the wall before coming right back to me.
“No one’s as good of a lying mage as I was.” Laughter tinges my tone and his hand brushes mine once more.
“Well, I’d hope not, love. You had five years practice.” His tone is a rumbling low sound as we enter the kitchen area.
Helen and Myla work side by side, laughing and gossiping and just enjoying the evening.
It’s so simple.
And yet, I’ve never seen it. I’ve never seen lifelong friendship like they have.
Except with Chaos and Kain and Rime.
This could be my life from now on.
“And what about now?” Sinister says on a quiet breath.
He’s always so good at reading me.
And I know he knows what I want before I even say it.
“Now I want to be different.”
I will be. I’m not a fuck up. Not anymore.
Seven
Among the Stars
The food is delicious. Too bad it lies sickly at the pit of my stomach. I sit with stiff posture at the very front of the table. Agatha sits across from me, enjoying the cool evening and the wine in her glass. Kain sits at my side, Chaos and Rime on his other side.
Their leader, Lord Carlin, sits to my left at the head of the table. And to my very unfortunate luck, his conniving daughter sits across from Kain. Luckily sitting next to Agatha seems to quiet the girl, and that’s the only up side of the evening.
My attention trails through the dark, past the torches lining our table to the man who’s lying back on the front porch, staring up at the stars. Sinister excused himself so quickly before we started eating.
The lucky asshole.
I wish I could sit with him. I wish more than anything that I was him during this moment.
And then I wouldn’t have to suffer the curious, calculating looks from Lord Carlin.
“Where do you descend from, Miss Winters?” I’ve never in my life heard anyone use my last name as much as he insists on doing. And wordy. This guy is wordy as hell. Who says descend like that? Who?
He cuts through a big chunk of his steak and chews slowly as he studies me.
He’s refined. Polite. But … fake. He’s fake as fuck.
“I’m from the village of Warf. It’s a small community along the shore.” A soft smile quirks my lips.
I’ve mastered the fake smile perfectly now. World domination is clearly the next major step in my future. Nothing can stop me now.
I blink away the sarcastic thought.
The man hums a response, cutting through his next bite as if my reply bored him to tears.
I shift in my seat. This dinner is a nightmare. I peer down the long table to Helen and her friends and family at the far end. The older man who spoke with Aggie earlier is trailing over the mage’s features.
I’d bet my soul that Aggie knows he’s watching her. But she doesn’t gift him her attention. She appears aloof and pleasant as she sips her wine.
At the far end of the table leans into the man at her side who’s been out hunting for the past few days. It’s Chaos’ father. I can tell it is. His eyes are a deep brown, but the smile beneath his graying beard is similar to his sons. I can also tell how much he loves Helen. The two of them look like they’re about to slip away from the dinner at any moment to go make another little arrogant shifter baby.
Alloex whispers something to Chaos and I faintly hear him tell his little brother to watch his mouth.
What I wouldn’t give to listen to Alloex’s awkward questions about my sex life right now.
A big palm pushes down my thigh, squeezing there enough to pull my attention up to the deepest green eyes. Kain’s head tilts until his lips graze the outer shell of my ear, just enough to make shiver against his warm breath.
“Relax. The very last person you should care about liking you is Carlin. Besides, Helen loves you more than she loves Chaos it looks like.” His smirk skims against my temple and I have to roll my eyes at his words.
“Helen seems to like everyone. I don’t think it was a hard task to gain her approval, Kain.”
His lips press to my cheek.
“I like you.”
My stupid heart does that reckless pitter patter like it can’t remember how to beat just because Kain likes me.
“Thanks.” I tilt my head at him with a sarcastic look pulling at my features.
“My mom likes you.”
“Mmm, I’m not so sure.”
His hand squeezes, slipping lower to fully cup my thigh.
“She was worried, not because of you but because of my past.” His whispered words halt and I peer up in time to see Brylee quickly look away from us. She saws diligently into her steak, keeping her focus there and there alone. “She was just worried,” Kain repeats before pressing his lips against my temple so slowly I can almost feel every emotion in him.
My heart settles and I believe him; I believe Myla likes me. Not that it would stop me from being with her son, but I like having her approval.
The moment Kain pulls away from me a clattering sound of metal against fine china rips my attention up to the woman across from us. A sharp gasp pulls through her trembling lips as her wide eyes look down on the thin slice her steak knife has slit across her knuckles. Everyone looks to her abruptly.
Clearly, she wasn’t paying enough attention to what she was doing or that wouldn’t have happened.
Thick blood starts to slip down her fingers and the moment I see it, my magic rises up on instinct. My lips thin with a sigh, and I force myself to release the waiting power. My hand lifts with my fingers arching toward her gashing wound. The very moment my fingers move, releasing a stream of white magic, the blood halts. Lord Carlin looks up at me at the same moment Brylee does. Her brows are pulled together with confusion and pain. Just as I’ve done dozens of times in my life, I heal the woman. Even if I do hate her with every part of my being. The droplets of crimson slide right back up her fingers, racing one another to get back to the starting line. Another tic of my hand and the wound seals itself slowly. It mends. It’s a strange thing to heal something that would normally take weeks. The process is the same, only at a rapid warped pace. The same scabbing lines the wound, and then the same pink scar, and then I go above and beyond, and the skin is perfectly healed. A single thin white scar is left on her otherwise flawless fucking skin.
