Page 148 of The Firebrand
When he withdrew, he pulled himself up beside her, his arms behind his neck, his long, muscled legs extended—lord of the condo. “I don’t see why not. It works for me. Of course, the master will assign tasks to his dutiful submissive mate.”
She snorted. “I’ll be busy.”
“Doing what?” Rein stretched, a languid big cat, biceps and pecs flexing.
“I thought I might make babies.” Braelyn threw out the comment, a close eye on his response.
Rein gulped, shooting upright, the insouciant lean forgotten. “Babies? I didn’t know you wanted kids.”
“I do. Is that a problem?”
“No-o-o.” His voice quivered. “Father.” When he tested the word, his face paled.
“Too soon?” she asked. “Do you want to hear about my witch progress instead?”
“Definitely a better conversation.”
Exhausted but satisfied, Braelyn nestled against his chest. She traced the wing of the great Phoenix with her fingertip before answering. His bicep flinched.
“Leana, your father’s mage-in-charge-of-sorting-hats, ran the tests.”
“Huh?”
“Sorting hats?Harry Potter?” She shook her head. “Never mind. After she analyzed a blood sample, she leafed through notes, scanned books, made phone calls, scrunched her brows, and pulled out her hair. In a less-than-sure voice, she said I was a conjurer—of sorts. She assigned me to the Forging School of Magic. Leana may have dropped a few unkind words—bizarre,weird, abnormal, whacko. She said I’m not Indigo. I won’t get a cute Oskar. Instead, I conjure energy, using it like a missile guidance system to expel stuff from my mind or aim projectiles. Along with that, I create invisible objects to launch at people.”
“Brae, you’re an enigma.”
“That sounds nicer than what Leana called me. After that session, I traipsed over to meet my trainer, Elphaba, the green witch who defies gravity.”
“I’ve never met Elphaba. And what’s a green witch?”
“You’ve never seen the musicalWicked?”
“No.”
“Then my humor is lost.”
“Not unusual.”
“Anyway, my trainer sent me home with a book full of spells. She wants me to practice hand gestures. I had to control myself with that one. Did you have to do all this shit when you trained?”
“No. I was a natural.”
“Oh. Forgive me, your lordness. Elphaba, not her real name, has no sense of humor either. I asked her for a magic wand. She didn’t think I was funny. I’m not sure I was trying to be.”
Rein arched his brows. “I have a magic wand. I just gave it to you.” His smile hinted of wickedness.
“You are an arrogant, egotistical wizard.”
Rein laughed. “I noticed you dodged your master’s tasks.”
“Hmm. Funny that.”
“On your list are cooking, darning my socks, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, fetching my slippers, basically being at my beck and call.”
“Does anybody darn socks anymore?”
“Okay, it’s off the list.”
