Chapter 48
Chapter
Forty-Eight
Sydney
I glare at the closed doors, alone in the suddenly empty hallway. Caden’s not only cut off my access to Bram, but he’s scarpered again—right after trying to dictate my actions. The bloody tosser!
It’s mental that magickind is in the dark about their worst enemy’s return. They should know the truth, along with safety measures, emergency contacts, and how to report Mathias sightings. Anything would be better than this dangerous ignorance.
Focusing on that almost keeps my mind off Caden and his maddening contradictions. He wants my body, aims to protect me, but can’t commit to truly being with me. What’s going on in that thick skull of his? I’d write it off as typical bloke fear of commitment, but the connection between us feels so strong. Or is it the diary’s magic playing tricks on us both?
Sighing, I peek in on Aquarius once more, surrounded by fresh ice packs, and wander down to the library. With the lights on, the room no longer has that air of forbidden romance. Sabelle and Olivia lounge on the sofa, oblivious. Clearly, they have no idea what Caden and I were up to here just an hour ago.
“I didn’t until you thought about it,” Sabelle says with a teasing smile. “Join us?”
Since Aquarius is resting and I’ve caught up on the notes for my next story, I’ve nothing else to do. Caden made sure of that. Maybe a good chat with these two is in order. “Thank you.”
With a nod and a smile, Sabelle gestures to me to sit in a nearby chair. “What would you like to talk about?”
“A way I can help magickind. Caden is furious, and may…I don’t know, paralyze my mouth if I say this, but?—”
She bursts out laughing. “Caden is out, so he can’t overhear.”
True, but that worries me as well. Mathias could be searching for Anka. If he is, if Caden finds both of them and there’s trouble… I’m terrified for him. But I haven’t tried to prohibit him from doing what he must.
“Caden, Ice, and Duke are large wizards. Experienced fighters. Mathias is currently weak,” Sabelle says.
“But they’re all helping.” Even if Caden doesn’t want to. “Caden expects me to do nothing but cower in the name of safety.”
“Wizards can be overprotective,” Sabelle adds. “My brother is a perfect example of that.”
“Amen,” Olivia seconds. “I love Marrok—most days. Then he brings on the ‘me big warrior, you little woman’ crap. I have to remind him that this isn’t the Dark Ages anymore, and I’m not playing that game.”
I smile. I can actually see the little brunette standing up to her massive husband, and him backing down…eventually. He loves her to distraction; even I’ve noticed that. And I’m a bit green with envy.
Caden has his moments. While making love earlier today, he said something more romantic and poetic than any man has ever said to me. Become a part of me, as I become a part of you…
“He said what?” Sabelle demands.
Wincing, I flush red. “Sorry. I forgot to keep my thoughts to myself.”
Impatiently, Sabelle waves away my apology. “He said, ‘Become a part of me, as I become a part of you’?”
“Yes.”
The blond witch and Olivia exchange a glance. Obviously, something is afoot.
“Is that a problem?”
Sabelle hesitates. “Did he say anything after that?”
I scan my memory. “‘Ever after, I promise—’ Then he stopped and turned into an overbearing lout.”
Sabelle raises a brow and shoots Olivia another conspiratorial glance. They grasp something I clearly don’t. Good. Perhaps the witch can enlighten me.
“Indeed,” Sabelle says. “When a wizard takes a mate—a wife, in human terms—he speaks words. A Mating Call. What Caden said begins the wizard’s vow to his mate. Not the overbearing lout bit, though that comes with the territory.”
Heart beating in triple time, I gasp. “So he speaks those words and poof, we’re mated? For life?”
“Not quite that simple, no. You have to answer his Call.”
“And then?”
“If you Bind to him, you’re mates for up to a thousand years. No worrying about picking out the right china pattern.”
A proposal and a wedding all at once. Efficient. Did Caden really mean to “propose” to me, or was that the diary’s influence?
“Human males can take an annoyingly long time to decide if they’re in love and want to marry. Caden and I haven’t known each other long, just a couple of weeks. I love him, but…is a wizard any different than a regular man?”
Olivia snorts. “Totally. Want a list?”
Sabelle giggles. “Indeed. Magic cuts through a great many human mating rituals. A wizard knows his mate by taste. Instantly. One kiss, one taste of her—any fluid—and he knows. Often, her taste compels the words immediately.” She looks behind her, ensures the door is shut, then whispers, “It happened to my brother just before Caden came to work with you. He met a woman in a pub and brought her here—most unlike him. By morning, they were mated, and she had run off. Bram told me, one kiss and he could hardly keep the words to himself.”
One kiss? That explains so much. And it nearly crushes me. “Caden has never kissed me. I thought maybe he wasn’t the kissing sort or something. So often, we were rushed or he was frenzied.” I flush, realizing how much of my personal life I’m spilling. “But he’s never tasted me in any way, so why would he think I’m his mate?”
“Instinct. It would tell him eventually. A kiss would simply tell him more quickly.”
From the first, he’s been avoiding locking lips with me. Pain stabs my chest and shatters my heart. I can’t breathe, can’t swallow. Tears are ice picks in the backs of my eyes. I try to keep them in, but they fall anyway. Caden squashed his instinct once he suspected I was his mate.
Or am I? Maybe writing my sexual fantasies of him in that bloody book wrought some lust cloud that prompted those mating words. Maybe he didn’t finish them because he didn’t mean them.
“If he spoke even a few of the words, he knows,” Sabelle assures.
“That I’m his mate?”
“Yep,” Olivia adds. “No doubt that scares the crap out of him. In case you haven’t clued in, he doesn’t want to be here and doesn’t want anything to do with magic.”
“I gathered.” And it’s tearing us apart.
“Sorry.” Sympathy softens Sabelle’s face.
I bite my lip but know I have to ask the question. “Is there any chance he feels this way because I wrote about him in that red book? Twice?”
Sabelle and Olivia both still.
“What did you write?” Olivia asks.
How to put this delicately without sounding sex starved?
With a smile, Sabelle says, “Did you ask to be his mate forever or for the night?”
“Just the night,” I assure.
“The truth is, we really don’t know,” Olivia finally says. “But probably not. Our theory is that the diary grants one’s true desire if you write it, and that you must have enough passion and power to make it come true. But it’s only a theory.”
I sniff at my tears, wishing I had more answers. “Do you have a book that describes this mating ritual?”
“Absolutely. Feel free to read anything in the library. Bram and I have been adding to the family collection like mad of late. Fiction is in that corner.” She points to the far left. “The rest is non-fiction. Human history, science, technology, et cetera, on the near left. The right and back wall are all magical tomes. What you want will be there. Let me know if you need help.”
My ears perk up. I wandered the library once, but the sheer number of books shelved here was overwhelming. I could arm myself with information and occupy my maudlin thoughts by tackling the article about magickind—but more information would help.
“Bram will never let you publish such an article,” Sabelle vows. “But as long as you’re going to stay among us, you should be informed.” She rises and heads for the library door. “’Night.”
I’ll argue with Bram about the article later.
Olivia follows behind Sabelle but pauses in the doorway. “Marrok will likely be hours with Bram and Tynan. If you want someone to talk to, I’m here. I know what it’s like to be among all these guys and have no idea what’s going on. I’ve recently been through the mating thing, so…”
I appreciate the other women, really. But I want to read up so I can verbally skewer Caden when he returns. And when Bram’s meeting ends, I’ll talk to him about transcasting. The issue of my article for Out of this Realm aside, magickind needs news. And dangerous or not, I’m the woman to give it to them.