Between the worlds of men and make believe I can be found. ~ Dan Fogelberg, Scarecrow’s Dream
A cringeworthy noise drags me from the pleasurably enjoyable dream. Covering my ears, I sit up in the darkness and look for the offensive source of it, however, when I discover it I sigh and lay back down.
The flipping violin is on the dresser next to my bed, glowing a pale eerie blue in the darkness, its strings moving to a phantom bow that’s making sounds like someone strangling a Boggart.
Determined to not acknowledge the persistent thing I roll over and shove the pillow on my head hoping the fluff will block it out. The violin only gets louder. Gods that’s an awful noise.
“Okay! Fine!” I throw the pillow aside and get up gracefully tripping over Fluffy who’s laying on the floor next to my bed. Fighting to regain my balance I careen right into a warm, solid very male chest.
Well, hello there Ciar.
“What are you doing, Keri?” His warm hands grasp my shoulders.
His touch is nice and it’s hard not to lean further into it. A fact that has nothing to do with the bond or whatever mojo is going on, it’s quite simply because I like him.
The slow sensual smile that splits his lips make me regret admitting it, even if to myself, it immediately. Flipping bond. Stepping away from him I grab the violin and fire shoots up my arm. In vain I try to drop it, swinging my arm in the attempt to sling it away. Still it remains firmly in my grasp. The pain fades and Ciar’s chuckle breaks the silence.
“What?” I demand.
“It tried to befriend you and you cast it away. Now it’s taking the choice from you. It’s your Conduit, monster girl, accept it.” As he speaks his hand slides down my arm to wrap around my hand and the burning sensation instantly stops.
“I have no idea what to do with the flipping thing, Ciar. I can’t play a violin.”
“I bet you can play this one. Try,” he encourages.
A bow magically appears in my other hand and I let Ciar guide the violin to rest under my chin and against my shoulder. Rolling my eyes, I lightly run the bow across the strings and am rewarded with one of the most beautiful melodies I’ve ever heard.
That enthralling sound is all due to the magic of the violin but, for a moment as I stroke the strings, I allow myself to enjoy the music coming from my contact with it. Reluctantly, I carefully set the violin on the dresser and rest the bow across the top of it.
The ethereal glow around it dims and it’s almost like it goes to sleep.
“Did that really just happen?” Ciar huffs at my question.
“Of course, it did, just like you got a Dragon and a Corpse Worm as familiars… among other things, monster girl.” As he talks he moves closer to me pressing his body lightly against my side.
Part of me is tempted to give into the offer he’s subtly giving me. Yet another, smarter part of me says to wait. Wait until I knowingly—not magic drunk—make the choice to commit and am not influenced by whatever magic wahoo is going on.
Although, I suspect that there isn’t as much wahoo as I keep telling myself there is.
Stepping away from him is a bit difficult but I manage it. Grabbing a bottle of water out of the stack that Ciar bought earlier in the day I sit back on my bed and stare at him.
He’s lounging on his own bed with those eyes of his bright in the darkness and intent upon me.
“Your hair is turning purple,” he comments after several minutes of silence. That’s a fact I’m aware of and trying hard not to think on. “It’s a sign of your impending Awakening, monster girl. The violin another. The familiars another. All of these facts and you’re still wanting to try and control it all instead of going with the flow of it?”
“It’s not completely purple, just the tips of it,” I defend, knowing fully well that the purple is half-way up my head. Something that wasn’t true a few days ago, there were only a few errant curls of purple. Then we had that bite each other night and everything started changing, dramatically.
Like Ciar wanting me, that’s new.
“Not quite, monster girl. I’ve wanted you for a long time,” he smirks.
My mouth open and closes several times but nothing comes out. Do what now?
He continues, “do you think that I’m the type of creature to allow magic to control my choices, Keri?” I shake my head because my tongue has deserted me. “I’ve known since the first time I laid eyes on you how things will turn out.”
I remember that day well. It was the first time I came to the forest, I had set a snare—something my mother taught me—to catch a rabbit for dinner. Money was tight and my belly was empty.
