Chapter 24 #2
“Control?” she suggested. “I mean control through despair, and agony, and pain. It’s the same they did with the inquisition.
” She paused as something occurred to her.
“Oh, you need to meet Victoria. I mean, I can talk about this to some degree, but she knows so much.” She grinned.
“Is it possible, and forgive me if it seems farfetched, ‘cos I am not initiated, but is it possible that there has been sinister workings with the need for control in your order for longer than you think? That they have their own agenda? How did you guys find out about the tattoos?”
"Oh, I'm quite sure that's an aspect of it.
And I'm certain the Elders have mostly their own power on their agenda.
We weren't even supposed to offer the pact—it fell out of common use and we only stumbled across it in an old journal and thought it would be funny to try it.
We never saw you coming, that's for sure.
" He laughed again, shaking his head at the craziness of it all.
"We didn't have a fucking clue what we were doing, so we went to the Lore-Keepers when we got back from that first year with you. It's this little group of priests that are supposed to just guard the history and traditions of The Order and they're supposed to be completely impartial."
“Maybe they are? I mean they probably don’t mean to hold shit away, but they aren’t going to offer information, which probably keeps them safe as well.”
"The priesthood is sacred. Even the Elders respect that," he disagreed.
"It's hard to explain to someone who didn't grow up with it.
For an Elder to make an assault on the priesthood would be the worst kind of blasphemy.
Any member of The Order would kill them on sight.
And when we asked about the pact, they gave us the knowledge and the tools to use it, even though it was probably some Elder or other that decided to retire it as an option. "
“Which is what I mean. That they won’t volunteer the information in their arsenal until asked about it,” she said. “But I can see how that would work. It’s all very interesting. I mean as a mortal woman that is just...taking this all on faith.” She looked to him. “And I have faith.”
"Their function is only to teach when asked," he shrugged.
"I suspect back in the day, it was expected that the Elders would take the teachings of the priests and spread them.
But yeah...thanks to human fallibility, the Elders went their own way.
But if they do something expressly against the teachings of the first priests, the current priests have the power to strip them of their power and their skin.
They are the judge, jury and executioner.
The Elders can skirt the teachings and maybe retire them, but they can't go directly against them.
Anyway, you'll learn all this when you join up.
And I'd be surprised if you didn't have faith now that you've seen the well and the magic rising out of it.
You can't argue with your own two eyes." He blinked.
"Unless you're looking at an optical illusion, in which case fuck your eyes. "
She grinned. “I’m not saying I have faith in Him.
I have faith in you, and Easton, Jack, Finn, Carter, Emerson and Kendrix.
I have faith in who you are together, and who you are with me.
” Finishing her food, she sat back. “Today has been awesome. Fuck fest at work, dinner with my favorite needle happy lunatic, wonderful conversation...” She smiled at him.
“Though Rix said something about seeing me soon.” She shivered.
"Yeah, I was supposed to ask you about that." He'd forgotten in all the talk of other things. "It's Emerson's birthday next weekend. We're planning a weekend trip away. You're coming."
“I am?” She laughed. “And it’s Emerson’s birthday?! Why didn’t he say anything? Oh, I have to figure out a present.”
"We don't celebrate birthdays," he told her.
"Not since we lost our parents. Until now, anyway.
We thought you'd enjoy a weekend away from the city with all of us together.
So it's been arranged with your boss at the shelter and the lanky dude at the gallery and we'll pick you up at lunchtime on Friday. "
“Ooh, I’m in...and where are we going? Seven of you for the weekend!” She grinned. “A girl could die from that kinda attention.” She winked and giggled.
"You've survived four so far. I think you'll be fine," he chuckled. "As for where we're going, that's a secret and you can pout all you want. I'm not telling you."
“It’s okay, I trust you. And I have a secret of my own,” she teased.
"Oh God...you're not pregnant, are you?" His stomach lurched even as he said it with panic that they'd have to rush to buy a house and get a nursery set up and figure out lawyers to protect the kid and...and...and... "It's too soon," he blurted out. "We don't have a house ready yet."
