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She laughed at him. “That’s not the issue, believe me. I think I got over that embarrassment by day two. I’m just not doing what I normally do in a day, and I haven’t been as thirsty. Plus, I never drink as much when I’m cold.”
Isaac couldn’t fault her logic as he knew he hadn’t been drinking as much as he normally did either. But he’d already been worried about how little Kate had been eating. When he’d questioned her, she said she hadn’t been hungry because she didn’t do anything except sit in a bed all day.
Making a promise to himself that he’d keep an eye on her food and water intake, he collected the four water bottles they used to refill them.
Holding two in his hands, he called on his magic, but something wasn’t right. He could feel his magic stir within him, but it wasn’t responding like it should. Shaking off the feeling he focused on refilling the bottles. Nothing happened.
A panic started deep in his gut as he stared at the bottles. Focusing on just one bottle, he tried again. The bottle filled to the top, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.
“My magic felt weird for a minute, and I couldn’t fill the bottles. But it’s fine now.”
Isaac closed the lid on the first bottle and concentrated on the second. Once it was filled, he went on to the next bottles.
“Oh fuck!”
Whipping his head up, he looked at Kate. “What’s wrong?”
“I tried to conjure a bottle of water and couldn’t.” She held up a bottle. “It took me four tries to do it.”
“Try again,” he ordered, knowing his tone was probably harsh. As Kate tried again, Isaac continued to fill the other two bottles. The first one was fine, but the second one took him three tries.
Kate had two bottles of water in her hands. “No problems?”
“It took me several tries. It’s like my magic is cutting in and out. It’s not slow, it’s just there one moment and not the next.”
Isaac’s normal sense of calm and patience felt like it was going to crack, but he held on. He wanted to be calm for Kate. They each had their strengths, and over the last week they had found somewhat of a balance. She brought light, passion, and fun to their relationship. Whereas Isaac brought calm, reasoning, and practicality. Putting it that way sure made him sound like the boring one, but it worked for them. And right now that balance really mattered if things were starting to go wrong.
He tightened the lid on the remaining water bottle and placed it in its designated spot on the shelf.
Doing a slow turn in the room, he tried to figure out what their next move should be. The shelving unit was on the same wall as the headboard, with the nightstand in between, so that wall was taken. But there was space in front of the shelving unit before where the bins butted up next to the screen with the toilets. The last remaining space, besides the few feet to walk from the bed to the toilet, was the three feet at the base of the bed.
Having come to a decision, Isaac turned around and stopped. Kate sat on the bed surrounded by ten or twelve small plastic water bottles.
“My magic is still cutting in and out.” Kate’s voice was shaky, and he could see the panic in her eyes.
Pushing aside the water bottles, he sat on the bed and pulled her into his lap. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re going to make a plan. First, I think we should conjure another shelving unit.” He pointed to the existing shelving unit in an attempt to get her to focus. “We can put it flush to the other one and only pull it out when we need something. Or leave enough space between the two to be able to reach an arm in.”
“Okay. Then what?”
“I think we should conjure some big water jugs, maybe five gallons a piece, and we can store them at the end of the bed.”
“And food. And another toilet. No. Two.”
He would have laughed if he wasn’t so worried they were going to need it. Lifting her to her feet, he gave her a soft kiss. “Why don’t you conjure the shelving unit and then start on the food? I’ll work on the water.”
She nodded and stepped toward the far wall, which was only a few feet away. “And don’t forget another two toilets,” she called over her shoulder.
Isaac moved to the end of the bed to conjure five-gallon water jugs, hoping they wouldn’t need them.
16
Kate tried again to conjure a can of water-packed turkey, and this time her magic worked. She was so exhausted, all she wanted to do was sit down and cry, but she needed to keep going.
“Hey, how you doing?” Isaac asked coming up behind her in the small space. He kissed the back of her neck, and she closed her eyes, absorbing the attention. A few days ago, she’d conjured some dry shampoo and now she kept her hair in a clip most of the time, which gave him full access to her neck.
She leaned back against him and let him take some of her weight. “I’m tired.”
