“I still have hands.”
“Right, so if you pick up that book there, you’ll see what I’m talking about.” I wave my very visible hand at Torin and then at the small pile that Aster’s clutching in front of him. “Same for you, Aster. There are a couple there you should be able to understand.”
I feel a quiver in my belly as Aster and Torin peer at each other and switch books. Aster’s eyebrows shoot up, and I ignore Reva’s gaze as it focuses on me.
“How do you have books in Valmorian?” she asks me softly.
Because... yeah, I may have traveled a lot further than I’d like to admit. I didn’t go all the way to Aster’s village since it is a lo-ong way away. But I might have lied about not having stolen any of the books from a library. Only because I’d already read them and found what I needed. It was either that or I tore out pages if I thought they were interesting or useful.
And that would make the others lose their shit if I admitted my sins.
“So... you know how witches are always having orgies,” I say. It earns me twin blank looks from Aster and Torin, but Reva pauses in her ministrations and lets out a soft hum.
“The coven in Kit’s old town used to be renowned for them. People got upset when they weren’t invited. It was a whole thing,” she says.
“Exactly,” I say. “Well, it’s not just because they’re all horny, polyamorous fuckers,” I say, holding my hands up at Tor’s glare. “No judgement here. Wouldn’t we all be so lucky? Anyway, the books say a lot, and I mean a lot, about a bunch of stuff. Personally, I’d have preferred a nice little summary or even a few pictures to explain the key points, but too bad.”
If they only knew how much time I spent scouring pages and going slightly insane to find the answer.
Aster reaches over to pass the book he’s reading to Reva. “Energy transference at the moment of climax,” he says.
“How did you even know which books to pick up when they’re in a language you don’t speak?” Reva asks me.
“Allow me to keep some mystique, pretty lady,” I reply.
I’m not about to admit that I tracked down a more advanced version of the translator I got for Aster, one that allowed me to read books in another language as well as understanding the spoken words.
“You don’t seem as shocked as I thought you might be by the whole orgy idea. I was planning to break it to you gently, but, well, I got excited,” I say, ignoring how Reva has stopped stroking my hair and is now making eyes at the other three.
There’s an odd feeling in my chest I don’t know the word for.
Am I... jealous?
No, that can’t be right. I’m not that deep.
“It says the most powerful results come when you involve the most powerful people,” Tor says.
“Maybe you should make a list, all the people you’d be willing to include.”
“Reva—” Aster’s tone is low and intense, fully interrupting me midway through explaining my brilliant idea. “How do you feel about this?”
She huffs out a sigh before running one hand over her face, patting her cheeks that are flushing a glorious shade of pink. “Is it crazy that I’m considering it?”
Then she gives another light tug on my hair, shifting my attention to the little grin that’s spreading over her face. “Pass me another of those books and let’s see how we do this.”
Chapter 14
Reva
It feels strangely comforting to return to research mode with a pile of books stacked in front of us. Torin heads off to find us enough food and drinks to keep us supplied for a week, let alone a few hours. But once we’re fueled up with a huge pot of tea and a pile of these buttery little cake things that Cookie has made, we fall into the rhythm of scanning the pages and bookmarking anything that sounds remotely useful.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jack’s the one to break the silence.
“So, Kit, tell us more about these coven orgies,” Jack says, and Kit snorts a laugh, which has me instantly smiling as relief rolls through me. Right now, he seems much more himself than he did a few hours ago.
“I don’t know much,” Kit admits. “Just rumours. Aster probably knows more.”
But Aster’s also shaking his head, his cheeks flushing before he meets my eyes. “I must have missed that day at witch school.”
