“That sounds... kind of amazing. Why do we all look worried? Do we think it’s a trap?” I glanced from Caleb to Austin again, but he just shrugged.
“Cal, obviously, can’t say much on the topic. But I get the sense he doesn’t totally trust his mentor’s motives, so we have been running a diagnostic spell on the amulet to check that it is what it’s claimed to be.” Austin yawned heavily and stretched his arms over his head. He was shirtless, and as he moved, his muscles rippled and danced under his ink. Maybe he might let me tattoo him again some time... It was kind of a turn on to know my ink was still on his skin.
“Okay...” I forced my horny brain back to the discussion at hand. “And what have you found?”
“It’s impossible to ascertain the exact spell compound, but we were able to eliminate what it’s not,” Caleb explained, continuing to run the chain between his fingers. “So far, it’s not anything that would kill, track, maim, harm, or enslave you. We figured those were the important ones to check for first.”
A shocked sort of laugh bubbled out of me, and I choked on it. “Uh, okay. Yep, those are important,” I agreed, coughing a bit to clear my throat. “Anything more than that?”
“We narrowed it down to the general subcategory,” Austin informed me. “And as far as we can tell it is designed to help you control your magic. But... that’s about as much as we know.”
“So... Caleb’s mentor was probably telling the truth then?” I translated from the information they were hitting me with. It was too late and my brain was too tired to solve puzzles.
Both twins sort of shrugged. “Probably?” Caleb agreed. “But we would feel more comfortable not giving it to you unless it’s a last resort... if you’re cool with that? It’s your choice, of course, but... that’s where we’re at on it.”
“What do you think, Princess?” Austin asked quietly. “Are you happy to hold off and work it out like you’ve been doing? Or do you just want it straight up? If it is what it’s meant to be, it’d be a huge help to you. We just worry about the possibility that it’s... something else.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I considered this. What they said made a world of sense, and surely, I was wise enough now to think before I acted?
“You’re right. I’m okay for now, so just... hold onto it until I need it. Worst case scenario, if it starts going screwy I can just take it off again, right?” I decided, and they both nodded their agreement. Caleb pocketed the chain, then smiled at me with tension obvious in his eyes.
“Okay, so there was something else I wanted to ask you, Kitty Kat,” he started with a nervous quiver in his voice. “I wanted to ask if, now that I’m finished with my lessons, you’d be okay with bonding me?”
He asked so tentatively that I just wanted to hug him, the adorable dork. A grin spread over my face as I took in the flush to his cheeks and the tightly clenched hands in his lap. Of all the guys, I hadn’t expected Cal to be nervous asking me to bond.
“Of course, silly. I said to tell me whenever you were ready, didn’t I?” I wrinkled my nose as I looked at him, not totally sure where all this nervousness was coming from. “When did you want to do it?”
“Um.” He dodged my eyes and looked toward the carpet. “Now? Maybe? I have something important I really need to tell you but can’t because—” His words cut off, and he hissed sharply, clutching at his head.
“Got it,” I confirmed, understanding that whatever he needed to say was directly related to the confidentiality clause. A clause that he was confident would break when he bonded to me.
“Like right now?” I asked, seeking clarity, and he nodded. “Uh, yeah. Sure. I don’t see why not.”
“I do,” Austin contributed from his seat along the couch from me. “Maybe the fact that you’re barely holding it together with three bonded guardians, and now you’re going to add a fourth to the mix? With a fucking volatile magic too.”
He was right. Of course, he was right. I was worried about the same thing myself, but I also knew how much this meant to Caleb, and how crushed he’d be if I said no. At the end of the day, I was confident I could handle the magic, in time. So keeping my promise to Caleb meant more.
“Let’s do it,” I announced and ignored Austin’s muttered curse. “I already have the spell memorized thanks to this guy.” I waved my wrist tattoo, which was still working. “If you know it too?”
Caleb’s shoulders sagged with viable relief, and he jumped up to move the coffee table out of the way to give us space. “I do. Okay, amazing. Kitty Kat, thank you.”
“Save thanking me until after you need to teach me your ways, sensei,” I joked, waving my hand at him and shuffling on my knees to the center of the floor. “All right. Shall we?”
“Stupid, fucking stubborn woman,” Austin was muttering, but I ignored him as Caleb joined me on the floor and flicked open his fancy switchblade.
Excitement battled with my nerves as Caleb met my eyes and recited his part of the spell in a voice that sounded like he was reciting his wedding vows. Hell, he pretty much was. This spell bound us for eternity. Screw the wedding with the big poofy dress, this was much more permanent.
With my stomach in knots, I recited my own verse from memory, then watched with my heart in my throat as Caleb stabbed a small cut into his thumb. Time seemed to slow as he held his injured finger over my ring. The blood welled up into a droplet, then descended the short gap and hit the surface of my bloodstone with a noticeable jolt like I’d just stuck my finger in a live socket.
The runes burst into life around us, but I barely noticed them as Caleb’s magic slammed into me with all the force of a Mack truck, quite literally knocking me flat on my back.
My joints all seized up, and I was powerless to move while Caleb’s wild, coppery magic rushed through me, touching every corner of my mind and lashing out at the other three magics already residing alongside my own.
Wesley had commented, last time, that it seemed to be worse each time, and right in the moment when Caleb’s magic reached such a crescendo that I thought my skin would split apart, it felt like a massive understatement.
Caleb’s cool lips met mine like an ice pack to a sprained ankle, soothing the magic and taking back the excess from me that was causing me so much pain. Just like the other guys, when he kissed me, the pain faded, but unlike them, it didn’t disappear altogether.
“Kitty Kat?” Caleb murmured, pulling back and frowning at me in concern. “What’s happening?”
My whole body was being racked with waves of trembles, and as I tried to speak, my teeth began chattering. The pain was less, for sure, and I could tell that the correct amount of magic was left in me after the rest had returned to its owner... but I still felt like I was being electrocuted... or stretched on some medieval torture device or something.
“God damn, stupid, stubborn woman,” Austin snapped, also crouching to look at me when I lay on the carpet and shook.
“C-c-can I t-t-try...” I started to say, but my chattering teeth made me stutter almost uncontrollably. Giving up, I dropped my wall between Austin and I and let him have a whack at sensing what I was trying to get across. Obviously he couldn’t read my mind, but I hoped that a solid mixture of my emotions plus common sense plus those few words would lead him in the right direction.
“The amulet.” Austin held his hand out to Caleb. “She wants to try the spelled amulet.”
“Yeah, of course.” Caleb fumbled in his pockets and handed the gold chain to his brother, “Are you sure?” This question was directed at me, but I was so far beyond being able to nod. Hell, I was barely keeping conscious, let alone sane and coherent.
“She’s sure,” Austin translated for me and deftly clipped the chain around my wrist. “Worst case, she can take it off when her mind is a bit clearer. Right?”