Chapter 21 #2
My hands clenched around my bag, and I threw myself out the door before I gave in to the urge to take her. Not yet. But hopefully someday soon, she would be all mine.
Eryn
I awoke alone and fully rested for the first time in what felt like forever.
My body melted into the plush mattress as I burrowed deeper into the covers, hiding from the early morning glow that lit the room.
Rolling over, I rubbed my bare legs against the cool sheets and frowned.
I was usually overly hot and wrapped around Kaiden despite all attempts to put distance between us.
Memories from last night converged on me in a rush; Kaiden waking me from a nightmare, his deep voice, his warm body hovering over mine. He gave me a massage and then—his tongue…and his shadows… My body warmed again as I relived every sound and arch he’d wrung from my body.
Gods, and I’d admitted to having feelings for him! There was no taking that back. I waited for the anger or panic to set in, but none did. Did I even want to take it back?
There was no more room for pretending and hiding from myself was impossible.
I was loath to admit it, but maybe Kaiden was right.
My small admission wouldn’t seal our bond even though it was one step closer.
We were already lots of steps closer. I shoved a pillow over my head to muffle my frustrated groan.
I never thought I’d meet him, let alone be comfortable half-naked in his bed.
Nothing in my life was going according to plan.
“You’re going to be late for breakfast with Rani if you don’t get up,” Ezra called from the other side of the door, ending with a gentle knock. “I really don’t want to start my first encounter with her today already in the doghouse.”
I huffed a laugh and dragged myself out of bed to get ready, blushing when I found my discarded panties on the floor where Kaiden must have flung them.
Not having him here felt wrong somehow, like I’d gotten used to doing everything with him by my side.
Or at least, I felt safe when he was always around.
His lack of presence was noticeable, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
My blond bodyguard leaned on the kitchen island as I came downstairs, bouncing like a golden retriever getting ready for his daily walk. Ezra hated being cooped up as much as I did, and any excuse to see Rani was met with too much enthusiasm and a whole lotta lust.
“I’m surprised I’m allowed to go to class,” I teased. “I thought for sure Kaiden would tell you to lock me inside until he returned.” But really, it was something he would do.
“Your lack of faith in my ability to keep you safe is insulting,” Ezra sniffed, and I rolled my eyes.
Grabbing my bag from its spot on the floor near the couch, I followed him out to his car.
He knew I didn’t doubt him, but Kaiden’s need for control was undeniable.
Plus, with the recent attempts on my life…
the fact my teachers didn’t have some made-up doctor's note telling them I was contagious for the next week came as a complete shock to me.
“Then what’s the plan?” I asked. I wasn’t even sure how long Kaiden would be gone. It was possible that was why I had to maintain my usual schedule. Too much time missing and someone was bound to notice.
Ezra was more than capable of keeping an eye out for illusions, traps, and other pitfalls out to get me.
And personally, I had no plans to go wandering in the trees for a very long time.
Something always happened when I stepped off campus, and I only needed to be poisoned and stabbed once to get the message.
If I could go a week without another attack, I’d call it successful.
“The plan,” I asked again when I got no answer.
“Class,” Ezra said, pushing his little Miata faster so we wouldn't be late. “Some training. Getting to see that fiery roommate of yours.”
I grinned at the wistful look in his eye.
He had it bad. Poor guy. Rani might never give him the time of day, but it sure was entertaining watching the two of them dance around one another.
Campus was crawling with students by the time we arrived, later than I was used to, but the Commons was open, and I still managed to get a full meal in.
Breakfast went smoothly, as did my first two lectures and lunch.
Ezra escorted me everywhere, even sitting in the back rows of my classes, and each time he appeared beside me, the twitch in Rani’s eye grew.
I guess he was taking my advice about playing hard to get seriously because Ezra hadn’t said a word to her, not even his usual flirting.
It still drove her nuts that he was around, though.
I had to make up another excuse for his constant presence, one of a hundred I’d had to create recently.
I hated lying to Rani, but there was no other option.
Gods, if she knew how much I was keeping from her, she’d never want to be my friend.
She was safer in the dark, no matter how much it strained our friendship in ways she wasn’t even aware of. Knowing that didn’t make it any easier.
This time, my lie was Kaiden and Ezra had a death in the family, and that was why Kaiden left. I promised to keep an eye on his cousin, which meant allowing his needy ass to follow me everywhere.
“Kai went home for the funeral but not him?” she asked, eyeing Ezra with a new air of disbelief.
“He’s estranged from that side of the family,” I told her. The lies rolling off my tongue easier the more I was forced to spin them. “He wasn’t invited.”
I whispered that last part like I was trying to keep Ezra from hearing, and some pity entered Rani’s eye.
She softened toward him ever so slightly, and I saw it as a win.
Sooner or later, these lies were going to catch up with me.
I only hoped I had something to tell Rani when that time came, and that I didn’t lose her because of them.
But who was I kidding? Secrets were one thing, but lying and the existence of magick?
She’d be halfway across the country in an effort to get away from me.
That evening, after finishing my homework, Ezra came sliding through the living room on worn socks and wearing a Cheshire cat grin. He crossed his arms and popped a hip against the kitchen island, content to stare down at me until I gave in to the urge to stab him in the eye.
