Bound

by Christina Garner

  “That’s great. Thank you.”

  Sheila appeared relieved, and Eden marveled. Was this the perfect family or what?

  They ate in the formal dining room, which wasn’t all that formal, but it was tastefully decorated, and the table Sheila laid out was nothing short of extraordinary. Seeing it, Eden was glad she hadn’t gotten that snack.

  The men carried in the last platters of steaming Thanksgiving goodness while Eden helped Sheila light elegant tapered candles. She mused on the fact that she hadn’t used a match to light a candle in months. The binding pressed down upon her, and she pushed away the sadness of knowing matches were now her only option.

  When they’d taken a seat, Dan’s father held up his glass and proposed a toast. “To family,” he said, “and to Eden for joining us for dinner.”

  They clinked glasses. Eden said, “Thank you for having me. This all looks fantastic.”

  “We have a tradition.” Sheila portioned mashed potatoes onto her plate then passed them to Dan, who handed the biscuits to Eden. “We go around the table and say what we’re thankful for.”

  “We do that in my family too.” Eden smiled at the idea of keeping up with it even though she wasn’t home. She plucked a biscuit from the basket and passed it to Quinn, who took two.

  “I’ll start,” Dan said. “I’m grateful for my beautiful wife and my brilliant son.” He paused spooning the green bean casserole. “And I’m really grateful we finally have a football team that’s worth a damn.”

  “Priorities, Dad.” Quinn shook his head but smiled as he did. “How about you, Mom?”

  “I’m also grateful for my brilliant son.” She beamed at Quinn. “And this one too, I guess.” She tilted her head toward Dan, who smirked good-naturedly. “And I’m thankful my son has someone he’s head-over-heels for in his life.”

  Quinn had blushed at the mentions of being brilliant, but now he was positively crimson.

  Head-over-heels? Eden warmed inside.

  He cleared his throat. “I’m grateful for family and that school is going well.” He glanced at Eden. “And I’m happy you agreed to spend the holiday with us.”

  Eden laid down her knife before she’d finished spreading pumpkin butter on her biscuit. “I’m thankful for family too—the one I was born to and the one I’ve found at college.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Quinn mentioned you were in a sorority. How do you like it?”

  “Quite a lot.” Eden felt herself behind her parent-pleasing persona. It was the same persona that came out whenever she wanted to make a good impression: a job interview, her college placement meetings. She needed Quinn’s parents to like her, and people always liked this version of herself. “It’s different than I thought it would be.” Understatement of the year. “We’re truly sisters. I’m an only child, so that’s nice.”

  Eden flinched inside, angry with herself for bringing up being an only child. Quinn had lost his sister, his parents their only daughter. Becoming an only child had to be far worse than having been born one.

  “That’s so lovely,” Sheila said, seemingly unperturbed. “I loved my sorority. I’m still friends with some of them to this day.”

  Eden’s stomach rumbled, and she put her hand on her belly. “Excuse me.” She flushed. So much for her composed parent persona. “All these delicious smells are getting the better of me.”

  “I like a girl with an appetite.” Dan gestured with his fork. “Let’s eat.”

  Everyone dug in, Eden with her hand pressed to her belly under the table. Quinn’s father would not like her appetite if he knew what it meant.

  Why now? Why here? The power she’d taken from Ariana should have been enough to last for at least a couple of days, and there was nothing to trigger her in a non-magical setting.

  She forced down a forkful of mashed potatoes.

  She was hungry, all right. But not for food.

  Chapter 32

  “I’m glad you changed your mind.” Kai took her eyes off the road just long enough to flash Sarah a smile.

  With Eden headed to meet Quinn’s parents, there had been no reason for Sarah not to take Kai up on her offer to get away for the weekend.

  “Me too. You and I plus a cabin in the woods sounds like the antidote to all my problems.”

  “Any of those problems you want to tell me about?” Kai cast her a sidelong glance.

  “Pretty sure you know them all.” That wasn’t strictly true, but Sarah shared everything she could. “Right now, it’s Alex I’m mostly worried about.”

