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“I’m, uh, still pretty new at all this. Do you mind if I touch you?” Lena asks and something unwinds inside me. She has a gentle and calming demeanor. I nod and Lena’s warm hands wrap around mine. She closes her eyes and I immediately feel a soft heat soaking into my skin from hers.
Beyond the warm comfort of her magic is a deeper connection, a sense of kinship that I feel from her touch. Fae magic is strange and works in ways that I still don’t understand, even seeing it for so many years. I have the notion that Lena’s magic and mine recognize each other. It should be disconcerting, but it’s actually soothing.
Lena doesn’t even have to touch my ankle. Her grip on my hand not only heals the cut on my palm, but the burn on my leg as well.
“Wow,” I whisper, gently extracting my hand so she doesn’t keep expending energy unnecessarily.
“Did it work?” Lena pushes up a pair of black-rimmed glasses on her nose.
I show her my hand, noting that there isn’t even a scar. I pull up my pant leg to inspect my ankle, even though I know it’s healed. All I see is unmarked skin.
“That was a lot easier than I thought it would be,” Lena says with a frown, her eyes darting over to a sleeping Archer.
“You have a bonded, right?”
Lena and Rhys both look at me, probably surprised to hear me speak louder than a mouse.
“Yes. Is that why?”
“When pairs bond within an Axis, there is supposed to be an increase in the individual’s powers.”
Lena nods as if this is something she already knows. “I guess I wasn’t expecting it to change so quickly. Miri said it would happen, but seeing is believing.”
Rhys reaches out and grabs Lena’s forearm, squeezing gently. “Thanks, Magdalena.”
Lena glares at him, and then lightly smacks the back of his head. “You’re welcome, asshole.” She turns to me with a smile. “I’m wrecked. We’re going to head back home. I’m glad that worked.”
I stand as she moves to Archer’s side to wake him up. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” she says with a sincere smile. “But let’s hope it’s not a regular thing.”
“Agreed.”
Archer mumbles a goodbye and the two of them take off in the same direction they came from. Rhys stands up, stretching his arms overhead with a long groan. The bottom of his shirt lifts and my eyes drift of their own accord. I’m transfixed by the patch of skin that he reveals between his pants and shirt. Unbelievably cut muscles carve a vee down below his waistband, and a trail of dark hair leads from his belly button… to lower.
I don’t know how long I’ve been staring. The trance is only broken when Rhys lowers his arms and cuts off my view. Heat races up my body and my skin gets hot everywhere. I drop my head and close my eyes, hoping he didn’t catch me ogling him.
“I’ll walk you back to Ruby’s,” Rhys says, a hint of laughter in his voice that makes me flush all over again.
I fumble to pick up Axil’s leash. “Sure. Thank you, that would be kind.”
The walk back is quiet. I avoid looking at Rhys, examining every crack in the sidewalk instead. Rhys doesn’t seem to mind, letting me simmer in my embarrassment. He walks me all the way to Ruby’s front door, waiting while I get the keys out of my pocket and unlock the door. Knowing it would be rude to go inside without looking at him again, I turn to face him.
“Thank you for sitting with me, and for calling Lena to heal me.”
It’s too dark on Ruby’s porch to see the incredible color of Rhys’s eyes, but I can still see the sweetness as he smiles down at me. He’s so much taller than I am that I have to crane my neck to look him in the eye.
“No need to thank me.” Rhys lifts his hand, appearing to hesitate near my face. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and then takes a step back. “I’m going to make a list. We’re going to make sure you get to experience all the things you missed. Get inside. I’ll wait until you’re locked up.” With that declaration, he motions for me to get inside.
I guess it was a good night to go for a walk.
