by Ivy Asher
Both Readers stare at me openmouthed, and I look back and forth between their displays of shock.
“Is that not normal?” I ask.
“I’d have to do some additional research, but from memory, I’d say your experience is rare," Tearson tells me, and Conlin resumes his frantic writing.
I nod my head, very used to accepting my freakish ways. I’m a freak among nons, among casters, and now among sentinels, why not?
“Do you need to see my weapons too?” I ask, already moving to stand up.
“Please," Tearson responds, but I can tell he’s a little surprised. Do other Sentinels not have weapons? I wonder and then chuckle internally, well he’s going to be in for quite the surprise then.
I begin to call on my personal arsenal, snickering at the look on the Reader’s face, as I pull one weapon after another. I lay the sword and staff from my back down first. Then I call on the short swords from my ribs. I set down the bow and a handful of arrows that come from my shoulders. The mace and Axe from the back of my thighs are next, and lastly, I summon a couple throwing knives. I stare at the table now covered in weapons and feel like some medieval assassin who’s just disarmed. There are a lot of options even though I tend to use only a handful of these weapons.
“I also have shields on my arms, legs, and shoulders, but I can’t take them off to show you," I tell Tearson and watch as Reader Conlin comes closer to the table, quickly documenting everything that he sees.
A slight movement to my left draws my attention, and I find Lachlan and his coven staring at me. I suddenly feel stupid. What am I thinking, putting my secrets on display like this? Maybe the paladin won’t be able to tell my secrets to others, but they can still use all of this information against me.
This is exactly what they wanted, to deal with me themselves if need be. I might as well be giving them a roadmap to the ways they could kill me when they decide that’s what’s best for them. I’m such an idiot! With a thought, I call back all of the magic in the weapons, and they disappear in a blink from the table. Reader Conlin makes a noise of surprise and stares at the now empty marble table.
“Sorry, I just realized I’ve left myself exposed. In my experience that never works out very well for me," I offer in explanation, my eyes roaming coldly over the paladin.
“Vinna-” Lachlan starts, but a quick look from Reader Tearson silences him.
“You’re fine, Your Greatness. Let’s move on.”
I take my seat, and Reader Tearson proceeds to pull five medium-sized rocks from a velvet bag and place them on the top of his side of the table.
“Each crystal represents a branch of magic. When you’re ready, bring one hand up to the table. The crystal you attract represents the kind of magic you possess.”
This is it, what everyone has been waiting for. What kind of magic will I have? I thought I’d be super nervous about what will change after I find out, but after the whole Sentinel and Chosen bomb, I’m feeling pretty calm.
My hand is steady as I bring it to hover over my side of the table. Three crystals shoot across the surface, stinging my hand with their impact. I squeak, surprised. A fourth crystal moves more slowly across the table before it stops, centimeters shy of my hovering palm. The fifth crystal wiggles, but stays firm in its place on the Reader’s side of the table.
Reader Conlin removes the crystals that are attached to my skin like magnets to metal and hands them back to Reader Tearson. His eyes are beaming excitement as he takes the crystals and tells me what this all means.
“You have very strong Offensive, Defensive, and Elemental magic. As well as a strong affinity for Healing magic. I would not be surprised if your Healing magic develops into a very strong affinity with some work. It seems Spell magic, however, will not be your forte.”
“Holy shit!” someone exclaims.
Reader Tearson’s brows furrow, but he ignores the outburst and begins to place the crystals back into the bag, his focus and huge grin still trained on me.
“You’re nothing short of extraordinary, Your Greatness, but I would expect nothing less of the last Sentinel. I’m in awe of everything we’ve discovered here today.”
I smile bashfully at his statement. His reverence and awe feel unearned, and I can’t help feeling awkward about it. I try to ignore the praise over my existence and focus on being glad to have some answers finally. I remember him telling me that he has scans from archives that will tell me more about everything I’ve learned today, and I feel lighter with the realization that I’ll have access to more answers as time goes on.
I take a deep breath and look around the room. I’ve been waiting so long to know what was revealed to me today, but this moment feels somewhat anticlimactic. Maybe I’m in shock, or maybe my anger from what happened earlier is tainting things.
Reader Tearson stands up and walks over to Silva. He begins to chant slowly finishing with some unusual hand movements and then moves to Evrin repeating the same thing. I assume this is the sealing he was telling me he would do at the end of the reading. I’m relieved that it’s now over, and I realize just how drained I feel. Images of my comfy bed flood my mind, and I stifle a yawn.
I still have questions about my parents, among other things, but I’ll deal with that tomorrow. I don’t think I can process any more information tonight. Reader Tearson finishes the binding and approaches me. He bows again and asks Reader Conlin if there is anything more they need.
He gives a quick shake of his head and then bows to me as well. I’m instructed that we should leave the room in the opposite order that we entered it, so I thank the Readers and then follow the dim lamps back out of the door into the empty hallway.
I know that I should wait and have many of the conversations I’m sure the others are dying to have, but right now I just want to be alone. I sprint up to my bedroom and lock the door behind me. I strip hurriedly out of the white dress and turn on the tap to fill the tub. I sprinkle bath salts and splash in some bubble bath, and I breathe in the relaxing aroma of lavender as it fills the air around me.
