“Good meditation?” he asked.
I nodded. “My magic is returning. We can head back now.”
“Uh-huh.” He lifted one side of his perfect mouth into a smile, and I ignored the rush of heat to the center of my gut.
When we got back to the mansion, Wes was already in the library, deep into Darkest Magic and Darkest Souls. I didn’t disturb him, just sat down in my spot and grabbed another book from the pile.
We read for hours, researching and debating new ideas until our eyes burned. And that night, I tried mirror scrying for the first time since we’d been there. I lit divination candles and watched the smoke for signs of disaster. When the flames stilled, I dropped into a meditative trance, chanting my intentions to see into the human realm.
“Let my sisters see me, let me see them. Open a line to my coven. Let me be heard.” I repeated it nine times before opening my eyes to stare in the mirror, letting my gaze go unfocused, willing my consciousness to connect with my blooded witches. I’d been inducted into the Harlots. I was part of them. They were a part of me.
Let them see me. Let them see me.
Bridge. Isobel. Lilith.
Anyone. Please.
An hour passed with nothing to show for it, and when my knees ached, I broke the spell and stood, blinking back the tears in my eyes.
I need to get stronger. Then it will work.
Three weeks went by like this, and we got no closer to a solution. In the mornings, I went to the sacred woods to meditate, and each time, I returned stronger and more resolute. I worked out in the training room, sparring and boxing, determined not to lose my physical prowess, just in case the demon ever did show up. In the afternoons, Wes and I read every book we could get our hands on, deep diving into any subject remotely adjacent to our predicament. Occasionally, Atlas joined us, but mostly he minded his own business, fucking around in other parts of the mansion.
Wes got better, and after several days of rest and my magical “grass tea,” his wounds had faded to pink scars. The muscles underneath were gradually getting stronger, too.
“These are fading nicely,” I said, wiggling my hands a few inches from Wes’s shirtless torso. God, these warriors were built like statues. Yes, I was focused on sending healing energy into his wounds, disinfecting any lingering darkness, but I couldn’t help the girlish tingle that went through me at the sight of his massive shoulders and sculpted abs.
Never mind how long it had been since I’d had a lover, the close quarters had taken its toll, and it was becoming more difficult to remember why I wasn’t supposed to like either of them in the first place. Atlas was gruff and mean, but Wes and I complemented each other, especially when it came to our research abilities.
“All thanks to your magic,” Wes said. “I’m glad it’s coming back. You must have just wiped yourself out during the ritual.”
I nodded, having come to the same conclusion. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the bond. But I remained determined to continue my research on Constance and her experiments. I hadn’t come any closer to figuring out who she was, but that was only a matter of time. And in the liminal, all we had was time.
Still, a shiver of unease passed down my spine and into my marrow. My meditation this morning had been shoddy because I couldn’t stop focusing on the trees. They whispered in hushed tones, telling me to beware, to remember what my guide had said.
“The time has come when you must fight. You must forsake your rage at what isn’t and focus on what is. You must channel your anger into faith, and faith into action. You will want to give up. You must not do this. You were given many gifts, mi hija. Do not let them go to waste.”
A flock of crows had squawked in the distance, and the wind had picked up when I recalled the determination in her face. The earth was trying to tell me something, trying to get me to pay attention. I just didn’t know to what.
Was the demon lurking out there somewhere, waiting to strike? And if it was, what was it waiting for? Why hadn’t it shown itself by now?
When I finished the spell on Wes’s wounds, I stepped back and gestured to his shirt next to him. “You’re all set.”
“Thank you, Marta,” he said, meeting my eyes. “Truly.”
“Yeah, no problem,” I replied, leaving him alone to get dressed before heading to the library to start my research for the day.
The Colts and I gradually grew closer. We ate lunch and dinner together. We bickered over stupid things like laundry and leaving dishes in the sink, but it was obvious they had spent their lives side by side. We lived around each other, our worlds intermingling as we made the best of an impossible situation.
In the evenings, they’d hole up in the parlor to drink until their eyes were heavy. I never joined them. They exuded a fraternal atmosphere, laughing and teasing with countless inside jokes. I didn’t want to intrude. It had always been them against the world, against me, and I didn’t like being the third wheel. I let them have their alone time to decompress.
But as the days went on, my body revolted against me. I’d find Wes shirtless after a run and clench my thighs together to keep from ogling more than necessary. Atlas would return from lifting in the gym, muscles tense, cheeks red, and I would force myself to ignore the heat building in my lower belly.
It was like being surrounded by temptation and knowing I couldn’t touch. It wasn’t just me, either. One day, I heard a loud boom while I was in the middle of a shower, so I wrapped a towel around me and went to investigate. Wes and Atlas were wrestling in the parlor, and when I interrupted, both sets of eyes focused on me with heat and something distinctly masculine dancing behind him.
I made dinner one night, and when I couldn’t reach a bowl on the top shelf, Wes saddled up behind me, extending a long arm to grab it for me. He rested his other hand on my hip, the entire front side of his body pressing against my back, and I could have sworn he moaned as he brought the glass down to the counter. I caught his eyes on me in the library, his soft focus raking over my body before he quickly looked away with his cheeks flushed.
Yes, he wanted me. They both did. And I struggled to keep a lid on my own nascent attraction. I had certainly gone weeks without sex before, but living in such close proximity to these two gorgeous men tested my patience in ways I was quickly losing control over. Evidently, they were feeling the same.