  Kai shook her head. “That one. What’s her problem now? She still making you scrub walls till dawn?” She flashed a conspiratorial grin. “I’d be happy to have a chat with her on your behalf. Really. Happy.”

  Sarah returned her smile. “I appreciate the offer, but I think that’s a battle I need to fight on my own.”

  Sarah almost told her right then. She had promised herself she was going to tell Kai about their plan to give the ritual another try, but three glorious days stretched before them. Eden was getting her reprieve, so why shouldn’t Sarah get one too? Sarah would tell Kai, who’d be glad they were getting help. Not just glad, thrilled. It was what she’d been telling Sarah to do all along—spill Eden’s secret because they couldn’t handle it alone. Sarah was looking forward to her girlfriend’s reaction when she told her she’d been right all along.

  But that was for another time…when they were back to real life, not headed to a magical treehouse cabin tucked away where reality wouldn’t dare intrude.

  “Alex called the witch equivalent of a pop quiz last night. She waited until some of the girls had left for the holiday which doesn’t make sense, except it’s Alex, so she had her own agenda.”

  “Which was?”

  “To make Eden fail, so she could lay an ultimatum on her.”

  “How did Eden do?” A feigned casualness colored the question.

  “She passed.” If Sarah left it at that, she’d told the honest truth. “Which only means she’ll come back at her harder next time.”

  “That’s the trouble with a person like that having any kind of power. It only makes them want more.”

  “From your lips to the Council’s ears. In fact…” Sarah’s lips twitched into a sardonic grin. “If you’d like to have that chat with the Council… Now that I would take you up on.”

  Kai snorted. “Sorry, but you’re on your own there. Even I’m not crazy enough to mess with that bunch.”

  Sarah exhaled an exaggerated sigh. “For the best, I suppose.”

  They spent the remainder of the ride chatting and laughing. Sarah was glad she hadn’t told Kai about the Urn of Capio yet. After all that had happened, they deserved a break. Kai had gone to the trouble of making the perfect plans for a romantic getaway. The least Sarah could do was make sure she didn’t mess it up. She was a witch, and sooner or later, Kai would need to not only accept that, but embrace it. Sarah knew she would, given enough time. Time without a disaster. But there was much more to their relationship, and that was what this weekend was about. She could leave witchcraft behind for a few days.

  For seventy-two hours, Sarah could refrain from talking about Eden, Coventry House, and magic in general.

  “Ooh, look at that.” Kai pointed. “Doesn’t it look like a cute place for brunch tomorrow?”

  Knowing most places would be closed on Thanksgiving, they planned to cook dinner at their private treehouse cabin and head back into town the next day to do some exploring. Driving through, it was just as picturesque as the brochure had made it out to be.

  “So cute,” Sarah said. But her eyes weren’t where Kai had pointed. They were on the storefront beside it—a quaint shop with homey design offering books, coffee, and local curios. On its door hung a small cinnamon broom wrapped with flowering herbs. She knew what that broom meant.

  She wouldn’t be leaving witchcraft behind after all.

  Chapter 33

  After dinner, Eden helped Quinn clear
the dishes.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, glancing at her plate. Then he pitched his voice low. “Did you not like Mom’s cooking?”

  “What? No,” Eden, said quickly, lowering her own voice. “Everything tasted great, but I think I got a little carsick. Minor nausea. It’ll pass. I can’t wait for leftovers.” Quinn’s face relaxed, but Eden was still on edge. She’d forced down as much of the food as she could stomach. She would positively die if she threw up at Quinn’s parents’ house. “Do you think your mother will be upset I didn’t eat more?”

  “My mother doesn’t really get upset about anything.” Quinn’s expression was unreadable. “Trust me. It’s fine.”

  Eden relaxed a fraction, but there was still the little matter of the hunger—hunger that wasn’t her own—having returned much sooner than it should have. Was she building up a tolerance to power? The idea made her shudder and also forced her to wonder if that was what had happened to Bes’tal. He’d taken one soul and then another, maybe first because he wanted their power, but continued because he’d needed it.

