Chapter 2 #2
I paced my room. Back and forth in front of the mirror, until I wore a track in the useless rug my mother insisted I buy as I waited for her image to appear. The large mirror over my dresser revealed a smooth surface, not even a ripple.
A shallow, gold bowl rested in front of it, filled to the brim with a fresh batch of moon water and three crystals balanced in the middle—amethyst to open communication, rose quartz to focus on calling my mother specifically, and I threw in a blue kyanite for extra emotional balance.
I needed all the help I could get. My shadows had only just calmed enough for me to venture back out among the humans, and it took an entire afternoon of meditation to get it that way.
“Would you hurry up?” Ez burst into my room with a trailing cloud of cinnamon and ginger, his favorite herbs when he wanted to get lucky. “If we’re any later, the only available women left will be the ones too drunk to even know where I’m asking to stick my dick.”
I rolled my eyes and lit an extra candle for urgency. “At least you’re asking.”
“Don’t be an ass just because Mommy Dearest isn’t picking up. You know I’m big on consent.”
I heard the irritation in his voice, along with an undertone of hurt, and turned to him with a grimace. There wasn’t a whole lot of choice in my cousin’s life and insinuating that he took it lightly was a dick move.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Why don’t you go ahead without me, and I’ll catch up?” I offered, knowing I wasn’t leaving this room tonight until my mother answered.
“That seems highly irresponsible seeing as Ezra is supposed to be guarding you.” I whirled around at the sound of my mother’s voice and caught the tail end of her materialization.
The ripples in the mirror settled into a familiar stern frown.
“Sending your protection away was not part of the deal, and I’m sure your cousin is aware of the consequences should he fail. ”
The room grew ten degrees cooler before I could answer. Frost coated the crystals in the bowl and splintered along the edges of the mirror as Ez’s temper filled the small space.
“Hello, Auntie Mira. It’s a pleasure, as always.”
I didn’t need to see him to know his eyes were narrowed in disrespect.
His normally dark complexion grew paler the more he fell into his power.
I could see my breath in front of me and knew this stare-down would only result in me mopping up the room once all the ice melted if I didn’t put a stop to it.
“Go wait in the living room,” I ordered. “Mother and I will be done in a moment.” Ez left without another word, and I fixed a glare at the mirror. “Why do you do that? Why taunt him just to be cruel?”
My mother glanced down at the large ring dominating the index finger on her right hand, our family crest staring back at her. “My displeasure at you choosing that…mongrel as your second is a known fact,” she sniffed. “My brother should have dealt with him as a baby, as our rules demand.”
Being half-human, as Ezra was, was a crime in our world. Only pure blood ensured our people remained strong enough to survive, both against the changing outside world and the other factions in the tribunal seeking more than their share of power.
My uncle having an affair with a human was distasteful but not unheard of.
That he bred an heir on her, that Ezra was left on his doorstep as a screaming infant for the whole community to learn about…
it was shameful for the faction. But it was not “dealing with it” that my mother saw as the gravest insult.
Instead, my uncle named Ezra his rightful heir, even after the full-blooded children that followed, and then I chose him as my second.
“Loyalty can’t be bought, Mother, as you’re well aware.
And Ezra is the only member of our conniving family that I trust not to accidentally push me in front of a train to gain a step closer to the family seat.
” It was an old argument, and one I didn’t have time to rehash tonight.
Before she could butt in with the lecture I knew was coming, I interrupted her with my news.
“I found her.” I didn’t have to elaborate on the her I was talking about.
“She arrived today, and things are more complicated than I anticipated.”
“Complicated how?” my mother demanded. She leaned forward, worry morphing her annoyance into a contemplative frown. “Did the djinn already get to her?”
Now it was my turn to frown. “The djinn? What do they have to do with anything?”
“Honestly, Kaiden, I raised you smarter than this. Ask me again why the djinn would be interested in the powerful, vulnerable, bond of our faction's heir.”
My cheeks heated at her disappointment even as my heart raced in a growing panic. The djinn were our greatest opposition on the tribunal. Power just as strong and ancient as our own, they consistently worked behind the scenes to topple the balance in their favor.
I knew they wouldn’t be happy to hear my bond was a nightmare. The combined power our children would inherit promised to keep our faction at the top with theirs for generations to come. Perhaps even push us ahead, something unacceptable to them.
“We haven’t seen any djinn on campus, Mother.” It wasn’t a lie, but it seemed that Ez and I would have to be extra vigilant if my mother was already worked up.
“Then what’s the problem?”
I sighed, frustration sending my shadows into a frenzy. I kept them locked away, barely. “She wants nothing to do with me.”
“Who?”
“My bond!” I growled. “I saw her today, twice. And both times she denied me. Perhaps her upbringing will be a harder hurdle than I accounted for.”
The background noise from my mother’s side rose as she contemplated. As the head of our faction, her days were busy, and I knew this conversation wouldn’t last much longer, despite the urgency.
“I’m not going to tell you to get the girl in line because you already know it’s what you must do,” she said after whatever the distraction was on her side faded. “And I shouldn’t have to tell you what will happen if the djinn get to her before you.”
I glared at her in defiance. Those conjuring assholes wouldn’t lay a finger on what’s mine. “That won’t be a problem.”
“Good. Then I also don’t need to mention what will happen to your power if she’s taken out.”
My jaw ached from how hard I clenched it. My mother knew exactly what buttons to hit. If they killed her, even before we completed the bond, it would weaken me. Perhaps to a point where I could no longer take over from my mother and lead.
But that wasn’t what had my shadows once again breaking free and leaving gouges in the wood of the dresser like phantom fists. No. It was the thought of those curls saturated with blood. Of those emerald eyes fading and taking that spark I craved with them.
I let my shadows rage and watched their reflection in the now-empty mirror. I needed to bring my little bond to heel. No more games. No more running. She would be mine before the semester was out.
I blew out a breath and let my shadows sink beneath my skin once more. But first, I needed a drink.