Instead this pitch-black wolfy-dog lay at the edge of the forest lying in a pool blood. Those green eyes looked at me and at that moment I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but he was hurting and I couldn’t abide by that. I ripped up my shirt and made him bandages and fed him the rabbit I caught.
I was all of five when that happened.
“Wait… you knew when I was five that you wanted me?” I say it with a serious look on my face. His smirk disappears, and he sits up.
“That’s ridiculous! You were a child. I simply knew one day I would,” he sputters.
Unable to hold it in any longer I laugh. Ciar is a lot of things but a pedophile isn’t one of them. He gives me a disgusted look and leans back against the wall.
“Your humor is not appreciated,” he grouches, which makes me laugh harder. The pillow hitting me in the face shuts me right up. Ciar throws hard.
“Ow!” I exclaim throwing the pillow back at him. He laughs at my attempt to hit him with it and catches it instead. Before long it’s a straight up pillow fight, with both of us dodging and laughing and hitting each other hard enough to send feathers flying everywhere.
Tired from the game, I end up sitting on the floor laughing, out of breath and surrounded by white feathers. Inches from me, Ciar is also laughing and surrounded by them.
I’m not sure who moves first, but somehow his lips are on mine and it’s sweet and languid and goes on for minutes before we break away from each other breathing hard. I stare into those eyes I know so well and smile.
That kiss was my choice, not magical wahoo.
Sitting back on the floor, away from temptation I say, “Why were you so sure of my Awakening, Ciar?”
Crossing his legs in front of him, he rests his elbows on his knees and steeples his hands at his chin. “Because of me,” he answers, simply. Raising my eyebrows, I wait for the rest of the answer. “Only an Awakened is strong enough to survive truly mating with me, Keri.”
Oh, well, that’s good to know. I frown, “Wait, what do you mean “truly mating?”
He leans forward that smirk returning, “You know exactly what I mean, monster girl.”
I do, but true mating means forever. Like, forever-forever. It means something more too, the only way I can mate with anyone is if they’re part of my Triad.
“Exactly,” he adds, reading my thoughts again.
The shields are up so that means the bonding is allowing him to get around them and there’s nothing I can do about that. Because this bond is different than what I was told to expect from a bond. If I concentrate hard enough I can feel his heart beating.
Ka-thud. Ka-thud.
Fudge. The sound of it makes me want to crawl on his lap and put my head against his chest.
“I don’t understand, Ciar, I really don’t. You haven’t exactly been nice to me over the years. There’s no indication that you liked me at all. Yet you’re basically telling me you’re my mate AND a member of my Triad?”
Scooting towards me he closes the distance between us, touching our knees together.
“Do you know how hard it is to see something you want, every single minute of every single day and not be able to touch it?” He leans towards me, “To taste it?” Even closer, “To rightfully claim it as yours?” He smiles then, so gently that for some reason it makes my eyes burn.
“I had to wait until you were ready to even contemplate saying or doing anything, monster girl, and that time is finally upon us. You will Awaken and when you do I’ll finally be able to claim my place at your side and… taste what has been denied me for so long.” His lips lightly brush mine and then he pulls away.
“Why did it have to be purple thought?” I blurt out.
“You love the color purple, so hush.”
“Why a violin?” I ask quietly.
“Have you never wondered why you loved music so much? You’re drawn to it, are constantly humming it when you do things, even eating your food. Music is in your blood, monster girl. Now do you see?” I hate when he makes sense, because then I can’t argue with it.
So instead of saying anything, I nod. It’s a bit overwhelming. Surprisingly not so much the Ciar part of the equation as the Awakening.
“There’s a chance I’ll die, Ciar,” I whisper. I don’t want to die. There are so many things in life I’ve yet to see or do.
Instantly his eyes alight in anger and he spits out between his gritted teeth, “You shall not!”
Unsure of what else to say because death is not something Ciar can stop, I pat his cheek and climb to my feet. I’m sleepy and my brain hurts from all of this.
“Keri, you will survive because you’re too damn stubborn to die,” he whispers in the dark.
Climbing into my bed I pull the covers up to my chin and snuggle down into the bed. He sounded so sure of it and if life has taught me anything it’s that if Ciar says something will happen, then it will. Ciar is never wrong and this time I really want him to be right.