Page 45 of The Magic of Discovery
“Now that we know what the cause is, we can figure the rest out. It’s getting late now, but I’m sure I can speak for the rest of the guys when I say that we want to hear about what else has been happening. There’s just one question that I need you to answer before we get out of here, and I need you to be honest. Your safety is my number one priority, little witch. Are you safe?”
“Yes, I’m safe. Gran and I put some wards and protections around the cottage earlier today. Nothing will be able to harm me there.” She pulled her sweater around herself as the wind picked up, hugging herself.
“Well then, you better get in there, Sprout,” Kai ordered with a fake sternness to his voice, earning a mocking salute and sarcastic ‘yes, sir’ in response.
Hearing a noise to my left, I looked at Sloane. Could’ve sworn he groaned at her use of those two words.Interesting.But he was studying her with curiosity, not lust. A hint of suspicion slipped through his shield, and that had me wondering what the hell was going through the pyro mage’s dark mind.
“We should let Fish end his date. Let’s get out of here. Text me later, little witch.” Cam darted forward and kissed her lips in goodbye, heading to his Harley with a wink as her cheeks heated.
“Come here, Sprout.” Kai opened his arms, and Saige melted into him. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and mumbled little compliments about how pretty she looked. Begrudgingly, Kai released my date and hopped on his bike.
Saige looked at Sloane, the brave girl. “Thank you so much for your help. Cam told me this was kind of your specialty. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
Giving her a curt nod, he turned and grabbed the helmet off of his vintage Indian before climbing onto his bike, the three of them firing up and taking off down the drive at the same time. Inhaling, I turned to where Saige was last standing and startled when I found she was right beside me.
“We’ll get this figured out,” I breathed, wanting to reassure her.
“I know. I’m freaked out, but right now? I’m mostly happy. I had a wonderful night with you. Thank you, Fischer.” Her arms snaked around my waist, and she laid her head on my chest.
“Thank you for coming out with me, sweetheart.” With a lift of her chin, I lowered my mouth to hers. She tasted like perfection, a balm of normalcy for my fucked up soul. I swallowed a moan that slipped out of her throat, and groaned as she pushed her tongue against mine.Gods, this woman.
Saige pulled back, panting. Fire flared in her eyes, and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Don’t look at me like that. Deep down, I’m a weak man who is hanging onto my earlier declarations by a fucking thread.” Closing my eyes to block out her face and heated gaze, I took a couple of deep breaths to get a hold of my damn self.
Her laugh carried on the wind that was picking up by the minute; rain was on the way.
“Okay, okay. I’m going inside, but I was thinking that on Sunday you guys could all come over. Meet Gran, eat, drink, and we can discuss all of the crap going on so everyone is on the same page? Can you ask the others if that will work with their schedules?”
Grabbing her hand, I walked her over to the side/front door. “I’ll ask as soon as I get back. I’m sure it’ll be fine, though. I’ll shoot you a message and let you know for sure.”
“Goodnight, guppy.” She lifted up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick peck on the lips before slipping into her house.
“Goodnight, sweetheart— Wait, did you just call me guppy?” I asked, sure I’d misheard that.
Laughing, she gazed at me through the mesh of the screen and blew me a kiss. Dropping her hand, she proclaimed, “What? You’re my sweet cutie guppy.”
My mouth fell open as she turned and walked away, giggling.I’m a goddamned stone cold killer, and she just called me aguppy? I know that’s some kind of fish, but I can’t picture what it looks like. I’m going to google that when I get home, and it better be the size of a shark or some shit.Smiling to myself, I strutted over to my bike.Badass guppy. That’s me.
The sound of the door closing and the light in the mudroom shutting off sent a wave of calm through my body. My girl was safe, she’d had a great night, and she liked me.The real me.
Stone walls and high ceilings with domed entryways greeted my eyes as awareness crept into my mind. This room looked like something from a fairy tale, complete with a throne sitting at the far end, white and red banners decorating the entire room, billowing sashes cascading down from the ceilings.
My bare feet had carried me forward, curiosity overriding all other emotions, to investigate the enormous throne when a man entered at a fast clip from a door to the left. I was so startled I squeaked, and his head snapped around to see who had made such a sound. He was gorgeous in an other-worldly kind of way. Freckles covered most of his face, his deep red facial hair kept short and trimmed.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, walking toward me. I could tell he was trying to figure out who I was and what I was doing standing in this castle in a silk nightie. “Who are you? Are you here to see my father? I’m not sure where he is. I just popped in myself from the other realm. I haven’t been home in a couple of years,” he rambled, lifting a finger to slide his black-rimmed glasses up on his nose then pushing back some of his hair that had fallen into his eyes.
“I-I’m not sure. I think I’m dreaming,” I said, motioning to the nightgown and bare feet I was sporting. “Where are we?”
“Well, we’re in Naryan, the capital city. This is the king’s castle, his home,” he answered slowly, studying my face as I took in that information.
“Naryan. Right,” I muttered, running a hand down my face.I’m definitely dreaming.
“Can I get you something, anything to drink? A robe?” he offered, his eyes trailing down my body. Swallowing, he held up a finger and stalked over to the side of the room where a massive wardrobe was standing. I watched with interest as he flung open the doors and snatched something made of dark green velvet.
“Here, let me help you slip this on. You must be cold. This is not the warmest time of year for a visit.” He held up the robe, its wide sleeves and deep hood inviting me to burrow inside. It was beautiful.
Turning, I extended my arms back, and he slipped the long sleeves on me, pulling it up around my neck. Glancing to my feet, the soft material pooled around the floor and would trail behind me when I walked.
