by Lana Ames
Justin had told me that he and Finley had been friends since childhood. I could see that from the way they interacted, full of grinning side glances and an easy comfort with one another. They even touched casually; a hand on the other’s shoulder, a teasing ‘punch’ to the belly. Yet Max was nearly as comfortable as the other two, adding jokes and clever remarks that had everyone chuckling.
Lady Periwinkle stepped away from the three men for a moment, motioning to a server I hadn’t even noticed back at the drinks-and-snacks table. The young woman nodded, approaching with a platter of bruschetta. From the bottle in her other hand, she refilled my champagne glass.
The bruschetta was delicious, and suddenly I was starving for dinner. I was about to rudely ask how long till we ate (clearly I was tipsy already) when a golden god of a man walked into the room.
“So sorry I’m late,” he said, in a light but lilting Irish accent. “I hope you didn’t start without me.”
“Depends what you mean by ‘start’,” Justin said with a ribald snicker. “We haven’t had dinner yet, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I gaped at the man, unsure how much more male beauty one woman could take. He was shorter and slighter than the others, but in a lean, athletic way, as if he were a swimmer or a dancer rather than a weight lifter or football player. His blond hair was sun-kissed, though his skin was palely freckled. And were those eyes hazel, or green? They seemed to change with the light in the room, wavering, indecisive.
“Excellent!” He grabbed a glass of champagne from a second server’s tray. “My thanks, o goddess of the elixir of life.” She merely rolled her eyes with a slight grin, then moved to the side table to replenish her supply.
The new man took a long drink of the ‘elixir’ before turning to us. “Now then. What have I missed?”
Lady Periwinkle stepped forward. “Only introductions and chit-chat, my dear.” She turned to me with a warm smile. “This is Aiden. And Aiden, this is Emma.”
He stood holding his forgotten glass, staring at me as intensely as I was staring back at him. I was sure he was no one I had ever met before—I didn’t even remember him from the costume party last night—and yet it was as though I had known him all my life. Something deep inside me rang with a resonant tone…a recognition, far beyond mere appearance or encounters out here in the real world.
I had been struggling with what Justin and Finley had been telling me about magic, about sorcery, demons and the rest of it—struggling to understand, to accept, even to believe it. My mind had been tentatively trying it all on, seeing if I could make any of it make sense alongside the world I had always lived in.
It wasn’t until this moment that it actually sank in. That it became real. That I really, truly knew that there was magic in this world. And that I could be part of it—that I already was a part of it.
Because I knew, all the way down to my soul, that this man and I were mates. Call it soul mates, life partners, whatever—words didn’t matter. This man and I were destined to be together. We always had been.
Yet this didn’t take away from my knowing that the other three men belonged with me as well. Aiden didn’t push away Justin, Finley, and Max. In a weird way, he completed the set.
Justin had told me that there was an enchantment, that a magical cohort would be created between me and four men.
It was only in this moment that I truly believed it.
“Um,” I finally said, conscious that everyone was watching the two of us gape at one another. “Nice to meet you.” I put out a shaky hand.
Aiden smiled, and the sun came out. “I am absolutely stunned to meet you, Emma,” he said. His teeth were pearly white; his eyes now flashed green, then almost a pale blue; his freckles twinkled at me as if they had a mind of their own. And he reached his hand out to take mine.
The touch of his skin against my hand almost sent me into a swoon. I actually reeled a bit, taking a small step to keep my balance, clutching Aiden’s hand more tightly.
Lady Periwinkle put a soft hand on my arm. “Emma, breathe.” I took a breath, and felt my calm and equilibrium trickle back slightly. “You will not always find your harem so…overwhelming.”
My harem. She really called it that. I turned to look at her, even as I still held onto Aiden. “It’s all pretty overwhelming right now, actually. Not just the men. But—everything.” Since both my hands were occupied, I gestured with my head, indicating the ballroom, the mansion…the opulence.
