Chapter 21
Quinn
For the third morning in a row, I woke to a sea of black and gold squares, alone this time. My abdomen quivered with molten lust, and my clit ached with need. My cold shower hadn’t helped; my dreams had clearly picked up where Xan and Ezra left off.
If Chancellor Morgen was right, and Xan just wanted me as a baby maker, I’d already be pregnant.
But the two lovers worked my mostly clothed body to the brink and used my arousal to turn on each other.
I couldn’t tell if I was upset or grateful.
And right now, I didn’t care. I was just so horny it hurt.
I rubbed my thighs together. Sparks almost pushed me over the edge, and I bit back a moan, just as something ceramic shattered in the kitchen.
Based on the timing, Xan shared my little, almost climax.
It was no wonder toying with me rekindled the passion he’d lost with Ezra.
Just like the first night, I’d let the two of them explore without saying a word.
Being between them was like nothing else.
Their glances burned. Ezra’s rapt attention, Xan mimicking him like an eager puppy.
Was it weird?
Probably.
Was it one of the hottest things I’d ever been a part of?
Yes.
This was about them. I ended every night with a long, cold shower to give them space, but maybe I could help myself out just a little.
I reached between my legs and slid my fingers between my folds. I barely touched my clit before the world’s smallest orgasm flooded my body. I bit my lips together to stay silent as overdue relief flushed my system.
The sound of something metal this time, clattered against the floor, and Xan yelped.
I stifled a giggle and tried to control my libido, but my little climax was only going to be enough to ensure that walking to the bathroom wouldn’t count as masturbating.
Rowan needed to get his contract sorted out. Pronto.
Xan yelped. “Hot. Shit!”
“It’s cast iron, love,” Ezra said. “Back up. What is wrong with you this morning?”
Xan groaned, and I giggled.
Xan felt everything I did, literally. If I pinched my arm, he knew which one and where. When I felt happy, his face lit with my joy, and when I was frustrated and struggling, his shoulders slumped, physically echoing my emotions. But he didn’t know why I felt those emotions.
I missed my friends. He felt it as “homesickness and loss.” He asked what made me feel that way, and I’d turned it into a guessing game, which he’d been exceptionally bad at.
He guessed my old life, then my dad, followed by my dorm, and then my clothing.
He even asked if I missed my work-study.
It had never occurred to him, not once, that it was people I’d met in his family.
His TB constantly buzzed, but as far as I could tell, all of it was work. No one came to say hi or check on him. I didn’t think he had anyone outside Ezra. It reminded me a lot of my dad and me. Scratch that. No. Icky. It did not. I never wanted to bang my dad.
The cold shower cleared my head, and by the time I came out, Ezra had a breakfast spread laid out on the little table. Both of them waited for me to dig in.
There was something undeniably sweet about it.
“You’re doing really well,” Xan said as soon as I sat down. “I hate to admit it, but Cayden did a good job teaching you the basics. Your flow is smooth.”
I grinned. “I won’t tell him you said that. He doesn’t need a bigger ego.”
Xan and Ezra exchanged an undecipherable look.
“It’s time for you to go big,” Xan continued.
“We hit the Alun today. I want to see your Majekah and one of your little dragons in person, and then we’re going to work on control.
Magic is basically what electricity was in your time.
Although it doesn’t have the same properties, it is more versatile. We’ve adapted.”
I wiggled excitedly. “Can I start my training with Rowan again?”
Xan furrowed his eyebrows. “Has Rowan talked to you at all?”
My heart thumped in my chest, and I looked at Ezra. “Um, concerning what?”
Xan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
“I mean,” I added. “I know he’s exiting his contract with Angela, which is very complicated… and he says once he’s free, that he wants to, um…” How the hell was I still this embarrassed talking about myself with two people who had pretty much had their hands on every part of my body?
Oh, right, because we weren’t talking about it.
“Yeah.” I ended with lamely.
Xan steepled his fingers together. “Eat. Dress. Let’s test your control in the Alun. You can do physical training with Ezra tonight before we begin our studies on the families.” Pink tinged Xan’s cheeks, which matched mine. Pretty sure studying wasn’t on either of our minds.
The pair retrieved my trainee uniform from my dorm. I chose black lacy underwear—completely out of character, purely to give them something to explore. Not because their attention made me feel sexy as hell. This was about them. Totally. Obviously.
