Chapter 23
twenty-three
LIV
I woke up on the couch with the front of my body draped over Niall's chest, and a blanket draped over my back.
Someone was snoring loudly in the same room as us, but Niall didn't snore, and the sound wasn't coming from beneath me.
When did I get to the couch?
And why did I feel like I'd been hit by a car?
Every part of me ached, but my magic wasn't even a quiet buzz in my veins. I felt so calm, it was sort of eerie.
Was I dead?
I didn't feel dead.
Had my magic up and vanished, somehow?
"How did you guys meet?" a woman whispered.
I was pretty sure it was Kat, but she obviously wasn't talking to me.
"At an art gallery. Callum was supposed to go to the event, but he sent her.
When I saw the tiny blonde fae queen make her fifth lap around the room, I finally got up the nerve to talk to her, and we hit it off.
" Niall's voice was a quiet rumble as he dragged his palm slowly over my bare back, his hand beneath the fabric of the shirt I had on.
It was still one of his. I could feel the waistband of the shorts that he thought were indecent, too, so I had those on as well. Guess that was what the blanket was for.
Dare snorted. "By hit it off, he means they fucked in the bathroom."
"Sex helps her control her magic. Or it did, I guess," Niall said.
Umm... why was he talking about me like I was dead?
Was this what it felt like to be a ghost?
I guess the lack of anxiety might be worth it.
"Things will change between you," Callum said. "Liv will change. Some aspects of our personalities are controlled by the price we pay for our magic."
Now I was just confused.
And slightly concerned about the silence of my power.
"Everyone changes. Immortality would be bland if we all stayed the same. We'll figure it out," Niall said, his hand still moving slowly over my back. "Her power's picking up. I think she'll wake up soon."
I didn't move right away.
Mostly because I still hurt everywhere, and I didn't really want to talk to anyone. I just wanted to bask in this probably-temporary relief from the constant stress of my magic. It was strange, but not in a bad way.
There was no anxious energy. I always had at least a little. At the best of times, it was a small amount that I could ignore for the sake of pretending everything was fine.
So why did I feel so calm? Even when I'd been recovering from burnout after the last time I helped Larson with the rain spell, I had felt that anxiety. Things were different then, considering everything that had happened, but still.
The only thing that should be able to chill me out like this was a mate bond, but it couldn't be that. We hadn't made a bargain, or vowed anything to each other.
"How long did it take her to wake up last time?" Merrily murmured.
"About five hours," Niall said. "She wasn't ready to wake up then, but her magic forced her to."
"And she's at twelve?" Darius checked.
"Yeah. This time, the spell was significantly worse."
"You'll need to have at least two more of us here if you're going to attempt that again," Callum warned. "It should never have gotten this close."
"Agreed."
I dozed in and out of consciousness while he talked to my family and Rob, until hunger finally woke me up for good.
My energy still wasn't jittery.
"This is not normal," I mumbled, peeling my face off Niall's chest. "Something is seriously wrong with my magic. I'm not sure what—" I cut myself off when I saw the large, swirling mark on Niall's shoulder.
It partially covered a bunch of his tattoos as it spread up the side of his neck and down part of his chest and bicep, barely leaving his battery tattoo exposed.
I stared at it for a long moment, my mind spinning but not processing what I was seeing.
"Who the fuck is your soulmate? Darius?" I finally demanded. "I'll kill him. I swear, I'll—"
Someone snorted behind us as Niall held my gaze, his lips curving upward. His expression was more relaxed than I'd seen it in two years.
"You, Livvy. You're my soulmate. Looks like you're stuck with me after all."
I stared at him. "How?"
"The spell to fix the rain will take more energy to establish than you have to offer.
You were dying, and Larson was unconscious.
The failsafe they put in wasn't going to work without a power source, so Rob used me.
Having our life forces power a spell together was enough for your soul to identify mine, I guess.
I don't think this has ever happened before. "
No.
It hadn't.
Not that I'd ever heard, at least.
Not that most fae ended up melding their magic with anyone else's to that extent, either.
"You were right?" I asked.
"Try not to sound so surprised." He was amused, not bothered.
Someone in the room coughed, trying to hide a laugh.
"You really could feel my magic well enough to know I wasn't going to die that day," I said.
"Yes."
Holy shit, we were mates.
I kissed him.
My fingers buried in his curls, shock coursing through every fucking inch of my body and rapidly morphing to excitement.
He was mine.
For real, this time. Forever.
He pulled away too soon, murmuring against my lips, "We've got an audience, Livvy."
"I don't remember that stopping you at any of the events we went to together," Callum drawled. "How many times have we all heard you fucking in a bathroom or closet?"
"I've only heard it once," Merrily put in.
"That's because you hardly leave your house. I'm at least at six," Dare said.
"It's around that for me too." Callum's voice was flat, but when I glanced over at him, he didn't look irritated.
He actually looked kind of happy.
Niall met my gaze. "We should kick them out."
"Not yet." I looked over at Merrily. "I need you to perform the mating ceremony."
Her eyebrows lifted. "Here? Now?"
"You're not even wearing pants," Callum pointed out.
"Yes, here and now. I'm not going any longer without the full mate bond, pants or not."
"She has a clothing aversion anyway," Niall put in. "The opposite kind from yours, Mer."