I’m perched naked in the dark on the edge of the huge bathtub when the first knocks sound at my door. I hear a muffled voice, but I can’t make out who it is or what they’re saying. I ignore them. I toss my hair up into a messy bun and sink into heat and bubbles. I adjust the tap making it even hotter and lay back while the rest of the tub fills.
I’m a Sentinel. The last in a line of hunted and murdered magic users. I have a ton of unusual abilities, and I’ve forced five guys into a permanent magical connection with me whether they like it or not. I possess affinities for four of the five branches of magic and the only family I have in this world either wants to use me or kill me.
Fuck.
I never thought I’d see the day when being an unwanted, homeless teenager that fights for a living seemed like a simpler way of life.
37
I pause at the top of the stairs hearing voices coming from Bastien’s room. I knock lightly on his door, and follow the shout to come in. Bastien is sitting on his bed and his face morphs into a heart-stopping smile when he sees it’s me who’s knocking.
“I wondered when you’d resurface," he teases.
I give him an apologetic smile. “Yeah, I just wanted some time to…you know…deal. I guess," I offer in lame explanation as I walk further into the room.
As soon as I get within reaching distance, Bastien grabs me and pulls me into his lap. I chuckle and settle into him, his closeness soothing some if the anxiety I’ve been feeling since the reading yesterday.
“Just as long as you know you don’t have to deal with everything alone," Valen tells me with a comforting smile.
I return it and start looking around Bastien’s room. His bed is simple and masculine and sits up against the gray stone wall like mine does. Where I have side tables, he has thick polished wood floating shelves. There’s no fireplace like there is in my room. Instead, there is a huge built-in entertainment center with a behemo
th TV, and different game consoles placed amongst some pictures and other knick-knacks.
A large brown sectional where Knox and Ryker are sitting stretches in front of the entertainment center. By the wall of windows to the right of the bed are two fluffy, cushioned hanging hammock chairs, one of which is occupied by Sabin reading a book.
I shake my head at myself and chuckle humorlessly. Aside from some basic facts like age and the kind of magic he has, I know next to nothing about Bastien, or any of them really. I learned more about Sabin when we went riding, but all of this feels so out of order suddenly.
“What’s that noise for?” Valen asks from next to me and Bastien on the bed.
“I’m just realizing that I’ve kissed most of you, and forced all of you into a permanent bond with me, but this is the first time I’ve been in anyone’s room. I pretty much know next to nothing about most of you. How fucked up and backward is that?”
Several of them chuckle.
“What’s so backward about it? You kicked my ass, found yourself consumed by attraction for my awesome personality--and rock-hard body. You’ve marked me as your Chosen, and eventually, I’ll be turned into a magic weapon wielding, powerful, ultra-cool badass; the likes of which the world hasn’t seen for almost a thousand years. I’m sure there are tons of stories out there just like ours," Bastien finishes nonchalantly, and I can’t help but smile.
“Learning all about each other will come with time, and Bruiser, you’re welcome in my room anytime you want.”
Bastien leans me back in a mock dip and his smile turns lascivious. He plants a quick kiss on my lips, and I laugh at his playfulness. I needed this. I’ve been so wrapped up in my head trying to piece things together and sort through everything I learned yesterday.
I feel completely stressed and overwhelmed. But this, this easy way that I fit with these guys, it soothes me in a way I desperately need right now. He pulls away, and I grab his face for one more slow kiss before letting him sit back.
“I’m sorry about last night," I address all of them. “Valen’s right, I don’t always have to deal with things alone. It’s been my default for my whole life, and I need to recognize that it’s not my only option now.”
“We get it, no worries," Ryker smiles at me. “The Readers told us to tell you goodbye and that they’ll be in touch. They left a folder of documents for you and a tablet.”
“Wait, what? They left?” I ask astounded.
“I thought they were here to help me with all of this?” I point to myself.
“Yeah that’s what we thought, too, but Reader Tearson insisted he had to do some research and Reader Conlin needed to document everything from the reading. They left almost right away.”
“Well, shit. I wanted to ask about my parents and about a thousand other things."
“They did leave a contact number, and I think the tablet they left behind has all the information they scanned for you from their archives. That might be a good place to start looking for answers," Sabin reassures me.
Valen pulls me from Bastien’s lap, and into his own and a surprised squeak sneaks from my lips. I swat him, and he just smiles at me.
“Your squeaks are adorable, Vinna," Knox teases me.
“I’m not adorable. I’m a terrifying Sentinel, haven’t you heard?”
Laughter wafts around the room, and I crawl out of Valen’s lap. As much as I like the manhandling, nosiness is building inside of me and the pictures scattered about the wall of built-ins are calling to me. I find an adorable picture of the twins when they were younger.
Their wavy curls were much shorter then. But their hazel eyes, cute, little, upturned noses and pouty lips are still prevalent, but on a smaller scale. I set the picture down and reach for an older looking picture of Silva with a beautiful curly haired woman.
“Is this your mom?” I ask the twins.
