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I smooth my hair up into a loose bun and grab a scrunchie to wrap around it. “I don’t know that I’ll ever think your ability to call fire to your hands is normal, Hardin. No matter how many times I see it.”
He sits up, rests his booted feet on the ground. “Once you’re calling shadows and you see how they are a part of you, you’ll understand.”
“Shadows?” My voice is muffled by the toothbrush I currently have shoved in my mouth.
“That’s where the wholeshadowpart of Shadow and Veil comes from.” I frown, and spit into the sink, rinse my brush and then straighten to look at him where he’s now leaning against the doorjamb.
“But…”
He waits for me to voice my question. When I don’t, he pushes away from the door to stand in front of me. “Ask your question, love.”
“Well, that doesn’t make sense. Just because the sect has the word shadow in, it doesn’t automatically mean that everyone in that sect should be able to call shadows. I mean, you’re a member of Blade and Tether, but you can call fire? Why isn’t it called Blade and Flames? Or Tether and Spark? Or… something like that?”
Hardin’s lips twist more and more into a smile the longer I talk, and then he gently carefully guides me back into my bedroom, where he sets me on the edge of my bed. I note that while I was in the bathroom, he’d grabbed a pair of socks and shoes for me.
He kneels and reaches for my foot. I realize what he’s going to do a second before he does. “Blade and Tether are the guards and law enforcement for our coven,” he says, slipping a sock on my left foot. “It’s there in that name. We are the blades that fight our enemies and the tether that keeps them contained.” He slips the other sock on. “I suppose they didn’t think they needed to add the whole fire part of it.”
I hum and watch as he slips an ankle boot on first one foot and the other. “What about Fielder? Spider and Cross?”
Hardin looks up at me, rests both of his hands on my thighs and squeezes gently. “People have been calling spies ‘spiders’ for years. Think aboutGame of Thrones.”
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “I never watched it.”
His eyes widen at my pronouncement. “How?”
“Oh, it was easy,” I say matter-of-factly. “I just never changed it to the channel when it was on. Never watched it after it was out.”
He laughs. “Okay, smartass. You know what I mean.”
I wrinkle my nose and stand up. “Yeah, I do, but I just couldn’t get past the incest of it all.”
He follows me into the living room—I still can’t believe I basically have my own apartment—and there we find Merritt and Ben curled up on the couch. Both of them have text books open, and I groan at the reminder that we are actually in school and tomorrow I’ll have to go back to class.
Ugh, why can’t I just focus on learning about my magic?
“Ro hasn’t watchedGame of thrones,” Hardin accuses as I look around for my purse.
Merritt’s gaze flicks up, unconcerned. “So?”
“You don’t think that’s a travesty?”
“What’s a travesty?” Fielder asks.
I glare at the door that leads to the hall. “What’s the point of keeping that locked if you can just come in whenever you want?”
Fielder, Ezra and Gideon all blink at me. “What? It’s a valid question! What if I don’t want you to just be able to come in whenever you want?” They blink at me again and Fielder slides his gaze to Ben, like I should realize something that I haven’t yet.
That’s when it hits me. They think I assumed they were using magic to get in. But honestly, that’s not the case. Magic is not my first instinct. It probably never will be. “I assume you sweet-talked one of the security guides to give you access? Can we have it revoked?” They all relax somewhat.
“Not happening, Sweeney.”
I want to argue with them. But I can tell that I won’t win. I groan and tilt my head back. “Then can you knock before you come in at least? What if Merritt and I are having a panty party?”
“What’s a panty party?” Ben asks, his gaze finally rising from the book in front of him.
I wave a hand. “You know, a party where we wear nothing but panties. It usually involves alcohol, drunk dancing and sharing emotions.”
“I’m okay walking in on that,” Hardin says, lifting his hand in tribute.