“What?” I grumbled, forced to break my train of thought surrounding conjugating verbs in a language set on destroying the beliefs of my own mental capabilities.
“It’s time to train,” he said. No fanfare. No jokes. But still that damn smile. I had no idea what he meant by that and wasn’t too sure I wanted to get involved. He seemed far too excited, and my suspicions rose.
“Does your cousin know about your plans for whatever this training entails?”
That grin grew, and it sent off warning alarms in my head.
“If it were up to my cousin, you’d be safely locked behind layers of magick and guards forever, where nothing could harm you.
You’d live your life at our family’s compound, pop out magical babies, and be at the beck and call of dear old Auntie Mira and her nurturing personality.
I’m pretty sure you don’t want that life. ”
He was absolutely correct, and he knew it.
“I want to teach you how to be useful. How to properly use those dangerous powers of yours to protect yourself, and most importantly, my cousin.”
“Uh, thanks?” Now I wasn’t too sure if this was about teaching me to be useful and independent, or because he only truly cared about Kaiden’s safety. If it was the latter…ouch much?
Overall, it didn’t take long to convince me to go along with his plan—relying on Kaiden and his cousin for the rest of my life wasn’t my goal.
Training didn’t require us to leave the safety of the condo in the middle of the night or any kind of chanting and potion-making, so I figured it couldn’t be that dangerous.
And on the plus side, maybe I wouldn't be a sitting duck anymore.
“How much do you know about why your kind was hunted to near extinction?” he asked, and the topic turned serious.
I thought back to all that my parents had taught me.
We were hunted because we were powerful, they said.
The other factions didn’t trust us thanks to the actions of a few bad apples.
Swift punishment on the part of the tribunal led to dwindling numbers, a rebellion, and then even more dwindling numbers.
“We can manipulate minds—control them—even supernatural ones trained to keep us out. That terrified the others in power,” I replied, feeling like I was reading a passage from a textbook. That’s how often I’d heard my parents talk about it.
Ezra nodded, solemn. “That’s the gist of it, but there's more to it than that. Nightmares could do more than control minds, they could track them from a distance—could identify them from a mere mental brush.”
I frowned. That was new to me. My parents never taught me anything like that or mentioned that it was something they could do. That anyone could do. How did something like that work?
“You should be able to identify a source of power, like an illusion, and then follow that use of power back to its caster,” he further explained. “One day, you might even be able to control that mind from a distance once you’ve locked on to it. If you’re strong enough.”
The idea was terrifying. With an ability like that, it was no wonder the others were afraid of my kind.
It didn’t matter that most of my people probably didn’t have the strength to do something like that.
It only took one instance to sow fear, and whoever had done it in the past damned us all.
To explain it better, Ezra started by teaching me how to cast a net out with my magick.
It was similar to how we sensed other supernaturals nearby, but on a slightly different frequency only I could hear.
That’s where I had to figure it out on my own, he didn’t exactly have a way to hold my hand through this learning process. I cast out my magick and…nothing. Only silence.
“Not all magick is strong enough to register, as you know, and some go under the radar completely. Illusions are an example of that.”
“Then how do I…?” This didn’t make any sense.
“You’re not looking for magick exactly, but minds while they're using magick,” he explained. “Try again.”
I cast my net wider after still getting nothing from around campus. Along the edges of my reach, there was a small flicker of… something. It was empty, like a void. A shadow of magick.
“Latch onto it,” Ezra commanded when I told him about it.
It was harder than it sounded because it moved like smoke.
Like something not solid. After several minutes and a growing headache, I caught it and followed it back to an oily mind.
One I couldn’t read, and that was definitely too far away to control—not that I wanted to—but I knew exactly where the owner of the illusion was.
Their location lit up like a bright spot on my mental map.
Ezra smiled, and I released the connection.
“You did great,” he said and bent over to double knot his sneakers. “Now it's my turn.”
I tried not to think about my role in that person’s impending demise.
There was no other reason for a djinn or an illusion to be this close to campus.
It was obviously a hunter or someone sent to kill me.
Keeping that in mind, it was a little easier to accept going on the offensive.
A quick dinner, another round of flashcards, and I passed out the second my head hit the pillow. Using magick was exhausting.
A routine formed over the next couple days, and I grew stronger at what I considered my new trick.
Using my magick was like flexing a muscle to build its strength, an ability I could never properly develop while I was on the run.
Now, it was all too easy to find a djinn within my reach and send Ezra out to hunt them.
I started subconsciously leaving my net out, like a warning system to alert me of any magick used within my range.
What I wouldn’t give to have known about this ability growing up.
It would have saved me and my parents a ton of heartache.
There would have been fewer close calls and traumatizing memories.
It was comforting to know nothing could sneak up on me, and I slept easier knowing I’d have a heads-up if danger came knocking.
At least until that warning blared an alarm loud enough to wake me from a dead sleep.
Kaiden was nearby. His flare of power lit up my mind like a firework, mixed in with the icy tendrils I recognized as Ezra’s magick.
Breaths came too fast for me to calm them, I scanned the room for danger, but the battle wasn’t happening inside.
I honestly didn’t even need my new trick to sense it, any super nearby would know something big was going down.
When had my bond returned? And what followed him back?