My eyes lift to hers. She looks down. And then up. And then down again.
“My goddess. You’re a healer?” Myla’s voice holds an astounded sound and Helen’s big impressed smile matches that of … nearly half the people at the table. “That was incredible, Arlow.” I look to Myla and the smile I give her is actually genuine.
Because not many strangers in my entire life have applauded the use of my magic.
Because I’ve never shown it.
That big hand slips back into mine, claiming me with just a simple touch. Kain squeezes and I look up into his shining eyes. The happiness on his lips is kissable. He leans closer, his mouth brushing mine as he whispers to me and me alone.
“You’re more incredible than a single ounce of that magic that you’ve obsessed about all your life, Arlow.” My heart pounds when his head dips lower, his lips pressing to mine so slowly I ache in the deepest parts of my body for his kiss.
Then that clattering sound strikes again. I look up at the fuming woman.
You know who doesn’t think I’m incredible?
Yeah …
Brylee’s lips are pursed so hard I swear her face might crack wide open and release all those hateful thoughts she keeps in her petty little mind.
Kain and Chaos are so strong, the thought of anyone hurting them—especially her—stabs a pain right through my heart. And I can’t help but let the woman wh
o’s currently staring a hole through my head ruin this evening for me.
I hate her. I don’t know one single personal thing about her actual personality, but I hate her. And I’ll try my absolute best to fit in with Myla and Helen, but I’m not going to sit here and pretend to like this bitch.
As calmly as I possibly can, I push back my plate of half eaten salad.
“I’m going to get some air,” I whisper to Kain.
“You’re outside, try again, Low.” Aggie doesn’t look at me as she says it, taking another big gulp from her glass.
I cock a brow at my snarky friend.
“I’m going to go sit with Sinister. He looks lonely.” My words are stiff and I wait for Agatha to weigh in on my new excuse.
“That’s much better, dear.” Aggie nods and I roll my eyes at her.
Kain’s hand lingers in mine as I stand and he slowly releases it, dragging his fingers along my palm as I walk away. He almost makes me want to stay, just to feel his hands on my body.
Almost.
It’s colder once I’m in front of the house and the structure is no longer blocking the wind. Sinister doesn’t move as I climb the two stairs and settle in at his side. A beat passes and finally I lie back against the cold wooden porch. Bright white stars line the inky sky above us and a sliver of a moon keeps them company. It’s pretty to look at; it’s easy to get lost in the shining beauty of the sky above.
“Tired of pretending?” His question is spoken in a quiet, even tone.
“I’m not pretending.” My brow scrunches, but I never look away from the heavens above.
“Well, I wouldn’t say you’re not, you’re just not very good at it.”
My lips tilt. That’s true I guess.
He turns, shifting against the boards until he’s looking down on me, his head propped against his palm. My heartbeat is a loud thudding within my chest once he leans closer. I swallow hard and pull my attention away from the pretty stars to stare up at the handsome man above me.
His hand lifts, his gaze straying down to the curve of my hip. Carefully he places that hand down between us, splaying his fingers against the dark stained board like he’s feeling every grain instead of touching me.
It’s hard for me to watch him think about every little thing he does around me. We used to be so in tune with each other. So carefree.
Why does he do it? Why does he stay when it’s such a struggle for him?
“Do you like being here?” He’s pretending more than I am. He’s been on best behavior since the moment we arrived. At first, I thought it was because he’s a demon, and he wanted to change what people thought about their aggressive kind.
But now I think it’s because of me.
“I like being with you.” He lifts a challenging brow at me, meeting my eyes with the most shining look of heat in his gaze.
“But do you like being here, with the men who call me their mates?”
At that, his fingers lift, skimming subtly along the side of my ribs where my shirt and my skirt don’t quite meet. Goosebumps break out against my skin the moment his fingers slide up and then down against my curves.
“You like them, Arrie. I watched you live in misery for so long. And then I watched you isolate yourself to the point of destruction. I’m never going to ask you to walk away from happiness. That’s not my intention.” His palm is heavy as it slides across my abdomen fully, stroking slowly along my skin until his touch is all I feel deep inside myself. He touches me ever so slowly like his fingers against my skin is more for his pleasure than it is mine.
My breathing is a heavy rise and fall of my chest, and I can’t decide if it’s from his honest confession or from the feel of his roaming, drifting touch.
“If you want me here, I’m here. No matter what. As long as you want me, love.” His head dips low, catching my attention with a waiting look I’ve never seen before.
He’s so close. All he does is wait for the reply that’s caught in my throat.
“I want you here. I want you, Sin.” My whispered words make his dark brows lift high as if it’s the very last thing he expected me to say. The heated look in his gaze searches over ever part of my face.