Xan handed me a snow-white cloak, definitely not standard issue, with a floppy hood that insulated me and hid my hair.
Walking between Ezra and Xan, I felt eyes. People stared; some pointed. I tucked deeper into the cloak, forgetting how much my hair drew attention. No… it wasn’t just the hair. I glanced at Xan in his trainee browns. He wasn’t just Xan. He was the Architect. Maybe no one was looking at me at all.
The moment we were out of anyone’s sight, I felt like I could breathe again. “Do people always look at you like that?” I asked. “You didn’t draw much attention at The Rooster.”
Xan guided us down the hall to the Alun, and Ezra opened the hatch on the floor.
“Most don’t realize I’m the Architect when I’m not dressed like it. But walking with Ezra and you makes it obvious.”
“What do I have to do with it?” I asked.
Xan’s face pinched. He turned and helped me remove my cloak. “You’ve spent the last three days in my home. There is a lot of speculation as to, um, our activities.”
I blinked a few times before realizing what he meant. “Oh, wow, so the rumor mill is working overtime.”
Ezra snorted, and Xan slightly relaxed.
“You’re not upset?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t know what they are saying.
But when I first came here, Angela started some pretty bad ones, including how much I liked objects stuffed up my butt and would ride anything for coin.
” I wrinkled my nose. “I was crazy for almost twenty-five years, people talk. My dad’s advice might not have been right, but it wasn’t bad.
The less I react, the less fun I am to talk about. So, no, I’m not upset.”
Xan rolled his shoulders before pulling me into his chest. “I’ll address the rumors, I promise.
I’m just focused on you and only you.” His chest rumbled against mine, and I had to remind myself we were just friends.
He released me to open the trapdoor. A short drop later, and we landed in the domed room of crazy carvings and graffiti.
For the next hour, Xan had Ezra fetching us objects and tools until Ezra couldn’t ignore his work any longer and had to abandon us. With the hatch shut, the layers of dizzying colors twisted, making it difficult to focus on my tasks and forcing me to keep my gaze in one place.
I’d already destroyed five items holding small amounts of power, including another of the pebbles from my placements. All five made little dragons, who looked up at me with adoring eyes before dive-bombing the Alun and vanishing.
“I mean”—Xan lifted his hands into the air—“your Majekah breaks things into base components, right? So what’s the base of magic?”
I blinked rapidly.
Xan steepled his fingers and answered his own question. “No one really knows, but I would argue it’s imagination. Everyone twists the energy of the world, making it their own magic.” He gestured to me. “What’s the most magical thing you can think of?”
I snorted. “Probably a dragon.”
“Dragon by-product.” Xan grinned. “Why not?”
I bit my lips together to keep from laughing, and Xan handed me another object.
As we worked, the tiny space grew very warm. Xan stripped off his shirt, and after a few minutes, I followed suit. He was gay. My lacy bra shouldn’t have mattered. But when his eyes dropped to the straps across my chest and he shut them tight, I wasn’t so sure.
Maybe it did something, or maybe I just wanted it to.
I bit my bottom lip. What if they wanted more than just touching me? Did I want that?
Before my mind could wander, Xan opened his eyes. “You can teleport.”
Not sex. Magic. I have magic. I had to stop thinking about sex.
“Is that normal?” I managed to ask.
Xan shook his head. “No. And not just because every individual has only one unique magic, but moving a physical object, much less a person, takes power and a lot of it.”
“I have two magics,” I said. “Probably the one I was born with, and then maybe my teleportation came about as a defense mechanism. Or maybe because everything was always my fault, teleportation was the only thing I could do that only affected me.”
Xan reached for my hand. “Everything’s not your fault.”
I squeezed his hand. “Then, Knowledge Daddy, what’s the plan?”
Xan groaned and ran his hand down his face. “Please don’t call me that, especially wearing only…” He adjusted his pants.
The need between my legs flared. I almost pointed out Ezra wasn’t here, then shut up. It wasn’t his lust. It was mine. Right. Chill, Quinn.
“Talk to me about what you feel right before you black out and teleport,” Xan asked.
I did. It was mostly stories of terror and panic. A few times in my old life, I’d known it was coming and focused on the forest right before my panic attack hit, and then woke up from my blackout there. But it hadn’t been consistent.
“Heightened emotions are the commonality,” Xan mused.
“No shit, Sherlock.” I leaned back onto my arms to relieve some of the dull ache forming in my back.