Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
The next day, Meadow tried for the tenth time to stop replaying events from the night before.
She’d dreamt all night of Laurie and Joseph, their hands and mouths, and how she’d orgasmed the hardest in her life. And even if afterward was a little fuzzy, she remembered waking up in Joseph’s lap, with Laurie hugging an arm around them both, one of them softly snoring behind her.
She’d actually kept her breathing even and had remained still for a little while, wanting to absorb the situation and how it made her feel. Instead of being embarrassed or overwhelmed, she’d actually wondered what sharing a bed with them would be like.
Was one of them a bed hog? Or, did they like their space? Would they ever cuddle with her? Of course, maybe Laurie and Joseph would just sleep close together and leave her alone.
But no, she didn’t like that last scenario. At all. She wanted both of them close.
Which was strange, since she’d never wanted another male, let alone two, to sleep in the same bed as her. Maybe it’d been a one-off, because of her orgasm.
And yet, she’d never felt as comfortable with new people as she had with Laurie and Joseph. Meadow was in new territory, and that didn’t even include the whole being-in-the-past thing, either.
Sadly, before she’d figured anything out at all, Joseph had noticed she was awake, and she’d made excuses to go home. Which, of course, she regretted since she’d secretly wanted to see more of Nyx’s Kingdom.
However, they’d been gentlemen and saw her home straight away.
Well, mostly gentlemen. They’d both given her searing goodnight kisses.
Stop replaying it all, Meadow. Nadia will be here soon, and you need to focus. If you can’t learn to control your magic and monetize it, you’ll always be a burden.
Her siblings would argue that point, saying she could never be a burden. But years of her father saying that the potential of her magic was the only reason he hadn’t shipped her off to one of her relatives—separating her from her siblings—had taken its toll.
Pushing aside thoughts of her father, Meadow did some rhythmic breathing. And by the time someone knocked on the door, she had calmed down and was ready for her magic lessons.
Nadia entered, carrying a satchel. “Good morning, Meadow. How did last night go?”
For a second, she hesitated. Meadow wasn’t used to sharing things with people. And yet, if she wanted to try making friends in this time period, she needed to open up a little. So, she forced herself to reply, “Good. Better than I thought.”
Nadia sat down across from her and quirked an eyebrow. “Does that mean you ended up in bed with them both?”
“Er, not exactly.” She bit her bottom lip and then added, “But let’s just say they can be rather convincing when they put their minds to it.”
Nadia chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me.
And not just because you’re their fated one, either.
They’ve somehow been given permission to attend the Autumn Festival next month, and no vampire has attended in a long, long time.
Half-vampires, yes, but they were still part fae witch.
But the notice came from Dark Lord Khan’s office, so it must be true. ”
Meadow frowned. She vaguely remembered Laurie and Joseph asking if she wanted to attend and saying yes. But she’d thought it some trivial thing.
She really needed to learn more about this time period and all the rivalries, wars, and so forth.
She asked, “Why would Dark Lord Khan send out a magical alert to everyone about them attending?”
“Well, the more time we have to get used to the idea, the better, given the past between the vampire and fae witch territories in London. Some of the hotter heads are plotting revenge for dead ancestors, but Dark Lord Khan has time to sort them out. I may not agree with or understand everything he does, but I do think we need to start banding together with the shifters and vampires instead of fighting amongst ourselves.”
Looking down at her lap, Meadow twisted her fingers. “It’s my fault he has to do any of that, isn’t it? But I don’t want to cause any trouble, and I can get them to cancel.”
“No, don’t.”
She met Nadia’s gaze again. “No?”
She shook her head. “No. We’ve been allies with the vampires for nearly a decade now, and we need to start making changes beyond a written treaty.
Besides, Dark Lord Yates will be attending with Yesenia, and Dr. Vale with Nora.
For most fae witches, having two Dark Lords at the festival will be a massive deal.
Even more so if the shifter Dark Lord, Everett Black, attends as well. And he might.”
