by Mary Winter
“But who would attack us now?” Reid countered. If her father’s information shocked him, he gave no sign. “And surely, joining Brazos to StarMyst through our union would lend strength and credence to Edwin’s efforts.”
“I’ll not put my stamp of approval on Edwin’s actions,” Xavier shoved his chair back from the table. His words made it clear that Brazos hadn’t been one of the Conclaves to offer Edwin sanctuary. “This meal is over.”
“No it isn’t!” Laura bolted to her feet. “The Sorcerer War has been over for as long as I’ve been alive. But isn’t it time we quit fighting amongst ourselves. It doesn’t matter which Conclave is stronger than all the others. We are all Sorcerers. And this is a chance to mend fences between two Conclaves. Surely if we do this then others will follow. There aren’t very many of us left. We need to save what we have, not divide it even farther.”
She pressed her hands into fists, resisting the urge to stride around the table and shake some sense into her father. He held to his old-world ideals, his belief in what the Conclaves were. They weren’t the bastions of power that they once were, and maybe, that was a good thing. She drew a deep breath and felt Reid’s steadying hand close around her arm.
“Your daughter has a point, Mr. Ingress. I’ll be the first to admit that Edwin has kept his Conclave sheltered from political intrigue, but the time for that has passed. StarMyst is a Conclave, one with great strengths. I think a union between our two Conclaves would bring much to the Sorcerer community.” Reid added his voice to Laura’s.
“You would think that, coming from the weaker position. I’ve made my point clear. You will fly back to your Conclave. Laura will be married to someone suited to her station. I’ve said all I will say on the matter. You’re damn lucky I’m not killing you for defiling my daughter.” Tossing his napkin on his plate, Xavier turned and left.
Laura stared at her father’s back, battling the seething rage churning deep inside. He always did this, always tried to rule her life with an iron fist. She was an adult and she was damn tired of his behavior. “Come on!” She yanked on Reid’s hand, pulling him behind her. She led him through the halls to their shared room.
“Let me make a phone call back to Te,” he said. “I’m not sure if he knows of the information your father told us tonight.”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. It matters. Edwin never told us our history. We knew he’d taken us in, but I don’t know about the outcast stuff.” Reid sighed as she closed the door to her bedroom behind him. “I need to call him.”
“Okay.” Laura directed him to one of the couches in the small living area in her suite of rooms. “I’ll be at my desk.” She wondered if telling Te what they’d discovered would do any good, and if Reid really would be flying back to Chicago tomorrow morning.
~* * *~
When Laura sat down behind her desk, Reid went to the living area and sat on one of the pale couches with a light rose pattern. The room, decorated in shades of pink and yellows, looked like a purely feminine domain. Laura had showed him the phone, and welcomed him to use it. Paying for a long distance call was the least Xavier could do.
He dialed the number back home and waited for Te to answer. When he did, Reid gave him a brief explanation of how the evening went and the information Xavier had told them.
“I’ll admit that I haven’t had a chance yet to peer through Edwin’s journals. But that sounds plausible. I can see Edwin doing that. I have done some research on your situation. I know you went to Brazos intending on just getting approval, but have you thought about a binding?” On the other end of the line the creak of leather told Reid that Te had leaned back in the big chair in Edwin’s office.
“A binding? How is that different?” Reid glanced through the open door to where Laura poured over a book or journal of some sort. He deliberately kept his voice down, not wanting Laura to overhear.
“It’s something Jacy and I are considering since we don’t have anyone to officiate over our Bonding Ceremony. I’m not sure if you and Laura have talked about something that official, but if her father won’t consent then this might be an option. A binding is a ritual done between two people. It binds you together magically so even if you’re separated you still feel as if you’re one couple. It may be something to think about,” Te offered.
“Can you send us the details? I bet Laura has her own email or fax line here.” He rose from his seat to step into her study. A fax machine sat next to her desk, and he gave Te the number.