I swatted him on the arm, earning a playful wink, and Merrily smiled.
"We're still doing that party at some point," he warned me, when I met his gaze again.
"Deal." I waved Merrily over, and she crossed the room.
Any immortal could learn the words to the ceremony, I had just never bothered. No one really knew where it had come from, but it was ancient, powerful magic that couldn't be broken by anything or anyone.
When you sealed a mate bond, there was no going back. Your souls would be connected for all of immortality and whatever came after, for better or worse.
Merrily stood beside us and quietly led us through the vows.
They were simple promises, but our eyes remained locked as we said them, my heart beating faster with every word until we finally kissed as the bond settled between us.
That ancient magical force swelled and bloomed as it connected our souls fully, until I could feel Niall's mind pressed against mine, his emotions leaking through the thin barrier between our beings.
His love.
Happiness.
Possessiveness, always.
"I told you that you were mine," he teased.
"You were right." I kissed him again, lightly. "I'm going to drive you so fucking crazy."
"I look forward to it."
He tilted my head back, kissing me deeper.
An extremely loud snore that turned into a cough on the other side of the room cut us off.
"What'd I miss?" Larson mumbled. He'd be even more wrecked by the magic than I was, without an inner battery to power him back up as quickly as mine did.
"They're fated," Rob told him.
"We all knew that. Was anyone surprised?"
"Only Liv."
Larson mumbled something, and his snores kicked back up.
I grinned down at Niall, and found him wearing the same expression.
My mate.
"I think we'd better get out of here before they start fucking again," Darius whispered loudly.
"Agreed," Niall whispered, just as loudly.
They all filed out, leaving us with congratulations, except Larson and Rob.
Lars was still asleep on the couch, snuggling with Rob. They could obviously stay until they'd recovered.
Niall carried me to the kitchen to grab a couple of protein bars and some electrolyte drinks, then hauled me and the snacks to our room. He tucked us into bed, and made slow, sweet love to me.
Just once.
Before we both crashed again.
When I woke up the next time, my stomach was growling like it had come to life, and Niall was carrying me back down the hallway, toward the kitchen.
Larson and Rob had gone home a few hours earlier, after texting us to let us know.
I was naked and desperately needed a shower, but it obviously hadn't been a priority. At least my body didn't ache anymore.
I’d slept.
Actually, really, genuinely slept. I had no idea how many hours it had been, and I didn't care. I was so well-rested, I actually felt a little out of it.
Having a mate would change everything for me.
I wasn't sure how it would affect our relationship, but I hoped it would be for the better.
"I'm not going to need you to fuck me as often now," I said into Niall's mind, my head tipped back as I took him in. "Is that going to be a problem?"
He met my gaze, amusement in his eyes. "I’m glad you’re not going to be suffering because of your magic anymore, Livvy. Being with you is what matters to me. Some things are going to change, but we’ll still enjoy them. We always do."
That made me feel slightly better.
"And I’m sure you’ll still want me." He tugged a few strands of my hair lightly.
I'd always wanted him, even when I wasn't anxious, so that wasn't hard to believe.
"We should fix the studio today," I told him aloud, as we reached the kitchen.
"I was planning on making you binge-watch a TV show. You've never known that particular brand of pleasure, unless you think watching on a stationary bike counts. Which I don't."
I perked up. "Kat goes on and on about some baking show. We could try that."
"Alright. You'll be bored, but we can try." He set me down on the countertop before opening the fridge, and I sucked in a breath at the sudden rush of anxious energy that crashed into me like a bolt of lightning as soon as we weren't touching.
"Holy fuck," I muttered. "Was my magic always that bad?" I wiggled on the countertop, fighting the anxiety. "I might need to strap myself to you or something."
"I'm sure they make oversized baby carriers big enough to fit you."
I smacked his arm as he set a bunch of leftovers next to me on the countertop with a grin, leaning his bare abdomen against my leg so we were touching again. When we were, the stress of my energy fizzled out completely.
"Callum said you'll get used to it. The sudden rush of your magic. Now, teach me the ways of your fridge cleanouts. I've been craving one since you refused to share when I was here with Larson."
My lips curved. "I was a little brutal."
"Vicious. Such a fucking turn-on."
"Pretty much everything I do turns you on."
"It does." He tipped my head back with a hand on my chin, kissing me lightly. "That's not new, though."
I slipped off the countertop when he released my lips, sliding between Niall and the cabinets with my back to his chest. "I'll make the food. You just touch me."
"I'm definitely getting the better end of this bargain." He slipped his hands beneath my gigantic shirt, dragging them slowly over my abdomen and up to my breasts. "How does your magic feel when we're touching now?"
"It still feels like a battery, but like there's something around it, keeping it contained." I took a mental inventory of my power.
When I felt the magic flowing around my leg that was my bargain with Jonah, I perked up and focused on the power. The money had gone through to the monsters, and the debt was paid.
It took me a solid two minutes to remember how to use the bargain magic, but when I figured it out, I released it.
Niall looked down at my leg, and made a sound of satisfaction. "It's done?
"The money went through to the monsters, and I let the bargain go. I'm all yours." I flashed him a grin over my shoulder.
He lowered his lips to my throat and kissed the battery tattoo. Followed by a tendril of the soulmate mark.
God, I loved him.