“I know.” She nodded at Aiden, who gently released my hand and took another healthy swig of his champagne. It was nice to see that he was affected too. “You are opening channels within yourself that have always been closed,” Lady Periwinkle went on. “The magic is within you, but it has been blocked, undeveloped. As you work with it, with your cohort, you will become stronger and more solid on your feet.”
“That’s good.” I gave her a tremulous smile. “I’m not sure how much help I can be to you, all weak-kneed like this.”
Her smile grew, crinkling the corners of her eyes. It was the only sign I could see that she was a day over twenty-five years old. “You will be a great help to me, Emma Foster. I have not been so certain of anything in a long, long while.”
Her words filled me with warmth, and more calm. I felt entirely steady now, and began wondering again when dinner would be. Seemed I had forgotten lunch, now that I thought about it…
As if she had read my mind, our hostess said, “We will be dining as soon as the remainder of our guests arrive. They should be down shortly.”
“Who else is coming?” I asked, trying to remember what Finley had told me about this dinner party. Charming, he’d said they would be.
Lady Periwinkle hadn’t even had a chance to answer when a man strode into the room, with five women arrayed just behind him. I felt the tension in the room rise at once; both Justin and Finley stepped closer to me, Finley putting a possessive hand at the small of my back. Even Max and Aiden drew in, effectively closing our circle. “What is he doing here?” Aiden hissed, almost a whisper in my ear, as Finley gave a low, almost inaudible growl.
Lady Periwinkle, however, bestowed a sparkling smile on the newcomers and stepped forward to greet them. “Edwin, ladies, thank you for joining us.”
The man—Edwin—took her proffered hand and bent over it, giving it a theatrical kiss. “Thank you so much for the invitation. I admit, I was surprised to receive it.” He raised his head again and looked over at the rest of us. His eyes lingered on me a moment before his lips curled up into a tiny sneer. That was when I knew where I had seen him before: he’d been dressed as a furry grey aardvark at the costume party. Though he was in regular clothes now, of course, there was still something…ratlike about him.
None of the women behind him said a word during any of this. And I noticed that no one introduced them. What in the world was going on here?
“Please, be seated, everyone.” Lady Periwinkle waved an elegant hand at the table, then stepped forward to take the seat at its head. “You are right here, my dear,” she said to me more quietly, indicating the seat to her right.
I gratefully sat down in the plush, comfortable chair; Justin pushed it in behind me, then took a seat to my right. Finley took the seat directly across from me, and Max sat next to him. Aiden paused a moment, catching our hostess’s eye. I didn’t see any sign of communication from her, but he nodded and sat next to Max.
Farther away from me, but in my line of vision. All my men were where I could easily see them. Interesting.
The other guests arrayed themselves at the other end of the table. Edwin took the foot, and his anonymous ladies the rest of the side chairs. None of them spoke.
What a strange dinner party, I thought. So formal and elegant in one sense, yet it felt more like a diplomatic summit between nations at war.
An observation that was confirmed a moment later when Aiden spoke up, ostensibly addressing Lady Periwinkle but pitching his voice to be heard by all. “My
lady, may I ask why you have chosen to invite the representative of your mortal enemy to this gathering?”
I sucked in a breath and my eyes widened. This was the demon’s creature?
Justin reached for my hand under the table, taking it and squeezing it gently. I grabbed and held it gratefully.
“Of course you may ask, my dear,” Lady Periwinkle said to Aiden, also speaking loud enough for the whole table to hear, “just as I may keep my reasons to myself—in my own home, at my own table.”
Aiden gave a brief, respectful bow, though his eyes blazed with anger. “My apologies.”
She nodded back, then turned to the servers waiting respectfully at the edges of the room. “Shall we?”
There commenced a flurry of activity, as the servers poured wines (both red and white) and brought around baskets of bread rolls. They returned a moment later with soup (clear lobster consommé) and salad (stunningly fresh arugula with bright green, perfectly ripe avocado in a delicate dressing). I didn’t even know where to start.