“I’ll fax over info in an hour or so, including Jacy’s and my notes. The binding ceremony supersedes any Bonding ceremony. If Laura is bound to you, she can’t join with another Sorcerer. Be careful.”
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Te disconnected the call.
Reid rested his hand against the back of Laura’s chair. The fall of her silken blonde hair across the nape of her neck drew his attention to the slump of her shoulders. Reaching down, he brushed aside her hair to massage her neck.
She leaned into his touch. “Did Te have any information for you?” The fax chirped and started printing.
“It’s coming through. He mentioned a binding ritual. It will bind us together, so even if your father wins and you go to another Sorcerer your powers will already be bound to mine. You can’t go through a Bonding ritual then. Usually it’s something done after the Bonding ritual, but Jacy and Te are thinking about doing it since they can’t complete the Bonding Ceremony. I know I haven’t asked you to Bond with me. I would in a heartbeat, though your father would never consent, especially after what happened tonight. It may be our only option. What do you think?” Reid’s heart leapt into his throat as he waited for her answer. Since Te had mentioned the ritual, Reid thought they had a hope. If nothing else, it would foil her father’s plans.
“Yes!” Laura reached over her shoulder and closed her hand around Reid’s arm. She pulled him down to her, tilting her head so she could kiss him. “Even if it wouldn’t prove to my father that I am an adult and can make my own decisions, I’d do it anyway.”
She grinned but then quickly sobered. “I don’t mean to sound like a spoiled child. I suppose, to some extent, I am spoiled, but frankly, I am just tired of him running my life. And I know, until he realizes that I am a grown woman, which coming back here was supposed to do, that I’m stuck. So yes, I want to do this ritual.” She turned in the chair and slid her hand over his cheek. “Even more so since I know if you do have to return to Illinois tomorrow, I’ll still have a part of you inside me.”
Reid leaned into her touch, not liking the lump forming in his throat. “The fax is done,” he managed to croak and reached for the pages. “Let’s see what we have.” He sank to the floor beside her chair, allowing her the time to work on whatever she was doing at her desk. He leafed through the papers, her words haunting him. Part of you inside me.
He looked up at her, watching her tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear as she studied the journal. He longed to ask her what she was doing, figured if it had any bearing on them, she’d say something. Laura could be carrying his child. He swallowed hard, his chest filling with pride.
“I think we have everything we need,” Reid said about twenty minutes later. “It appears we just need the two of us and a bit of ribbon.”
“I have that.” Laura slid from her chair. She disappeared into her bedroom, returning a moment later with a bit of pink ribbon. “This belonged to my mother. I think she’d like the fact that I’m defying my father.” She placed the ribbon in his palm and closed his fingers around it. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” Reid refused to fight the smile that spread over his face. “Where do you want to do it?”
“The living room. If we’re in the bedroom I might get too…distracted.” Laura’s gaze drifted to the view of her bed visible through the doorway.
Reid’s followed and he rose to his feet. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her behind him to the living room. According to
Te’s notes, they needed to be standing, hands clasped with the ribbon around it. It was awkward, but together, they managed to tie the ribbon holding her right hand to his left. They clasped their free hands.
“Ready?” Laura asked in a breathy voice.
“Always,” Reid said. Standing here, staring into the deep brown eyes of the woman he loved, he had no regrets, no remorse, and no worries. Taking a deep breath, he found the seat of his power, the well of lussor deep inside him. He imaged the power as something he could cup in his hand. It shone like a miniature sun and next to him, he sensed Laura’s power.
In his mind, he handed her his power. He felt the shiver that raced through her frame. Then she did the same. Her energy filled him with a sense of wholeness that not even being buried deep inside her could claim. As if she caressed his naked flesh, his cock stirred to life, and he relished the primal, carnal force of their power.