My fingers lift hesitantly, and it’s a strange feeling when I intertwin his long fingers with mine. He feels warm and strong.
He feels like home when I don’t even know what home feels like. Not really.
Eight
A Mysterious Friend
When everyone in Helen’s house is fast asleep, I watch him watch the night. In the entire time I’ve known him, I bet Rime’s only slept a total of forty-eight hours at the most. It doesn’t stop the alert way he scans the darkness from his seat perched near the window.
It’s late. Chaos’ arms are wrapped securely around my body; they have been for hours and I haven’t slept a single second. Silence surrounds the three of us in Chaos’ bedroom. Rime’s room is across the hall, but he hasn’t slept there the entire time I’ve been here. Not that he’s slept too much in this room either.
Pale moonlight shines against his messy hair, giving it an impossible white tone. His spine is a steel rod of posture as he sits on the stool, just as he did at my house when he was a small dragon. The hard line of his jaw is shadowed with tension, his bare chest rises and falls minimally. I follow the sharp lines of muscle tone along his ribs, down the smooth span of his side down to his narrow hips, before slowly trailing right back up again to admire his perfect features.
“It’s not polite to stare, My Tamer.” His whisper cuts through the darkness, and he never looks back at me from his close watch of the black, empty nothingness outside.
A smile presses to my lips at the sound of his words. There’s no amusement in his features, no teasing laughter, but the shine in his pale eyes is there. The internal smile is there even if he doesn’t know how to let it out.
As much as I’d love to change all the terrible things in Rime’s past, I’d never change a single beautiful thing about the man sitting before me.
I shift to slip from the bed, but Chaos’ big hands pull me harder against his solid chest. The smooth panes of his muscles are all around me, wrapping me up in strength and comfort. It’s something I never want to leave.
Except right now. Right now, I have got to get out of this bed.
My fingers trail up his arm, they dip low, slipping away to meet the hard lines of his stomach. Instead of teasing him in the sensual way I really want to, I tickle him with quick rapid strokes of my fingers. It’s like I stabbed him fatally, I swear. He flinches, tensing up before rolling away to safety.
Abandoning me the moment he’s tickled. I look back at him, my brows lowering.
We’re going to have to have a serious discussion when he wakes up about him leaving me behind so damn quickly. And here I thought he was the overly protective one.
The heavy quilt falls away, and I instantly regret my decision to leave the warm bed and Chaos’ deliciously warm body. My arms wrap around myself as I quickly scurry over to the stoic shifter. Rime’s eyes meet mine and he pulls me against his chest the moment I’m close enough. My arms cling to myself as he presses me against him, wrapping me up in everything that is Rime. His head buries in my thick hair, and I feel his words whisper against the curve of my neck.
“Go to sleep, Tamer.”
“You first, Shifter.”
A humming sound of quiet laughter kisses against my skin. That rumbling reverberation swirls all through my chest, warming in an instant just from his rarely seen amusement.
I love the sound of his happiness.
For several moments, he holds me like that. A sensation settles into me. One I’ve never felt before. It’s a familiar feeling. An unexplainable thing that makes me remorseful. It’s like tingling regret weighting into my stomach, but I don’t understand it at all.
I pull back from him slowly, his hands slide against my sides as I put a foot of space between us. I think the back and forth of feeling loved by thei
r family and feeling completely unwanted by the leaders of this society is making me literally sick to my stomach. It’s too much up and down with my emotions, and I’ve spent so long alone that I just don’t even know how to take it all in.
That must be it …
I belong here. I feel like I belong. Except when Lord Carlin and his shitty batty daughter remind me that I don’t.
Part of me wants to say I don’t care. I don’t, I don’t care. But part of me fucking does. A stupid insecure part of me that I’ll never admit to hates that I care what the most important leader in this village thinks of me.
I huff a sigh, the weird negative energy in me thickening with each passing second.
“I’m going to talk to Aggie.” She’ll make me feel better. She above all people knows what it’s like not to fit somewhere.
Rime nods quietly, his thumbs pushing back and forth slowly against my hips. He looks up at me with the intensity of his frost kissed gaze. It’s like he knows I’m overthinking things with Brylee. It’s like he sees it as clear as day when he looks in my eyes.
“If she hurts you…” He leans forward, sealing his assurance against my skin as he kisses my collar bone slowly. “…if that cunt ever hurts you…” Another swipe of his tongue and a heavy kiss against the curve of my neck has my lips parting with a shaking breath. “I’ll rip her judgmental fucking voice box out with my teeth, Arlow.” His ominous words are spoken so casually it’s scary. The weird mixture of lust and hostility is hard to follow. His lips press to my jaw, arousing me with every promising kiss and with every dark word he says. “Don’t forget your coat. It’s going to snow soon.” He pulls back from me with that sudden change in his tone and his train of thought.
My chest rises and falls as he turns back to his window to dissect the shadows in the dark. His warning of snow makes a burst of excitement flurry inside me. I’ve never seen real snow before. The tropical warmth of the coast never allowed it.
I swallow down the excited feeling rising within my chest and my eyes narrow on him curiously.