She laughed. “Oh no, no I get the shot,” she said. “Not that you guys have seemed to care either way. All of you but Easton coming inside me at any chance. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the fuck outta it, but no babies. At least right now.” She blushed.
"We should talk about that, though," he said, his racing heart starting to settle now that he knew they didn't have to leap into overdrive to get her settled somewhere to incubate. "Kids are probably going to be on the menu for some, if not all, of us, at some point. Do you want kids?"
“Before meeting you guys? No. I mean, I didn’t have a family aside from the girls, and my upbringing wasn’t...ideal.” She looked to him. “But now? Yes, especially with you all, if you wanted them.”
"We do," he said, a soft smile lighting him up inside now that the panic had settled.
The idea of keeping her barefoot and pregnant and constantly horny wasn't a kink he'd known he had.
He needed to make an appointment with a doctor to get himself checked to make sure he was firing some good little swimmers.
Get ahead of the curve. He wanted to be first.
And what a child she'd have...beautiful, strong, intelligent. He was completely caught up in the daydream until he noticed she was smirking and brought himself back down to Earth.
"Did you have enough to eat?" She'd cleared her plate but hadn't gone back for seconds and he wasn't sure if that was because she didn't like it or if it was because he'd loaded her up the first time round.
"I did bring Greek pastries for dessert, but you don't have to eat any more if you don't want to. "
He'd also brought some of the fabulous ultra-creamy Greek yogurt, with honey-coated walnuts from the deli, too, but she might like that for breakfast instead so he didn't mention it.
“It was super yummy, but I could go for some tea,” she said as she stood. “And a cuddle on the couch?” She grinned. “Maybe something sweet?”
"I make a pretty good hot chocolate," he offered, trying not to think, as he always did, of Easton.
God, he remembered when his brother had joined them.
..a damaged, half-feral and quiet little ball of explosive rage that had never known kindness or leniency.
Leo had always been the most carefree of them and for some reason that none of them had ever been able to nail down, that angry little boy had gravitated toward him.
So Leo had tried. He'd tried to interest him in sports or in books or in any one of half a dozen hobbies, but the first time Easton had ever opened up to him, it had been over a thick, creamy hot chocolate that Leo had learned to make from some chef on the TV, with real dark chocolate.
He'd put a cup in front of Easton, who'd sniffed it suspiciously as he did with most food, and then he'd sat there glowering like an incoming storm until Leo had taken a sip from his own mug.
The look on his face when he'd tasted it for the first time had been nothing short of magical.
It was such a simple and easy thing and yet, for a kid that had never known love or sweetness or the smallest of treats, it was everything.
The memory still gave Leo a little frisson down his spine even now, all these years later.
"You look like you remembered something nice," she said to him, drawing him back to the present.
"Nice but sad," he admitted. "I was thinking of Easton when he was a kid. He loved hot chocolate. I haven't made it for him in years."
"You should make it on this weekend away then. Maybe he will love it."
"I will." He swallowed the unexpected lump in his throat. "So what do you say? You want one now? Do you have chocolate in the house?"
“I’m sold. Not sure I have everything in the house for it, but I’m totally game.”
"I can make it work," he told her. "Come on. You'll have to show me where things are."
Twenty minutes later they had found all the ingredients, or made do with what she had in the fridge, and were sitting on the couch together, Petra snuggled into Leo’s side. It felt domestic and perfect, and she smiled up at him.
“It’s amazing, and you are amazing, Leo. Thank you for tonight.”
"Any time," he said with a soft smile. "I like hanging out with you, too.
" And he meant it. She was funny and a great conversationalist. There hadn't been a single awkward silence, even though he knew she was exhausted from her day of epic dicking.
"You just let me know when you're ready to sleep, and I'll tuck you in," he offered.
"You must be wiped. Finn can be a demanding kind of guy. "
“Finn was super fun. You all are,” she agreed. “It never feels like a chore with any of you. I’m always ready, and while you all wear me out, it’s nothing a good sleep won’t fix.” She smiled. “Will you stay tonight? Wake up with me to go running?”