Page 75 of Anywhere

I licked my lips. I wanted to yell yes and ask what the hell it was.

“Ya dinnie ‘ave ta answer. I can see it in yer eyes dat ya know what me sayin’. Dat is the triad connection.” She held up her hands and made a shape with her fingers that had three points. She turned to the shelf thing that Barry was on with a frown and pulled out another handful of seeds. Intrigued by what she was creating, I stepped close enough that I could see the shape she was making.

“Dis shape be called a triangle.”

“Tree…aagale.”

Mari smiled. “Tri-an-gle,” she said.

I practiced it a few times until she nodded when I got it right. It felt amazing to learn something new, even if it seemed completely pointless.

“Dis seed be Rook.” Mari held up a seed and placed it at the top point of the triangle. “Dis be Rhys.” She repeated the process with another point. “And dis be ya, Elewyen.” Mari held up the seed and placed it at the final point. “Da tree of ya together be what we call a triad of power. When yer together, yer strong.” Mari closed her fist and held it up.

“But when yer apart….” She pushed all the seeds away from one another. “Yer weak. Dis power be what protects da island, and all dat live here. Dose wit power, dose without, and da animals.” Mari stroked her finger along Barry’s head, and he closed his eyes and rubbed against her finger. “Da ones dat are evil want ta kill all dat live here, includin’ him and yer coven.”

I searched her face to see if she was lying, but there was nothing about her that suggested that what she was saying was false.

“Wat ya gonna need me ta do if me stayed?” Mari blushed and looked down at her boots.

“Well, dat be da ting… Ya kinda need ta lay wit the guys,” she said. “There be a ritual ta bind ya, so da power becomes one, and ya kinda need ta, you know….”

I squinted my eyes at her, not sure what me laying beside the guys, and a ritual was going to do.

Mari cleared her throat and looked me in the eye. “Ya need ta all ‘ave sex, Elewyen. Da triad is formed when ya all open yerself up physically and emotionally ta become one.” She held up her finger and entwined them together. “Tree becomes one power.”

My mouth fell open. “Ohhh no. No, no, no. Dat no’ be happenin’ unless ya plan on forcin’ me,” I said, and my muscles tensed.

Mari shook her head no. “Aye, dey could, but Rhys and Rook no’ da type. Ta make da union true and pure ya need ta consent, no’ be forced. I know dis be a lot ta take in, an’ dere be so much more ta explain ta ya. Can ya give us a few days? Learn all ya can, an’ get ta know da guys before ya be makin’ a decision?”

I chewed on my bottom lip as the idea of having sex clawed at my throat. The coven had insisted that men were not nice and that having intimate time with them would be painful because they would be cruel. That I’d become controlled by them, and from that time on, I would never be free. How could Mari, a fellow woman, ask this of me?

Mari held her open hand towards me. Barry stood up on the shelf and looked between us. I gave the wee squirrel a glance, and the fact that he trusted and liked Mari was the only reason I placed my hand in hers. Her skin was soft, and her hand warm as she gently gripped mine.

“A few days, dats all I ask before ya leave. All da lives on da island depends on it.”

“Aye, I’ma stay for seven moons, but if I decide ta go….”

“Then ya can go a free woman. Dis is no’ a place a torture.” Mari smiled and feeling compelled to touch her. I pulled her into my embrace.

She let out a small whimper and winced in my hold. Jumping back, my hands went to my mouth.

“I no mean ta hurt ya,” I said.

She shook her head and gave me a reassuring smile. “It no’ be you. I hurt meself trainin’, and me back is still sore. I’ma be okay. Now let’s get ya cleaned up and start teachin’ ya some new words,” Mari said.

“Me love ta learn,” I said happily, which made Mari smile, and I found myself following suit.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into or why it seemed like it was the right decision, but I would give them seven moons to convince me that this was what I wanted. In the meantime, I would map out the best way to escape if they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

Rook

Fuck Rhys. He messed with my head. I looked down at my cock, still picturing Rhys bent over in that kilt. Dammit! He made me want to do things I normally, emphatically, yelled no to. He had to have fucking magic in his touch.

My step faltered. Was he using magic on me other than the connection? I shook my head. No, that wasn’t like him. In the short time we spent together, he seemed overly honest. Again, not my type, and yet here I was lusting after him like…I didn’t even have words for what this felt like, but I knew Devlin, the fucker, would be laughing his ass off.

I wandered down the hall toward my bedroom and paused. A smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth. Rhys was going to find himself moved out of the other side of the castle when he got back.

“Liam,” I called out tentatively. “Liam, you around?” I yelled a little louder.