Page 48 of The Magic of Revenge
"Explains a lot," Sloane grumbled and Faris gave him the evil eye.
"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Faris snapped.
Fischer shifted uncomfortably, preparing for the showdown that I'm sure everyone in the room could feel building.
"Blood mages are notoriously insane. Unstable. Disconnected with reality. Driven by their obsession with blood and they have a fixation with murder. Don't act like you don't know all of this," Sloane fired back at him.
My body tensed in Cam's lap. I couldn't deal with fighting right now. Everyone was mostly okay, despite my demon being mortally wounded and all that, but… I was trying to be positive gods damnit. We were together. That's all that mattered.
The sound of chilling laughter brought goosebumps to my arms. "Does this look like murder, Sloane? Sounds like projection if you ask me. You have a few obsessions of your own, right? Master." He spat the word like it tasted filthy and then there were flames.
"Fuck!" I shouted, jumping off Cam and pushing Sloane out of the way. The shirt was on fire and would be burning Bram in a matter of seconds. I felt Cam squeeze in beside me, leaning close to the flames. He held his hands over the heat and with a crackle of electricity, water started falling from his palms. Rain. He'd made fucking rain in his hands. The cotton material sizzled and smoked as the flames were doused.
"How the hell?" Sloane balked at the scene before us.
"I have no idea," Cam admitted, looking at his hands in wonder. "I just knew what to do. I've never done anything like that before."
"We're all getting power boosts," Kai said, looking at each of us.
"We are?" Cam asked.
Bram groaned and cracked his eyes open. "Goldie," he murmured.
"I'm here," I assured him, taking his hand and squeezing it. "You big idiot. Why didn't you say something? But you're all, let me sit over here, fucking stabbed and watch while my mate beats the shit out of her mom," I ranted. He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but I was on a roll. "Then I'll just watch this lovely reunion while my mate dry humps her two other boyfriends and fall on the floor and pass out from blood loss without so much as a peep!"
I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath. Six pairs of eyes were staring at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Are you done, Red?" Sloane asked, staring at me with those ice blue eyes.Oh hell no.
"And you," I narrowed my eyes, pointing a finger at Sloane who returned the expression with ease.Don't say it, Saige. Don't go there."You don't even act like you're happy to see me!"
Kai released a low whistle at that accusation and Sloane appeared to be stunned speechless for the first time since I'd met him. Faris helped Bram get into a sitting position and I half expected him to run to the kitchen to grab some popcorn for the show.
"I didn't think you'd be happy to see me," Sloane said, like he was unsure of how to act at the moment. To my surprise, his cheeks were turning a little red and I didn't think it was thanks to his affinity.
I huffed, like a properly scandalized woman. "Look. We all fucked up. Our initial meeting started out in a highly unconventional fashion. Yes, you all kept a big secret. A huge secret. But I understand now, that was a part of your jobs. It was a huge slap in my face the day Khol and Bram took me through the portal. I thought you'd played me the whole time," I admitted.
"How could you think that, little witch? What we have..." Cam trailed off, hurt evident in his tone.
"I know, I know! But maybe I'm not as confident with myself as I seem because I felt very insecure and vulnerable in that moment. What's worse is that I knew what Bryce was capable of and I didn't warn you guys. I let him get inside my head and I can't help but think that if I had been honest about that, then the outcome in the woods might have been different," I said softly, tears welling.Gods, I'm a hot mess.
"What do you mean you weren't honest, sweetheart?" Fischer asked gently, reaching over and pulling me between his spread out legs.
"You're going to hate me. But I didn't know the jobs that you had, I didn't know how powerful you really are."
"Goldie, don't do that. You were a victim that day and nobody here will be upset with you," Bram encouraged me. He was right. I needed to trust my guys.
"The night I came home drunk, when I got the ride from Bram. Well, when he was Johnny." Everyone nodded in remembrance. "I was at the grocery store earlier that day and Bryce cornered me. He threatened to drown you all in your sleep if I told them about what he'd said or did."
"What did he do?" Sloane asked quietly and that caused me to wince more than I would have if he'd growled like he usually did.
Fischer's arms wrapped around me and Kai threaded his fingers through my hand. "He basically said that I would always belong to him. He kissed me and..." I stared down at my lap and could already feel the shame washing over me.
"He's dead. He was already dead. I'm going to rip him apart with my teeth," Kai snarled, hopping to his feet to pace.
"Finish your sentence, baby girl," Cam ordered. Strangely, the dominance in his tone settled me. A lot.
"He touched me. Like he had every right to do so. That's why I was drinking alone at the shop. Then Bram showed up and I was in a fucked up headspace. I was so scared that he would hurt you guys... And in the end, he did anyway. I'm so sorry." My voice cracked with emotion and I couldn't bring myself to look at any of them.
