“Right,” Caleb agreed and watched me with concerned, guilt-filled eyes.
Almost instantly after Austin closed the latch on the bracelet, my trembling stopped. The pain and conflict within my body drained out like someone had just pulled the plug on a bath, and I sighed with relief.
“Thank fucking magic,” I groaned, lifting my heavy hands and running them through my hair before sitting up with the twins’ help. “So, I’m pretty sure this amulet is exactly what your mentor said it was.”
“Yeah?” Caleb gusted out a heavy breath that he’d been holding. “You’re... okay?”
Closing my eyes briefly, I took a moment to assess my magic... It was all still there, but this time the four additional flavors were sitting quietly and not fighting one another. It was a shock, for sure, but a good one.
“I’m good,” I confirmed. “Really good. I promise. The second anything starts to feel weird, I will take it straight off, but I have to be honest, it was a damn good thing she gave it to you. That bonding was rough.”
“Fuck, Kitty Kat, I am so so sorry,” Caleb apologized. “I never should have pushed for it so soon; I knew you were having a rough time. I should have waited.”
“It’s fine, Cal. I’m fine. But did it work? Did the NDA break?” I let Austin lift me from the ground and settle me on the couch, even though I really did feel totally fine.
“Let’s see.” Caleb took a deep breath, clearly preparing to say something in direct violation of his confidentiality agreement.
Before any words could come out of his mouth though, there was a sharp knock at the suite door before it burst open, and a huge, cloaked man strode into the room while throwing back his hood.
“Vic?” I exclaimed, seeing the huge, scarred man standing there and glaring death straight at... Caleb? What the hell am I missing here?
“Christina,” he nodded to me. “Came to tell you not to bond with that one.” He stabbed a finger in Caleb’s direction, and I saw my newest bonded guardian drain of color.
“Ah, you’re a bit late to the party, old man,” I scoffed a bit sarcastically. “But maybe you want to explain what in the fuck you’re doing here? Last I saw of you was in Alaska when you shooed me off with your little spell, not even admitting that you’re probably my biological father. Guess you must have just forgotten that part, huh?”
Vic’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed on me. “Explanations can wait. Your chosen guardian has been meeting with your Ma, Bride, in secret for weeks.”
I’d always considered the saying “knock me over with a feather” to be stupid, but right then, in that very moment when Vic’s words filtered through to my brain... well, quite simply, if I had been standing, I could have been knocked over with a damn feather.
“What?” I finally exclaimed to a room silent enough to hear a pin drop, “No, that’s... insane. Right?” I turned to the twins, noticing first Austin’s stunned expression and then Caleb’s pale, sick-looking face. “No, surely not. You can’t have been.”
Suddenly all the pieces clicked into place in my brain like some sort of crazy elaborate, mechanical puzzle. The magical NDA, the fact that Caleb’s mentor was stronger than the ruling Mages, the fact that she’d known exactly what to spell the fucking amulet with to help me in a very specific Ban Dia problem.
Holy fucking shit. How dumb can I seriously be?
“Caleb?” I squeaked, desperately praying that he’d tell me it wasn’t true. That he hadn’t been meeting my fucking mother behind my back for going on a month now.
“Kitty Kat,” he started, but the thick layer of guilt in his voice told me everything I needed to know. I sucked in a sharp breath, swallowing past the shock and betrayal.
“I need some air,” I mumbled, pushing myself up from the couch and stumbling toward the door.
“Kitty Kat,” Caleb yelled from behind me, “stay and let me explain! This is what I wanted to tell you myself; this is why I needed to break the clause!”
“Christina,” Austin barked. “Where are you going?”
“Out,” I replied to Aus and totally ignored his brother. “I need air. Space. Just... don’t follow me.”
Grabbing my leather jacket from near the door, I rushed out of the suite and slammed the door behind me. I was no idiot; of course one of them would follow me, but I just hoped they’d be smart enough to stay out of sight until I calmed down. If I ever calmed down.
Bile rose in my throat as I paced the small box of the elevator, waiting for it to descend and deposit me onto the ground floor. Where I was going, I had no idea. I just needed... space.
Jesus Kit, you sound like the most stupid blonde in every horror movie ever. Throwing a tantrum and leaving all safety behind...
My conscious rattled away at me, but I was turning numb. Fuck it. Who cared if this was a stupid fucking move? I was quickly becoming the most badass bitch on this planet; surely I could handle myself. I was sick to damn death of needing to be rescued by my guardians. My powers far outweighed theirs; I just needed to learn how to control them on my own. But how was I ever going to do that if they kept saving me? If I kept letting them save me?
“Where to, miss?” the taxi driver asked as I opened the door and climbed into the back seat. It hadn’t taken me long to flag him down outside the hotel, but it was more than long enough to have me anxious to be gone from there. I was still being hunted, so standing on the side of the road hailing a taxi wasn’t my smartest decision.
“I have no idea,” I admitted, meeting his weathered eyes in the mirror. “Can you take me to a bar? Any bar, I don’t care.”
The driver gave me a look like he was questioning if I was likely to stiff him. But he must have decided I was good for it, as he pulled out from the curb and into the traffic.
“You got it, miss,” he agreed, then thankfully seemed happy not to make small talk for the rest of the short ride. He pulled over in front of an unassuming-looking bar with saloon style doors, then turned in his seat to look at me sternly.
“It ain’t the fanciest club in town, but the music is good and the bartenders will keep an eye out to make sure your drink ain’t spiked. That’ll be eight dollars.” His serious expression didn’t shift as I handed over the money and thanked him.
Luckily my wallet had been in the pocket of my jacket, or I really would have been screwed. It was nice of him to bring me somewhere that I was less likely to get drugged, though.
After showing my very fake ID to the security guard at the door, I pushed through the saloon doors and into the bar. My ID was fake not for my age, as I was twenty-one now, but for my name. After all, we were on the run from fuck knew how many different organizations.
Uh, right. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.
The idea of going back to the hotel, facing Caleb and Vic and the secrets... Nope. I’d rather take my chances in the bottom of a margarita glass. Mature decision, I was aware. But sometimes I just needed to do stupid shit to let off steam.
“What’ll it be?” the enthusiastic bartender chick asked me as I approached the busy bar, and I frowned at her curiously. She could have been Lucy, at a glance, except a much darker, tanned version of Lucy with turquoise-green dreadlocks.
“Ah... I don’t know. Whatever you recommend, I guess?” I shrugged helpfully, and the girl raised her pierced eyebrows at me.
“You here alone?” She squinted at me, with a slight frown.
“Sure am,” I sighed, not even attempting a fake smile. “So something strong, if possible, please?”
The bartender looked a bit worried but nodded to me and started making me a drink. While I waited, I slumped against the bar with my elbows the only things really holding me up. It felt like I’d been put through a clothes washer, I was so strung out on emotions.