“All that I have is yours. All that I am is yours. All that I wish to be is yours. Forever and always. May our powers bind together like two strands of a rope, making the whole stronger than we could ever be alone,” Laura spoke. From where the words came, he didn’t know, though something deep inside told him they were correct. Te’s papers hadn’t mentioned words, anything to be said, just that the two people would know how to bind themselves together.
Lussor flashed.
Reid had no doubt any gifted person in the house knew what was happening up here in Laura’s rooms.
He breathed deeply and searched her eyes for the missing part of himself that he’d given her. He found it, and suddenly, he knew what to say. “From the first moment I saw you, I knew I had found my other half. You ignite the lussor and feed my soul. Everything I have is yours, and everything I am is yours, just as you are everything to me. Divided we fall, but together we stand and have the strength to face any obstacles that may come our way.”
Lussor flared between them.
Reid dipped his lips to Laura’s. “I love you. I think I have from the first moment I saw you and no matter what happens, I want my magic, my power, my life to be bound to yours. Forever and always.”
“Forever and always,” she whispered back then like two magnets drawn together, their lips met.
A clap of power rattled the room. With her hand still tied to Reid’s, Laura jumped closer to him. She burrowed into his arms, sighing as she pressed against his chest. The lussor surrounded them. Almost like chains, it bound them together. Reid nestled his cheek against the top of Laura’s head, feeling her energies meld with his. His cock hardened, the need to possess her roaring to life in his veins. Joining with her would be like completing the lost half of his soul, and with his free hand, he caressed her ribs. A shudder wound its way through her veins.
“I think it worked,” Laura said against his chest.
His hand dipped across her lower back. “Yeah, I think it did.”
The door flew open.
Laura whirled to face it, the tender moment shattered as Xavier burst through the opening.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing in my house?” He raised his hand.
“Joining with the man I love.” Laura stepped forward.
Reid leapt in front of her in order to protect her from the man who threatened to ruin their happiness. The ribbon pulled free, fluttering to the floor.
Laura stopped him. “No, I have to do this myself.” She made Reid meet her gaze, and staring into her determined, brown eyes, he knew he couldn’t protect her. Not from this.
“I’m right here, honey,” he said as he stepped aside. Reluctantly, he slid his fingers from her arm, but stayed within reach.
Laura raised her hand.
“Get out of the way!” Xavier strode forward.
“No!” Power, pure and brilliant in its intensity, shot from her hand.
Xavier’s eyes grew wide. The orb of energy, visible only as a shimmer in the air, slammed into the center of his chest. He stumbled backward, catching the doorframe before he fell. He stood there, half bent over.
“Father?” Laura stepped forward.
Xavier coughed and shook his head. “I’m okay.” He straightened. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
Laura stepped closer to him. “I am, father. I love Reid. I think he’ll make a good match. And if you love me, you’ll support me. Quit throwing men at me. I can make a choice. I’ve made my choice.” Power coiled in the palm of her hand.
Reid stared at her, proud of the strong woman he loved. She stared at her father, determined not to let him interfere. It may have taken the binding ritual to bring him to her side, but at the moment, it looked like Xavier would finally cede to his daughter’s wishes. Reid held his breath.
He moved to stand behind her and rested his left hand on her shoulder. His power joined hers, a co‑mingling of energies that sucked the breath from his lungs. His woman. His mate. He looked at her, noting her stern countenance. If she needed to fight her father for him, she would, and Reid had no doubts that she’d win.
~* * *~
Seeing her father burst through the door snapped something inside Laura. Feeling the magic in her palm and more than prepared to use it against him, she faced him down. He had moved from the doorway, into the room. He hadn’t answered her, and his silence scared her. She struggled to keep the fear bottled down deep inside. When Reid moved behind her, his presence lent her strength. She drew from it. Their past faded away, any errors, any mistakes, and it was the two of them standing there.
“So what will it be?” Laura asked her father when he didn’t answer. She needed to hear him say that he would be giving up on the idea of forcing her to marry someone of his choosing.
