Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
The cozy sitting room didn’t feel quite so safe and nice with Lucas looming by the crackling fire.
I had placed a snoring Ringo in Mistral’s bed, figuring that’s where I’d end up if I actually managed to get some sleep, though I knew it for the pipe dream it likely was.
Attempting to have five very different men agree on the same plan was futile. I knew it, and yet I tried.
“She can jump to wherever Marcie is, and with enough power, she can bring us with her.” Lucas extended one hand in my direction, though he was talking about me like I wasn’t there.
His white teeshirt was stained with dirt.
Crispin had whispered to me that three werewolves had thrown him down and pinned him to keep him from reaching Marcie.
Sebastian leaned against the wall near the window, arms crossed and eyes hooded.
He somehow made his torn shirt and dirt speckled pants look intentional.
“That is exactly what the kidnappers want. She escaped them earlier today. Kidnapping someone else—someone she will come for—is a logical next step.”
Mistral sat in one of the seats near the fire, ankle crossed over one knee, casual, even though his lands were unravelling and his sworn enemy was in his sitting room.
“If this was all truly orchestrated by Eva’s great grandfather, then following Marcie’s path may take us right to him. Is that not our goal?”
“Our goal,” Sebastian said tersely, “was to obtain her great grandfather’s location before he even knew of her existence. To ambush him when he would never see it coming. Facing him when he is already prepared for us is foolish.”
Crispin stood next to me where I perched on the edge of the small four-seater table. “I agree that following Marcie is foolish, but what other choice do we have? Just wait for a powerful celestial to cross the boundary and steal Eva? If he truly knows about her—”
Gabriel was the only one yet to voice his opinion. He stood near Mistral’s chair, glowering.
I looked at him. “What do you think?”
His gaze softened as he returned my attention. “I think it should be your choice.”
That surprised me, since he was usually so intent on keeping me out of danger. Of course, there really was no keeping me out of danger now, no matter what choice we made.
I thought about it. I didn’t like leaving Marcie alone when someone might hurt her, but it was clearly a trap, and if there were more fairy vortices, my magic could be stolen too.
On the other hand, if we gained my great grandfather’s location from Penelope, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to travel there.
Jumping to someone I knew might be easier.
Of course, I’d only done that with the guys, and our connection was a special case.
I turned to Crispin with an expectant look when I realized he was staring at me, his expression now thoughtful rather than dejected. “I take it you just came up with an idea?”
He smiled. “It’s disappointing that I’ve become so predictable to you, but yes. Well, not really an idea, but a first step.” He looked at all of us. “Everything is just conjecture until we know exactly what Eva is capable of—” Crispin’s eyes darted to Lucas.
“I know she’s a conduit,” Lucas said blandly. “And that you are all bound to her. Helena thought it might be important for me to know, should circumstances grow dire.”
“Well, that simplifies things.” Crispin stroked his chin, looking around the room. “I think perhaps though, we might want to go outside for our big test, just in case the magic cannot be contained.”
“Are you forgetting what sometimes happens when I’m outside in the Bogs?” He had been present for me being taken by vines on not one, but two occasions.
He winced, glancing again at Lucas. “Quite right. Inside it is.”
Everyone looked at me expectantly.
“Oh, you mean right now?”
Crispin had the grace to look abashed. “Better to test it now and be prepared.”
I let out a slow breath, then stood. I’d never been so nervous in my life—and I’d done a lot of nerve-wracking things lately. “Okay, Mr. Wizard. Tell me what to do.”
All the guys stepped closer. Well, all but Lucas. He took a step back toward the door. It helped a little that he didn’t seem eager to witness what came next.
Crispin took my hand and placed it on his chest. My other hand went to Gabriel, then Mistral’s fingers slid across the silk of my dress, curling around my waist.
We all looked at Sebastian, but his eyes were only on me. He walked right up to me ignoring all the guys, slid his long fingers back to the nape of my neck, and kissed me.
The moment we were all touching, magic of every variety exploded through me. There were stars, sunlight, moonlight, and pulsing aurora. It was so much power that it felt like it would tear apart my insides.