They both nod their heads in unison. I stare at the picture and marvel at how beautiful and happy she and Silva were when this moment was captured. I can see her in Bastien and Valen’s features. They have her nose and her lips, and definitely her beautiful dark curls.
I set the picture down gently, and fall back into the mystery I spent a lot of the night trying to unravel. My father, the twins’ parents, and their coven, all went missing together. Fifteen months later, give or take a month or two, I was born. My mother was a Sentinel; since that definitely didn’t come from my father--Vaughn’s side--but how the hell did they end up together?
“How did a whole coven disappear into thin air, while simultaneously discovering a Sentinel that supposedly didn’t exist? That Sentinel then gets knocked up, and none of them are ever heard from again. And somehow I end up with Beth?” I ask still staring at the picture and the happy faces it captures.
“I wish we knew," Valen answers, and I can hear the sadness that’s tucked deep in his voice.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, irritated, and no closer to solving this mystery than I was last night. I went over and over everything I could remember about Beth. I searched my memories for any clues that might help me figure out how I ended up with her. She had to know more about my father than she admitted, but how did she get involved in all of this?
Strong hands grip my hips, and I lean back into Knox’s chest and let out a frustrated sigh.
“Do you know anything about the nest of lamia they were supposed to be dealing with? They’re obviously the missing link in this story," I ask.
“We have names for some of the lamia, but that’s been a dead end. The paladin were called in to deal with them because they were abducting casters, but we haven’t found any information as to why," Bastien tells me.
“They sent paladin out to look for the missing coven, but the paladin and the lamia disappeared without a single trace," Valen confirms.
Knox pulls me back to the couch, and I plop down next to him. He hooks an arm around me and I relax into him lost in my rumination.
“You smell good," I absently tell him as I breathe him in deeply.
I can’t place what it is, but it’s deep and manly, and I really like it. Knox chuckles and nuzzles the side of my face. It has to be me. Somehow I’m the key to sorting all of this out if I can just figure out how it all fits together.
“Did the abductions stop when the lamia nest and the paladin disappeared?” I ask no one in particular.
“I think so," Bastien replies. “I remember reading that the elders at the time, associated that with the nest either being eradicated or damaged enough to keep them from continuing the way they had been."
“Or the nest accomplished whatever they were aiming for, and the abductions became unnecessary," I say offhandedly.
The room grows quiet as we all seem to fall into our own thoughts. I’m not sure how long we stay that way before Ryker breaks up the introspection.
“Do you want to go dive into all the documents the Readers left for you, Squeaks? See if we can find anything helpful in there?”
I look at Ryker and raise an eyebrow. “Squeaks?”
His smile is audacious, and his sky-blue eyes have a cheeky twinkle to them. “Yeah I agree with Knox, all those little noises you make are fucking adorable.”
The other guys chortle at his comment.
“You can’t give me a nickname that makes me sound like a timid mouse.”
“It’s already done, Squeaks, and there’s nothing you can do about it," he taunts me.
I shake my head and chuckle, looking as passive as possible before I lunge for him. Knox slows me down just enough that Ryker slips away laughing.
“I’ll show you squeaks," I playfully threaten, while trying halfheartedly to get out of Knox’s hold.
“Just wait until we both have the same runes and we’ll see who roughs up who then,” Ryker counters with a wink, and settles into the hammock chair next to Sabin.
My playful smile slips. “Shit, we need to talk about that don’t we?” I ask, looking at each of them.
Sa
bin surprises me by saying, “Not really.”
I stare at him stupefied.
“It doesn’t change anything. We all wanted things to move forward with you. We wouldn’t have wanted that unless we saw a future with you.”
“I thought you were the poster boy for wanting things to go slow?” I ask Sabin.
“There’s nothing saying that we need to bind tomorrow, we can still go at our own pace. It’s a non-issue.”
Sabin’s relaxed attitude astonishes me. I know we talked about things when we went riding, but I’m still a little bewildered by this accepting reaction.
“The issue is, that being with me is setting you up for an uncertain future. Did you not hear the same history lesson I did about Sentinels involving death, death, and more death?” I point out.
“We’re going to be paladin, Vinna, that in itself invited risk and danger into our future. Being bound to you doesn’t change that," Valen reminds me.
“You already knew how I felt about things. I’m in. I want you, and I’m fucking excited for the new abilities and magic. The sooner you want to solidify things the better, in my book.” Knox gives me a dirty smile and suggestively waggles his eyebrows. I don’t fight the huge smile that takes over my face.
“You guys aren’t freaked out about this at all?” I ask, fishing for reassurance.
They all shake their heads no, and look at me like what’s the big deal?
“Does it freak you out?” Ryker asks me.
His question makes me pause for a minute. I’ve been worried about them and what all of this meant for their future. I haven’t even thought about my take on it all.
“I don’t like the reality that I’ll be making you targets by being with you. But giving you amped-up abilities that will help you deal with that is reassuring. I guess I’m just worried if all of you are really okay with this. One minute we’re just deciding to give a relationship a go, and now you’re stuck with me.” I cringe, as the words leave my mouth terrified that one of them will agree with the stuck sentiment.