“But will they be safe? I don’t want River or Yesenia, or anyone else for that matter, getting hurt because of me.”
“Extra security had already been planned, given all the recent kidnappings. There had been talk of canceling the festival, but it’s been going on for nearly two hundred years—even when we were at war with the vampires, albeit it was much smaller then—and the fae witches can be stubborn.
Maybe not as much as the shifters, but we’re close. ”
She winked, and some of Meadow’s anxiety faded. “So you’ll be attending?”
“Of course, along with my husband and my daughter. My brother will be running a stall, too, so you’ll need to stop by and say hello.”
“I’ll try. Everything will be new to me, and while it’s probably impossible, I want to see as much of it as I can. If nothing else, it’ll help my brain fully accept that I am in 1890 and not in some kind of strange dream.”
“Good. The more accustomed you get to London and this time, the better. I suspect it’ll make your magic easier to control, too, if you feel more at home.”
Home. No place had really felt like home since her mother’s death. Oh, Yesenia and River had tried their best. However, their father had always been there, and since Meadow was the youngest, she’d had to live with him the longest without the others.
Maybe this time and place would become her home.
No, don’t get your hopes up. Things could still go wrong. Not wanting to dwell and get anxious, she changed the subject. “So, what are we going to do today?”
Thankfully, Nadia didn’t blink at the change of topic. “We’re going to test how much control you have over your magic.”
She swallowed. “We are? How?”
“I brought a volunteer with me. He’s waiting in the hall, for when you’re ready.”
Meadow’s hand went to her training bracelet. “B-but what if I can’t control my powers at all?”
“I would never put you or anyone else in danger, Meadow, I promise. I can always put your training bracelet back on. Besides, he’s half fae witch and half human, which is one of the hardest types to influence with our magic.”
“He’s half human and half fae witch? But I thought they were incredibly rare.”
Conception rates between humans and paranormals weren’t great to begin with, but for some reason the rate was lowest between humans and fae witches. Meadow had only met one such individual in her life.
“It is, and he’s one of the few in the UK.
But in addition to him being harder to influence with magic, his research overlaps with our purposes.
He’s studying the effects of fae witch magic over different combinations of human, fae witch, vampire, and shifter, and trying to pinpoint which are the most susceptible and the least. Whilst we have guesses, he wants to document and get a definitive answer. ”
“And so he wants to use himself as a guinea pig?” At Nadia’s confused look, she rephrased. “That means he wants to be a test subject. Does that make sense?”
“Ah, yes, I understand now. And yes, he does. He often volunteers to help with magical training, and both sides benefit—our students are less likely to affect him, and he gets more data for his research. Dark Lord Khan is extremely interested in his work as well, as you can imagine.” Nadia rearranged a few books on her lap and took out a small notebook and a pencil.
“Since he’s a busy person, could we get started?
After he comes into the room, he’ll sit near the fireplace, and you’ll take off your bracelet.
If things get out of control, I’ll put your training bracelet back on. ”
And since Nadia had the same main power as Meadow, she would be highly immune to her magic. Not completely, but it would take a lot of power and focus to weave a spell over another fae witch who controlled lust and desire.
Meadow traced the edge of her training bracelet, knowing she needed to do this. And yet, after a few days of not having to worry about her magic and almost feeling normal, she was afraid of what might happen.
Nadia’s voice was softer as she said, “He’s fully aware of your magic, volunteered, and he’s helped me train others before. I won’t allow anything to get out of control, I promise. Even if it’s early days, I need you to try trusting me, Meadow, or we’ll never make any progress.”
She glanced down at her training bracelet. “I know that. And yet, it’s so hard for me. I-I just want to be normal. And I’m deathly afraid I’m not.”
Nadia’s hand covered hers, and Meadow looked up to see the fae witch bending over her.
“You are normal, Meadow. Any fae witch that doesn’t receive proper training would face challenges like yours.
But I’m here to help, not to mention you also have Dark Lord Khan’s support.
So won’t you at least try taking the bracelet off?
Because if you’re only ever afraid, you’ll never make progress. ”