“Try the soup first,” whispered Justin in my ear. “It’s hot.”
“Ah.” I felt my cheeks flame in embarrassment, but I took a spoonful of the soup. It was amazing; I had to be careful not to slurp it all down. I did make reasonably quick work of it, then started on my salad. Also delicious.
When the first courses were cleared, there was a brief lull. Lady Periwinkle dabbed the corners of her mouth with an embroidered napkin, took a sip of white wine, and then looked up across the length of the table. “Edwin. Do please illuminate us all about your master’s most recent proposal.”
Edwin sent a feral smile down the table. “Mundon is not my master, though I understand why you might become confused about such details.”
The lady ignored the insult, looking back at him with a polite, interested expression. “Oh? Does he not command you, and you do his bidding?”
“He employs me, and I am compensated.”
“You are free, then, to refuse an unreasonable request?”
“Of course.” Edwin’s smile was growing stale. “Though he has never requested anything I found unreasonable.”
“I see.” She glanced at his silent women. “So your…harem is just for your amusement, not for any sort of defense against your…employer?”
Edwin colored. “This is not a harem, or a cohort; the girls just like hanging out with me.”
I could see the lie written all over his face at that, and I twitched a little at his calling them ‘girls,’ but I kept my mouth shut. Even if this did turn out to be my battle, I did not know the players, their history and their foibles, at all. If I was going to be any help here, I needed to listen and learn.
Lady Periwinkle gave a gentle shrug of her narrow shoulders. “Be that as it may. My original question stands: please explain this new proposal to us all.”
Edwin made a big show of taking a roll from his bread plate, buttering it, and taking a bite before answering. His ladies all watched him silently. They were too creepy, I have to say. They sure didn’t look like they were enjoying ‘hanging out’ with such a jerk.
“Mundon is entertained by your little efforts to corrupt the locals—” Edwin gave me and my men a significant look “—in a pathetic attempt to drum up some sort of makeshift shield. He does understand that you might not want to give up your life and power just yet, and he is not unsympathetic to your plight. He proposes a restructuring of your agreement.”
“Does he? How charming. How so, exactly?”
“He will give you one more year, untouched, and then he will return to take everything. In return, you will cease this nonsense of building cohorts and harrying him with these little pokes and proddings.”
The lady showed no overt emotion, but I thought I could feel the anger emanating off her. “That is unacceptable,” she said. “That is no offer at all, merely the delay of a threat that should never have been made in the first place.”
“Oh?” Edwin raised an eyebrow. “Did you not sign this very agreement?” He suddenly held up a piece of paper. Old and worn, like parchment. I couldn’t read it from here, but I could see scrawly writing on it.
Lady Periwinkle leaned forward just slightly. “You yourself know of the trickery of demons. The agreement that I signed bore only the most superficial resemblance to the document you are waving about.”
Edwin smirked at her, and then at the rest of us. “It’s always a good idea to read the fine print.”
The lady looked back at him, her gaze steely and unflinching. “A lesson you may be learning for yourself, all too soon.”
Suddenly Edwin leapt to his feet. He grabbed his glass of red wine, drained it, and then glared at his companions. “Come on, girls, I’ve had enough. I can get us better slop ordering takeout.” He turned and stomped out of the room. His harem rose one by one and silently followed him out.
As the door slammed behind them, Lady Periwinkle gave a relieved sigh and reached over to pat my hand. “Emma. I am so sorry you had to witness that…but you needed to see what we’re up against here.”
“It’s all right,” I said, though it clearly wasn’t, not in a larger sense anyway. “I’ve met jerks before.”
She shook her head. “I feel for him, truly I do. He’s made a far worse bargain than I ever did, but no one could tell him otherwise. I will take no joy in his downfall.”
