Even swaddled in a blanket, with Flint’s arms wrapped around her, Macey couldn’t stop shivering. She leaned back against him and his arms tightened. “Do you need more?” he asked softly.

“Please.” She nodded, not caring how weak she appeared at that moment. She felt Flint heat up around her, his body temperature rising in an attempt to warm her up and stop the shivers.

Except, it wouldn’t work, and they all knew it. While she might not be shivering from the cold, she still appreciated the warmth he was giving off, and the mere feel of him against her was making her feel far less alone.

“What happened?” Cam asked, crouching down in front of the pair of them. Concern was blaring in his eyes, but he kept his voice and demeanour calm. She was grateful for that. She was a mess, and Jared had stormed off as soon as he’d known she was okay. Probably so he could hit something if the look on his face had been anything to go by.

“The Voice,” she answered simply, shivering again. By the waves, she was grateful for Flint’s arms around her and the steady beating of his heart. She breathed in and out slowly, trying to match the tempo of her breathing to Flint’s. Maybe then she’d be able to rest and regain some of her strength, both physical from her shift, and mental from the walls the Voice had broken down. She hadn’t even realised the latter was possible until today. She’d thought her mind was stronger.

“It’s our fault,” Flint said softly, his words cracking with unvoiced emotions. “I’m so sorry, Macey.”

She lifted her hand and placed it on his, giving it a quick squeeze. “No,” she said, shaking her head for emphasis. She hated the thought of him blaming himself. None of this was any of their faults. They were born to be the Wardens, at least, if Malan was telling the truth they were. And they were replacing the old ones in the process. Macey grimaced. It seemed to be a lot of effort to go to for them all just to be replaced in another hundred years or so. Then again, Flint and Cam had already admitted being centuries old, and she had no idea how old Jared was. For all she knew, he could be over a thousand and really look like a crippled man. She was grateful the latter wasn’t true, as shallow as that made her feel.

“It might be, Macey,” Cam said soothingly. “We lowered your walls when we...”

“But you also unleashed my magic,” she pointed out, letting go of Flint’s hand and holding her palm out, facing upwards. She called on the water deep inside her and summoned it to form a small fountain of water. Concentrating harder than she had to, she made the water dance in plumes around her hand, diving and twisting around. It was a weird experience. On the one hand, she could feel more power bubbling up inside her than ever before, and yet, it was taking more effort than ever to actually control it. She wondered if that was to do with her connection to the men. Maybe their own elements were diluting hers? Or maybe it was just the far more likely explanation of them being blocked by the damage the Voice had done.

If she ever got hold of him...

“Macey, are you okay?” Cam touched her face, his fingertips trailing gently over her cheek and sending tingles through her. This was worth all the agony.

“Lost in thought,” she replied, her voice taking on a dreamy quality. She almost zoned out again, before remembering she couldn’t without worrying Cam and Flint.

“We get that,” Flint acknowledged in her ear.

“Is Jared okay?” she asked, meeting Cam’s swirling grey eyes.

“He will be, yes. He’s just very protective of you, and seeing you in pain...it was difficult for him.” A thoughtful look crossed Cam’s face. “It’s difficult for us all, Macey. We weren’t exactly expecting you, but now you’re here...”

“You’re our one,” Flint finished for him.

“I am?” she squeaked, swallowing past the lump in her throat. They were getting to her. But this time, they were warming her from the inside. Swelling her heart to an abnormal size. Macey leaned forward, placing a hand on Cam’s cheek. She took one of Flint’s hands in her other one and squeezed tightly.

“Yes,” Cam said softly.

“Yes,” Flint echoed.

“What about Jared?” she asked tentatively, voicing one of the thoughts that’d been playing on her mind. Surely they shouldn’t just be okay with this, and yet...

“You’re his one too,” Flint supplied, chuckling lightly. “You must be, or he’d never be acting like this.” He released his hand from hers and waved it in the direction of the door where she assumed Jared must be.

“He wouldn’t be rejecting sex, either,” Cam added.

“That’s true, I’ve never seen him do that before.”

“But I thought he was starving himself...” she started, trying to make sense of it in her mind. He’d been starved, there was no doubt about that. So what was with what the guys were saying?

“He was, but he was doing that by avoiding sex, not refusing it,” Flint explained, wrapping his arms back around her waist and pulling her back into him.

“Isn’t that the same thing?” she muttered, really not seeing the nuance that he obviously did.

“Not at all. If you know food is in the kitchen, but you choose not to eat it even if you’re hungry, that’s starving yourself. If I said, ‘want to eat this waffle?’ and you said no, then that’d be you refusing,” Cam explained patiently.

“Who’d refuse a waffle though?” she asked, laughing lightly. Relief flashed across Cam’s face at the sound, though he didn’t drop his calm veneer.

“Only someone that real-“ He stopped talking suddenly, and Macey cocked her head to the side, wondering what he’d been about to say. Or more accurately, thinking she knew, but wanting some confirmation.

“Jared? Or you?” She studied his face intently for a reaction, but Cam seemed far too good at concealing his emotions.

