Chapter 6 #3
I paused to greet Guo, who lounged outside the kitchen, then pet one of my own fur babies, as Mr. Bond demanded snuggles. I scooped him up, letting him lean against my chest while I gave him chin scratches, our tuxedo baby’s favorite spot.
“Lao po, you will not believe what happened today.”
She looked up from stirring and quirked a brow. “How does a simple errand to look at a sword end in excitement?”
“Well, to start with, Jasha has a familiar now.”
“I’m sorry, what?!”
Damn, I should have recorded her reaction, too.
I pulled out my phone to do just that as I rattled off today’s events.
She stopped stirring, staring at me with slack-jawed shock.
“The magic we saw around Jasha? Not from the sword. Well, sword’s curse might have activated a latent talent, but it’s now its own thing. He’s now magical. With a familiar.”
Kris kept staring at me, waiting for a punchline.
So, naturally, I gave her one. “Your bestie is now trying to out-weird you. You must increase your weirdness to show dominance. By the way, it’s a cat.”
She shot me a look for that statement but ignored it. “Jasha is seriously magical?”
“Yup,” I said, popping the p and grinning like a loon.
She let out a relieved laugh, though her expression still held some disbelief. “I’d far rather him be magical than cursed. Do you know what kind of mage he is?”
“Not currently.”
She nodded, then demanded, “Ok, show me the kitty.”
I stopped recording so I could pull up my gallery and show her a picture of the kitty as well as the video I’d taken after its grand entrance.
She looked it over carefully before cooing, “He’s so cute! Big baby!”
“She.”
“She’s so cute! And she’s what breed, again?”
“Ocelot. Dad looked it up on the way back, as we had no clue. Apparently, they’re native to the Americas and are seen as far north as southern Texas.
I’m still confused as hell why we have one here in Louisiana, but anyway.
Dad didn’t seem as surprised. Familiars, when they feel the call, have traveled insane distances to get to their person, so I guess it’s not that much of a surprise.
But the females only get up to about twenty-five pounds on average, so not a huge cat.
According to Jasha, she seems to be fully grown. He knew quite a bit about the ocelots.”
“He’s a cat nut, so makes sense.” She handed my phone back, frowning. “But this is a wild cat, right?”
“Familiars are a different stock, so to speak. They’re more intelligent, more obedient. Normally, yeah, you can’t keep this cat in a house. Things would get dangerous for all involved. But because she’s a familiar, she’s going to be calmer and more docile.”
“Phew, okay, that’s one worry down.”
“Dad helped Jasha fill in the paperwork to get her licensed as a familiar, if that’s another worry.”
“That was worry number two.”
“How many worries you got, anyway?”
“Three. How did his rescue cats take her arrival?”
“Surprisingly well? They were all spooked at first, and Jasha was super careful about introductions, but she bumped noses with them, said hi, then flopped on the floor and watched Jasha. Wasn’t at all interested in hunting them. After about five minutes, the cats seemed to be chill with her.”
She put a hand to her heart and breathed out. “Thank god for that. So Jasha’s over the moon, I take it?”
“Oh, so very much. Also researching like mad on what to feed her.”
“I bet. He’ll probably call for name help. He’s bad with naming things.” Kris frowned a little, then abruptly remembered she needed to stir dinner. “Wait, wouldn’t knowing his familiar help answer what kind of mage he is?”
It was a fair question. There were many types of magicians, after all, from all different cultures. It was part of why we had an overall magical community, because there were so many of us. It helped to talk shop and call each other in for support.
“Unfortunately, no, but we’ll get there.
Dad’s reaching out to people to see if anyone can classify Jasha.
It’ll take a few weeks, I suspect, because every magician is always busy this time of year.
But we’ll find out his type and get him a master to train under.
Don’t fret. Okay, I can’t take the smell anymore, what are you making? ”
“One of Jasha’s recipes, actually. I’ve made up Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, baked chicken, and this is the scallion cream cheese sauce that goes on top.”
“Fuck yeah. Tell me it’s done.”
“Pretty much. Get some plates.”
Kris always said she wasn’t much of a cook, but I begged to differ. I was delighted to try this recipe as it sounded amazing.
We sat at the bar, and two bites in, I gave her a double thumbs-up in approval.
“Make this again?” she guessed, grinning.
I had a full mouth so nodded vigorously.
“Good to know. Maybe I’ll make it when Jo Jo’s here.”
I swallowed to assure her, “He’ll love it.”
She laughed, a beautiful sound that always brightened my world, even after a chaotic day.
I thought, again, of how to tell her I might be falling in love with her.
That some part of me wasn’t content to jokingly call her my wife and wanted a true marriage.
How did you tell someone you wanted to share a lifetime with them when they had no ability to walk away if they didn’t feel the same?
But every day I spent with her like this, in domestic bliss, reinforced how I adored her.
And living with her hadn’t made me see her in some other light, either.
Sometimes people became disillusioned after living with their partner.
Not the case with me. If anything, she’d become more dear to me.
Somehow sexier. Wasn’t this little jittery thrill I’d always felt for her supposed to die down over time?
Why was that zing of attraction still as powerful as ever?
We ate dinner and traded stories about our day, Kris mimicking the shocked expressions of the family who’d learned the ghost wedding had been a sham.
Moments like now, where we sat in our house, spending time with one another, were honestly why I didn’t mind the at-home months with Kris.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the thrill of the hunt, my career.
But I loved being with Kris, too. I loved her companionship, the easy humor she greeted me with.
I could be so unapologetically myself around her.
I’d prank my wife and she’d prank me back, that’s how comfortable we’d gotten with each other.
Some days I craved her presence, wanting to be with her, see her smile.
It was an exhilarating feeling, to want someone so much.
Kris and I both knew there was no rush in any aspect of our relationship, but some days, like right now, I felt a buzzing in my heart while looking at her.
Was I still irritated about the bond? Most days. But I could never, ever unwish the woman who’d so seamlessly become my wife.
Kris finished eating and then snagged her phone. “I gotta check in with Jasha. He’s probably dying to tell me every detail.”
AKA my wife was dying to hear every detail. “I’ve got dishes.”
She kissed my cheek, already bouncing toward the library and her favorite comfy chair. An easily entertained person, my Kris. Not that I could throw stones at that glass house.
I caught Guo’s eye, and I’d swear the huodou looked amused. Definitely not because of whatever smitten expression was on my face. Definitely not.