I opened my mouth to scream just as Sebastian’s fingers flexed at the back of my neck. He pressed his forehead against mine. “Just breathe,” he muttered. “You’re okay.”
My knees buckled, but Mistral kept me standing. Both Crispin and Gabriel were gripping my hands over their chests.
“Too much,” I panted. Magic seemed to light up every cell in my body. Stars danced in my vision, and I wasn’t sure if they were outside of me, or just in my head.
“She can do it.” Crispin’s voice seemed faraway, even though he was close enough for me to touch him. “With this much power, she can create a new pathway to any realm she desires.”
I slumped further in Mistral’s grip, the magic now settling in. I still felt too full, but now it was a frantic pulsing rather than a roaring current.
“It’s hurting her.” I thought that was Gabriel, but my vision was going gray. He dropped my hand, but it wasn’t enough. The golden cord between us was still pulsing with magic flowing not just from him to me, but back again and out to the other guys.
Mistral lowered me gently to the floor, stroking my back between the straps of my silk dress. “Eva,” he whispered, “can you hear me?”
I hung my head, too dizzy to do anything but nod minutely.
“You need to release the magic now. It’s overwhelming because you channeled it, but didn’t use it.”
“Can’t—” Oh gods, I was going to be sick. I hadn’t realized how different it would be having all of us together.
“Here.” I sensed Crispin in front of me more than recognizing his voice. My thoughts were too filled with magic to recognize anything so mundane. But with the cord between us, I would recognize him on the darkest night. From any distance.
His hands gripped my shoulders, and some of the confusion eased. He grunted, and I realized whatever he was doing was hurting him. “I’m well-trained in the manipulation of energy,” it sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth, “but you will need to let it go if you want me to help you.”
Let it go—I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding onto anything, but he’d taken the edge off enough for my brain to regain a measure of function. I slumped against him, and it was like letting out my breath after holding it for far too long. It whooshed out of me all at once, slamming into him.
His hands fell away and I knew I should check on him, but I was tired, so very tired. My eyes never opened enough to see what havoc I had wrought.
There was sunlight streaming through the window when I woke. I recognized Mistral’s bed, and the scent of coffee. Someone was sitting in a chair between me and the glass doors leading out to the balcony, but I couldn’t tell who because they were rimmed in sunlight.
My magic felt completely drained. I couldn’t sense a damn thing.
I rubbed my eyes as I sat up, bracing myself against the fluffy pillows.
Squinting against the light until my eyes adjusted, I finally recognized Crispin.
He looked as bad as I felt with dark circles beneath his eyes, his long limbs draped across the chair like it was too much effort to hold himself up properly.
The top buttons of his shirt were undone, and he was barefoot.
“What the hells happened?” My eyes drifted to the silver carafe on the side table—the source of the coveted coffee scent.
Crispin roused himself enough to fill a porcelain teacup with coffee, though it seemed to take some effort as he leaned forward to hand it to me.
“I apologize. I should have seen this coming. It’s been too long since I handled such a powerful wave of magic, and you’ve never held that amount. In the end, we both released too much.”
The teacup was painted with delicate yellow roses. I held the coffee under my nose, savoring the aroma to make the first sip that much more enjoyable. But it was morning. It shouldn’t be morning already. “Is that why I feel like I’ve been galloped over by a herd of horses?”
“Yes. We all have a measure of innate magic. When we expend it, it’s taxing. It will take a little while to recover.”
Crispin had been teaching me a bit of magic theory here and there, but this new tidbit gave me a horrible thought.
“Is this what it feels like when highly magical creatures stay too long outside the boundaries?” The boundaries had been created to contain the individual magic of each realm.
The more magical creatures rarely went out into the city, because eventually, they would fade.
Crispin lifted a second cup I hadn’t noticed before and held it just below his lips.
“It’s much more subtle, but yes. Those with enough human blood can subsist on the limited magic of this realm, outside the boundaries.
The werewolves won’t wane in power because they belong here.