“What was the matter with his women?” I asked. “Did he cut their tongues out or something?”
Beside me, Justin gave an uncomfortable snort. He again reached to take my hand under the table; I squeezed it.
Finley rolled his eyes and said, “He has enchanted them, I believe. A dark twist on the open, collaborative workings of our cohorts. And he’ll never set them free. He likes them too much this way.”
Suddenly, a memory from last night ran through my head…Justin’s words, just before he entered me for the first time. “Say the words exactly. Your magic will free us all.” I turned to look at him, puzzled, intending to ask—
And now here were the servers, bearing heaping platters of roast pork studded with glazed apples and potatoes, and covered in a dark, delicious-smelling chutney. They dished our plates full. Of course there was twice as much food as needed, since half the party had stormed out before the main course. Apparently we were going to be expected to take care of their share as well as ours.
Our wine glasses were replenished; gravy was passed around, along with more rolls; and several mustards and cream sauces were distributed. Once the servers left again, I had lost my nerve for asking difficult questions. I could—I would—ask Justin later. For now, I would just enjoy this amazing dinner.
Chapter Eight
After dinner came dessert, of course, and cordials and digestives to go along with it; and after dessert Lady Periwinkle excused herself. “My apologies, but I am unaccountably weary. May I borrow Justin?”
“What?” From me? Did she think I owned him? “Of…of course,” I stammered.
Justin leaned over, gave me a delicious kiss under my ear, and then got to his feet. “My lady,” he said to our hostess.
She took his arm, and together they left the room.
Max and Aiden looked up from the conversation they’d been having across the table. “You don’t have to stay here on our accounts, you know,” Aiden said, giving Finley and me a wicked grin. “I imagine you have unfinished business upstairs.” He turned to face Finley more directly. “Just don’t wear her out.”
Finley gave a half-bow, grinning back at Aiden. “Don’t worry. I believe she only gains energy from this…business.”
I blushed. “That’s not true. I slept all afternoon.”
Aiden feigned a shocked look. “Slept? Good god! Get out of here, you two! I don’t want this fellow—” he nudged Finley “—saying he didn’t get his fair share before you’re passed along to Max…and then to me.” He grinned directly at me. “Saving the best for last, of course.”
I wanted to take offense a
t this…heck, this morning I had taken offense at quite a bit less than this…but it seemed that I had covered rather a lot of ground between then and now. Somewhere, I’d decided that this was all okay. That I would do this.
I would sleep with Finley again tonight, and with Max tomorrow. I wanted to; I was eager to.
And beyond that: it was the only way to get to Aiden.
Not that I was not excited to get to Max. I looked over at him as he watched the whole exchange with a small smile. He was definitely the quiet one of the bunch, playing his cards close to his vest…I looked forward to getting to know him better.
Finley rose from his chair and came around the table to offer his arm. I rose and took it.
“Good night,” I said to the two remaining men.
“Pleasant dreams,” said Max.
Aiden just kept smiling at me.
I shivered, savoring the weirdly delightful sensation of being surrounded by men who wanted me…who were mine…and who were not in competition about it.
I couldn’t imagine ever getting used to such a thing.
Finley led me back to his room. It had been cleaned and straightened while we were at dinner; fresh sheets were on the bed, fresh towels in the bathroom. “I could get used to this,” I said, stretching out on the bed.
“I hope you do,” he said, sitting beside me and starting to unzip my dress.
The phone by the bed rang. I looked at it, startled; I hadn’t even noticed that there was a land line in here. What a funny, old-fashioned place this mansion was. Of course, if Lady Periwinkle was as old as they said, even this telephone must be startling new technology to her.
“I am sorry, but if that has rung through, it must be urgent.”
I nodded. “Go ahead.”
Finley leaned over and picked up the receiver. “Yes?”
I rolled over and watched him. He frowned, said “Mm-hmm” a few times, and then, “Come on, then. We just got here.”