  “Wanna see my room?” Quinn asked.

  Eden brightened.

  “Shouldn’t I help your mom with the dishes?” she replied, even though she really wanted to see where young Quinn had spent his formative years. She had an affection for the young boy who’d grown to be the man she loved.

  “You can ask, but she won’t let you. Trust me on that too.” He stacked more plates on top of hers, hiding the evidence. “Dad will pass out on the sofa for at least an hour, and by then we’ll all have room for dessert.”

  More food?

  “Yum,” Eden said. “I’m sure my stomach will be fine by then.”

  She was sure it wouldn’t, but that wouldn’t stop her from eating every single bite.

  Eden insisted on offering to help Sheila with cleanup, but true to Quinn’s word, she’d refused with a good-natured smile.

  “Go relax,” she said with a wave. “I’ve got this.”

  Quinn gave her an I-told-you-so look, but she hadn’t offered because she didn’t believe him. She’d offered for the parental brownie points.

  Upstairs with his hand on the doorknob, Quinn paused then opened the door with a dramatic flourish. “Behold, nerd paradise.”

  Eden giggled and stepped inside. A chart of the periodic table of elements adorned the walls as did certificates of various achievements. Gems and minerals covered his dresser.

  “Did I oversell it?” Quinn watched her as she took in the room.

  “Maybe a little,” she said, smiling. “I mean, look at this.” She pointed to a section of wall devoted to band posters. “There is some solid musical taste here. Definite hints of the stone-cold fox you turned into.”

  “Stone-cold fox, huh?” He moved closer and wrapped his hands around her lower back.

  “I said what I said.” She smirked and cocked her head to the side.

  He kissed her, and she kissed him back with urgency, pressing herself against him, feeling the solidness of his chest, the strength of his arms around him.

  If the hunger had started, the voices were on their way. If she and Quinn could just—

  “Babe.” Quinn pulled back. “Slow down. We’re in my parents’ house.”

  Eden made her best attempt at being coy. “I can be quiet.”

  Quinn’s expression said he wasn’t sure if she was serious or not. “We’re in my parents’ house,” he said again. “I have never had sex here, and I don’t ever plan to.”

  Eden took a step back, her cheeks hot with the shame of rejection. She stared at the floor. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” He reached for her, but she resisted, no longer wanting to be touched. “Hey.” He slipped his hand around hers. “It’s not you. It’s just that my parents—my mom especially—like things a certain way. I’ve never tested the theory,” he said ruefully, “but I’m pretty sure sex under their roof would get me a lengthy ‘this is not what we expect of you’ lecture. I would do anything to avoid one of those.” He put a finger beneath her chin and with care, lifted her face level to his. “Apparently even turn down sex with my stone-cold fox of a girlfriend.”

  Eden’s small smile was forced. She wasn’t angry with him—the thought of having sex in her own home with her parents downstairs was the least sexy thing she could imagine. But hunger gnawed at her insides, and if Quinn wouldn’t help her…

  What’s a girl to do?

  It was Bes’tal’s voice, soft as velvet. Eden’s blood ran cold.

  Chapter 34

  “That smells delicious.” Kai emerged from the bathroom wrapped in one of the fluffy cream-colored robes that had awaited them upon check-in, her dark hair slick from the shower. She came up behind Sarah at the stove and rested her head on Sarah’s shoulder, smelling of orange and bergamot. “I’m going to let you cook for me more often.”

  Sarah had insisted on taking care of dinner, but given her recent urn purchase, had only been able to afford boxed pasta. She hoped making the marinara from scratch would make up for it.

  “I’m going to let you take me away on romantic holidays more often.” Sarah turned her face just enough that her smile touched Kai’s.

  “Deal.” Kai kissed her, and Sarah wrapped her hand in the wetness of her hair. After a moment, Kai pulled back and grinned. “Careful, or you might make me forget about dinner altogether.”

