Phantom of the Library - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,29
he said. “Just so you’re aware, I could fuck you forever. But…I’m sure the restraint is part of the fun.”
“So you liked it?”
“It felt so damn right…I would never have guessed, but it did.”
“Yeah,” I breathed. “It did.”
His strong arms were around me, my body nestled against his, and I fell right to sleep. A little later, the door opened and the others came in, a warm furry Jasper wolf settling beside me while Byron and Jake crashed on the air mattresses just below me. We all slept together: two fully alive demons, two wolves, and one very satisfied witch.
Chapter Twelve
Helena
I screamed and immediately woke everyone up.
Bevan was standing over me in his human form. He was never in his human form, so it scared the absolute shit out of me.
“Bevan! Bevan. Oh god. Why—why are you human? I’m naked!”
“You know I have the same eyeballs whether I appear as an animal or a human?” he said. “And I’ve seen you naked before?”
“Not since I was a kid!”
“The human body. Shock. Horror. Boobs. I might faint,” he said in a sardonic monotone. Then he waved his hand. “Sorry. That’s just my reflex. I actually don’t have time to joke around. Something very odd is happening in the magical realm.”
“Like what?” I tried to find my dress but it was probably still crumpled in the basement.
“I’ve been up all night,” Bevan said. “Familiars are separating from their wizards.”
I grabbed Graham’s shirt since I didn’t have anything else to wear. The guys were obviously all awake from the moment I screamed, but they looked as plastered as I felt. The Sullivans were in wolf form sleeping on the floor, but Jasper transformed back into a human to jump in with,
“Wait—for good?”
“Maybe,” Bevan said. “It started last night just when I went to bed. A familiar knocked on my door. She was very confused about where she was. And soon a few more of them showed up. To summarize the very long conversations we had, all of these familiars were being abused by their wizards, and it seems that when the worlds opened up, they jumped realms to escape, and broke the connection with their wizards.”
“How did they get to you?” Jasper asked.
“Well, obviously it was because Helena had a hand in opening the gates and I’m the only person who knows what was going on. They were looking for answers, so they were drawn to me because I had an answer. Well, sort of. I’m not sure what’s going on, but it seems as if the separation of worlds might actually have something to do with the relationship between witches and familiars.”
“So…you’re saying…now any familiar can just escape the connection with their witch or warlock by jumping into a different world?”
“I mean, I haven’t done a scientific study of it yet,” Bevan said. “But…I’m going to say yes.”
“Could the connection be restored if the witch or warlock taps into different magic?” I asked.
“Not sure yet.”
“You know, when I traveled back into the past, and I mentioned familiars, they said the witches of Cyprium didn’t engage in that sort of ‘slavery’,” I said. “So that would check out. Was the motive for separating the worlds, in part, to entrap familiars? Do you feel entrapped, Bevan? Do I…I don’t own you, do I?” I was freaking out on multiple levels now. I had never considered that Bevan might be serving me against his will, and yet even more horrifying to me was the idea that every familiar might just leave their witch forever. We loved and relied on our familiars. I had no idea any witch was capable of mistreating them, but I was learning a lot of unpleasant things lately.
“No, no,” Bevan said. “You’re the most independent witch I know. You don’t tell me what to do.”
“But I could. And you would do it, wouldn’t you?”
“I would argue, if I thought it was a bad idea.”
“But ultimately…?”
“Ultimately, well…yes, ultimately I do serve you.”
“See? I don’t like that!”
“Good, because apparently you just put an end to the entire system,” Bevan said. “I suppose I could break ties with you.”
“But…” I swallowed. “I mean, if you want to…”
“It’s the way things have always been done,” Bevan said. “We love each other, Helena. I don’t want to leave you. But the seven familiars who are currently huddled in my house in Etherium terrified and relieved are a different story. Since every witch and warlock ever born has a familiar at their side from that moment on,