“It’s not me that’s controlling them, little witch.”
Her throat tightened as she sat up against the chair. The shadows responded in kind, pressing in toward them the more anxious she got.
“What the fuck is happening?” she asked Felix, her eyes darting across the room.
“Eyes on me.” His deep voice was a slight reprieve against the rising wave of panic, but still not enough. Avery’s breathing picked up, nails digging into the chair as the wave threatened to drag her under and drown her.
A gentle touch on her chin brought her gaze back to him. The corners of his mouth lifted. “You’re okay, little witch, I have you.”
Somehow, even though her mind hadn’t caught up just yet, the words were enough for her body to loosen. Finger by finger and limb by limb, the fire that had overtaken her quietened to just a simmer.
“Good girl,” he said.
And just like that, something different entirely surged through her. A blush crept over her face, and Felix licked one of his fangs.
“Will I shoot out shadows every time I have an orgasm?”
Felix chuckled. “Only if I make you cum so hard that you bleed.”
“I didn’t mean to.” She watched them out of the corner of her eye as the shadows still moved, restless things that seemed far too alive. “How do I stop?”
“Why would you want to stop?” Felix said, positioning himself between her legs so that his face was level with hers.Goddess, he was beautiful.His eyes were a sea of emotions, ones she so desperately wanted to be privy to.
“It’s your magic now, too,” he said quietly. “I can teach you how to use what you’re taking from me.”
“My teachers said?—,”
“Your teachers,” he spat, “don’t know shit about real magic.”
Her pulse kicked up. “You want to teach me?”
“I want…” His thumb brushed across her lower lip, smearing the blood. He almost seemed like he stopped himself from saying what she so desperately wanted him to say. “I want you to be able to protect yourself.”
A curling disappointment unraveled in her chest.
Felix cocked his head, almost like he could feel it too. “And maybe,” he started, “I want to see what you can do with it. For science, of course.”
A smile spread across her lips. “Of course.”
“Close your eyes,” he said walking to the couch, his voice dropping into something dark that sent warmth pooling low within her. “Find the bond.”
Avery closed her eyes, searching for where the magic welled inside of her, the thread that connected her to Felix. Bloodpulsed through her veins, like it was imbuing her with its power. “I can feel it.”
“Good, now imagine the shadows are like extensions of your body.”
Listening to the soothing sound of his voice, she did as he asked. Shadows materialized, worming tendrils pooling from a black void on the floor. They danced around her ankles, slithering and curling their way up her leg, leaving a warm tickling feeling in their wake.
She was no longer frightened of them. Instead, she giggled at the feel of them caressing her. She imagined them climbing higher up her thigh, and they followed suit. They really were listening to her. Did shadows count as elemental magic? It didn’t matter; it washermagic now. Witches didn’t usually have elemental magic; controlling shadows would instantly shoot her to a top spot in the school. The only other elemental magic user she knew of at the school was Wren. She didn’t care about any of that anymore. Not grades. Not her future. How could she when she was bonded to a shifter, and a goddess was making her solve riddles? Something was changing. And it wasn’t just herself.
Felix’s breathing got heavier from across the room. Slowly, she opened her eyes to meet his, and she was surprised to see a burning ache that mirrored her own. Her heartbeat rose with the throb between her thighs, as his shadows kissed and caressed her inner legs at her behest.
“I want you to use me, Avery.”
Goddess. The way her name slid off his tongue was fucking divine. Shivers climbed down her spine. It was almost embarrassing how easily she was affected by him. Enough to send her desire rising even higher, but it still wasn’t enough; she was aching, greedy for more. The shadows responded in kind, tying themselves around her wrists and her ankles, and liftingher off the ground. A squeal came from her lips, and she almost let them drop.
“Let them play, Avery,” Felix said, his husky voice dropping even lower. The bond hummed with pleasure. Whether it was hers or Felix—she couldn’t tell. The more days that passed, the more the line between them blurred.
The shadows clasped themselves around her legs, like she was kneeling on the ground, but instead, she was floating in the air. The others wrapped themselves in her hair and tied her arms behind her back. She was completely bound. Completely exposed to him. He stood up, just to admire her like a piece of art in a museum. He walked around her, the shadows pulling her hair so her head tilted back in line with his cock.