  Kai reached for a bottle of red wine, and Sarah resumed stirring the sauce on the stove. In another pan, portobello mushrooms and minced garlic sizzled and began to soften. In the pot beside it, water started to boil. Soon she’d be popping the garlic bread in the oven.

  “Generous pour.” Sarah eyed the glass in Kai’s outstretched hand.

  “I might be trying to take advantage of you.” Her grin was playful.

  “You don’t need wine for that.” Sarah smiled over the rim as she took a sip, hoping she looked a fraction as sexy as Kai.

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Kai’s expression grew serious. “Not about sex, just…you’ve been kind of distant lately. Or maybe I’ve been distant. I don’t know.”

  Sarah knew what she meant and was glad she hadn’t been the only one feeling it. “We’ve both had a lot to deal with.”

  “We have.” Kai took a sip of wine. She seemed nervous or uncertain, neither of which Sarah was used to seeing from Kai. “I want those things we have to deal with to bring us closer together, not tear us apart.”

  Warmth filled Sarah’s heart and spread throughout her body. “I want that too. More than anything.”

  She set down her glass and reached for the woman she loved. Kai was there, warm and real. Realer than anything Sarah had ever felt before. She was Sarah’s person, and she was wrapped in her arms.

  They were finally back on track.

  Chapter 35

  Bes’tal would not shut up.

  He talked to Eden throughout dessert while she stuffed down forkful after forkful of pecan pie with soy whipped cream.

  A little too proud of herself for having made such a small effort, isn’t she?

  It’s not small, Eden growled back. It’s thoughtful. Something you would know nothing about.

  He blathered on as Eden joined the family in watching a movie.

  Why are you pretending to belong here? Look around you. These are not your people.

  Eden told him to shut up. It was a cruel irony his incessant chatter wasn’t enough to keep her preoccupied from the terror gripping her belly. Why was he the voice who had come back and not the others?

  Because I’m the one in charge. Of them…and of you.

  Eden didn’t answer this time. She hoped ignoring him would be more effective than telling him to be quiet. He was enjoying making her squirm—especially here.

  “You’re gonna miss your favorite part, honey,” Dan called, his finger on the pause button of the remote.

  But he didn’t need to use it. Sheila scuttled back from the kitchen with unasked for mugs of
cider. She handed Eden one with a broad smile. Eden took it with what she hoped was a grateful expression. She was already in trouble, unsure she’d be able to keep down what she’d already consumed.

  Speaking of consuming…

  Eden bit the inside of her lip to keep from screaming.

  Sheila settled into the chair opposite her husband and laughed at something happening onscreen.

  Their smiles are a little too wide, aren’t they? Everything a little too perfect. What is all this artifice hiding?

  She wanted to push the thought away, but now that she’d had it—that Bes’tal had had it—she couldn’t help but see it.

  Of course, she knew what they were hiding, and that meant Bes’tal knew too.

  Her name was Laura, wasn’t it? Where is she?

  He didn’t mean physically. He meant where were the pictures? Where was mention of her? She’d been scrubbed clean.

  It’s pedestrian, really. How people who don’t know darkness handle tragedy. As if it never happened.

  She hated herself for what she was thinking: that he wasn’t wrong. In covering up what they’d lost, were they denying what they’d had? She wished she could ask Carolyn.

  As the evening stretched, Eden felt more and more out of place. The room that had been cozy earlier now seemed too small. What had appeared a perfect family unit now struck her as a facade.

  She was grateful when Dan announced he was headed to bed, and Sheila said the same.

  “Can you get Eden set up down here?” she asked Quinn. “Fresh sheets in the hall.”

  “Yeah, Mom. I’ve got it.” Quinn clicked off the television.

  Dan and Sheila went upstairs while Quinn disappeared for a moment, returning with an armful of bedding.

  “I’m sorry about the sofa,” he said, pulling off the cushions and placing them in a nearby chair. “Laura’s room is a touchy subject.”