“I don’t like this, Laura.”
“You don’t have to like it.” She gathered more energy, prepared to launch another volley at her father if he didn’t back off. “All I want is your assurance that you won’t interfere in my life any longer. Call your goons off. Let me go back to Illinois and leave me the hell alone.” In the back of her mind, she figured someday she might regret this schism with her father. Right now, she knew, there wasn’t any good way to get him to let her life her life. Once she got back to Illinois, she’d worry about it. But if it took alienating her whole family to get her to stay with StarMyst and Reid, she’d do it in a heartbeat.
“You’re my only daughter. I want what’s best for you.”
“No you don’t!” Laura yelled at him. “You want what’s best for the Conclave. If I were the son you wanted then you wouldn’t be doing this. Just leave me alone. Let me go back to Illinois and get the hell out of my life.” She stepped forward and lobbed another volley of magic at him.
“Laura! Wait!” Xavier held his hands out to his sides. “You’re making a mistake.”
“If I am then it’s my mistake to make.” Staring across the few feet separating them, Laura struggled with the knowledge that what she was about to do would irrevocably sever her and her father’s relationship, no matter how screwed up it might be. “Let me live my own life.” With her power, she gently pushed her father out of the room and closed the door.
Chapter Ten
As soon as the door closed, Laura slumped against Reid. Unexpected tears stung her eyes, and she blinked them away. She’d made her choice. Now she had to live with the consequences.
“You okay?” Reid asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
“I am now.” She swallowed hard and managed to paste a smile on her face. “I suggest we leave in the morning.
“So that’s it. We come down here, you throw a little magic at your father, and this is over? As much as I’d like to believe it is, I don’t think it’ll end that easily.”
Laura’s phone rang.
She stared at it, wondering if it was her father or someone else. Knowing she’d have to face the music sooner, rather than later, she stepped toward it, and answered. “Hello,” she said.
“So the ritual is done?” Te’s voice floated over
the phone line. “Everything okay there?”
Laura held her hand over the mouthpiece. “It’s Te,” she said. “Yes, the ritual is done.”
“Felt like it from here. Everything okay? You need anything.”
Laura appreciated Te’s sincere concern. After her father’s icy demeanor, it felt good, no more than good, it felt like coming home. Brazos had never felt like home. Now, with her power bound to Reid’s, she was part of StarMyst Conclave, and Te’s warmth only made it feel more right. “I’m fine. I think Reid and I will be coming back soon.”
“We look forward to having you back. Welcome to the Conclave, Laura.”
Her cheeks heated, and she ducked her head in the hopes that Reid hadn’t seen. “Thank you. Do you need to talk to Reid?”
“Not unless he needs to.”
Laura pointed to the phone, but Reid shook his head. “I think he’s okay. Thanks for calling.”
“If you need anything, you know where I am. You’re a member of StarMyst now. Jacy’s resting, but I’m sure if she were awake, she’d be giving you her welcome too. And, I suggest you take it easy too. If you haven’t told Reid, you might want to, especially if you decide to throw any more magic at your father. He might not like you getting into battles in your condition.”
Laura stood, dumbfounded by Te’s words. “O…okay,” she stammered.
“Shit. You didn’t know did you? Jacy tells me I’m always blundering into delicate subjects. I’m sorry. Tell Reid I’m very happy for him. Have a good night, Laura.”
“You too,” Laura replied, her stomach churning. Her hand dropped to cover it, and she wondered if Te might be right. She hung up the phone.
“Everything okay?” Reid asked, his gaze dropping to her hand.
“I, um, think so.” She went to the couch and sat down.
Reid sank to the cushion beside her. “You don’t look all right. Laura you’re scaring me.” He reached for the hand she still held protectively over her stomach. “You’re cold. Come here.” He gathered her into his arms, tucking her against his chest. “I know I shouldn’t have let you face your father alone.”