But the rest of us, those with no human blood, would fade without the boundaries. ”
My brows knit together. “Even you?”
He nodded. “Eventually. It wouldn’t kill me, not for a long while, but over the years I would grow weaker until my body finally shut down.”
I shivered, hating that it worked that way. They all should have been able to return to their realms, but my mother had left them trapped. I knew the shadow creatures were dangerous, but it seemed too high a price to pay just to keep them trapped.
Crispin set aside his coffee, then moved to sit on the edge of the bed, facing me. He took my hand. “I should have prepared you better for the test.”
Just the faintest tickle of moonlit magic seeped into my hand where it touched Crispin’s. He really was just as drained as me. “It’s not your fault. We’ve tested it with four of us. Who knew five would make such a difference?”
His thumb traced small circles on the back of my hand. “I should have known. I’m always far too reckless where magic is concerned.”
“I like you how you are.” And it was true. Maybe he got us into trouble here and there, but it wasn’t just magical situations where he dove in headfirst. He did the same for friends in need. He did the same for me.
“Well then you are the only one.”
“That’s not true,” I argued. “Let those stodgy royals like Rian think what they want. They don’t know you.”
He laughed, his shoulders relaxing. “Yes, his interest was quite troubling. I worry that King Francis may be unintentionally facilitating a revolt.”
“If we can get the elves back to their realm, they’ll forgive him.”
He lifted my hand to his lips, placing a light kiss on my knuckles. “One step at a time, dear Eva.”
His lips on my skin brought a stronger tickle of magic, and with as drained as I was, it felt like a sip of water after wandering the desert for two days.
Crispin’s expression shifted, and before I could form a rational thought, he leaned forward and kissed me. The magic was still weak, but it was there, and his warm lips on mine made my heart beat more steadily. He tasted like coffee and springtime.
When I didn’t pull away he slid closer, his hands on my lower back gently coaxing me to sit up for him. More magic pulsed within me, but it was slow and gentle. I realized I was still in my silk dress, and the back was cut low enough that his deft fingers trailed across my bare skin.
I lifted my hand to the nape of his neck, arching my back and pulling him more firmly against me. He took it as his invitation to deepen the kiss, his tongue exploring. We had kissed before, but not like this.
I squinted my eyes against the light. Not sunlight this time, but moonlight. And it was coming from me. Crispin kissed my neck, his soft hair sliding across my cheek. He smelled like freshly cut greenery, and like clean flowing water soaking into the earth.
I had assumed from the start that he’d only ever kissed me to test what would happen. That he only viewed me as a friend. But now I could feel his desire. No, not just desire. Yearning. He’d watched me wanting each of the other guys, but not him.
Maybe he could tell that I was sensing his emotions—Sebastian always seemed able to tell—but he didn’t pull away. In fact, he kissed me hungrily, tugging a low moan from my throat.
When his hand skimmed along my side ending with his thumb just below my breast, I knew I should push him away. I knew I already had far too much on my plate, and my life was unbelievably complicated.
But I couldn’t deny that kissing Crispin felt right. Maybe it was just my magic that wanted him, but wasn’t it part of me too?
His hand lightly moved across my breast, just the silk and my thin bra between us. My nipple hardened, and I arched against him more urgently. I was feeling better, more like myself, but at the same time, I felt like a complete stranger to the woman I’d been just a few months ago.
I wrapped my legs around Crispin’s hips, bunching up my dress, feeling him hard against me. This wasn’t just testing another magical theory, and I knew I should stop, but I didn’t want to, and neither did my magic.
I broke our kiss to lick a line up his neck, and even after our long night, he tasted just as good as he smelled.
“Eva,” he groaned, his hands now gripping my hips, grinding me against him.
My entire body felt filled with moonlight, cool and exhilarating. It spurred me on, and I nipped at his collarbone. His hands went under my dress, pushing up past my hips to grip my bare flesh.
Neither of us noticed when the door opened, but my magic had returned enough for me to sense the other guys. They stood in the doorway, and I knew they had come because they sensed us too. I had bound them all to me, and there was no turning back.