“I think he’s speaking for all of us,” Flint answered instead.

“So now that we’re bonded, you can all take the waffle?” Macey asked hesitantly, deciding to stick to the metaphor, even though it was making her hungry.

Cam chuckled. “If the waffle still wants us.”

Macey smiled despite the shivers still racking her body. “I believe she does. Although if you eat her, won’t she disappear?”

“Oh to hell with the waffle,” Cam growled and pulled her forwards, out of Flint’s lap, kissing her hard. She melted into his touch, letting his kiss carry her away, distracting her from the echo of pain resonating in her mind. She was weak at the moment, but with the guys around, she was safe. Now they just had to make sure the other Wardens were safe as well.

She held onto that thought until her lips left Cam’s and he let her sink back into Flint’s arms.

“The Voice, he said that Lightning and Ice are a couple. And that he’s going to have both of them tomorrow. We need to do something about that.”

She tried to hide her relief that the other female Warden was already in a relationship. Despite knowing that the three men were hers, it would help avoid any tension and jealousy. She’d never admit it, but she could be jealous and irrational sometimes. Especially now that she was bonded. Even the thought of someone else being interested in her guys made her growl.

“Are you still in pain?” Flint asked worriedly and she quickly shook her head.

“No, just cold. First I was burning, now I’m too cold, what’s next? Why is this happening? It doesn’t make sense for my body to react this way, he only attacked my mind after all. How could he affect my body from far away?”

Cam cleared his throat. “We don’t actually know if he’s far away. He could be just around the corner. We have no idea what or who he is, and that scares me.”

“Me too,” Macey admitted. “But we need to warn Ice that he’s walking into a trap. The Voice said he only needs four of us, and he’s already got a hold on me. I don’t know if I can resist him next time... Then he’d have three of us.” She took their hands. “If he takes me, promise me you will run. He can’t take you as well. Run and find Air, then hide. Whatever he’s planning is bad, and we need to stop him.”

Cam shook his head. “You know we couldn’t do that,” he said sadly. “We’re bonded now, we’ll never leave you. If he takes you, which we won’t let him do in the first place, we’ll come and get you back. You’re our waffle and we’ll fight for you.”

Macey sighed. It was sweet of them, really, and she immediately felt warmer at the thought of having them all look out for her. But she couldn’t put them in danger. She wasn’t worth them getting hurt. But how could she prevent them from rushing after her? Deep inside, she knew that the Voice would be able to overpower her. She didn’t stand a chance; her mind was weakened and her powers unreliable. It was only a matter of time... unless they managed to get to him first.

“Let’s get Jared, we need to brainstorm,” she said. Cam got up immediately and left the room. “Flint, can you make it warmer?”

“Your skin is warm, sweetie, if I make it any warmer you’ll get a fever. I don’t think it’s a cold I can do much about.” Despite his words, the flames in the fireplace grew in size and the crackling of the wood became louder.

“Urgh, I hope this won’t last much longer. I don’t like feeling this weak.”

“You’re not weak. You’re the strongest waffle I know.”

She laughed, giving him a gentle shove with her elbows. “Stop the waffle talk. It makes me hungry.”

“Should I get us some food?”

“No, don’t leave,” she said, grabbing his hand for emphasis.

He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Cam is going to get us some.”

“Nifty trick, your mind talking. Can you always hear each other’s thoughts?”

Flint chuckled. “That would be awful. No, we send messages to each other, just like talking. Sometimes a few emotions get transmitted as well, but we’re practised enough to shut them out.”

“I always forget how old you two are,” Macey mumbled. She wasn’t going to say that it also made her slightly uncomfortable. How many girlfriends would they have had over the centuries? Did they see her as naive?

Jared’s return saved her from those depressing thoughts. He knelt in front of her, his eyes wild as he scanned her from top to toe. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” she lied, knowing he was upset already.

“Don’t lie to me. Never, ever, lie to me about how you feel. Understood?”

The undertone in his voice made her shiver. He was dead serious about this. He really cared, almost too much.

“Okay,” she whispered and his expression softened. “I’m still cold and exhausted. I feel weaker than usual, like something’s been taken away from me.” Realising how pathetic that made her sound, she added, “But my magic is back and stronger than before.”

“Good, now you’re honest. Cam told me what you said about Lightning and Ice. I agree we need to get to Ice before Mahoun does.” Macey shuddered at that name. She much preferred calling him the Voice. Naming a thing gave it power, and she felt like he had already a lot of that.

“Questions is, how?” Cam said, entering the room with a tray. When he noticed Macey’s greedy looks, he shrugged. “Just some beans with toast. Didn’t want to spend any time cooking. We’ve got more important things to do.”

She didn’t have a problem with beans on toast. Not at all. When he handed her a plate, she noticed that he’d buttered the bread before pouring the beans on top. Perfect. She was going to keep him.

“The blue men told us to go see the Sìth. Malan said to bond and then look for the other three Wardens. I vote for Malan’s advice,” Jared said before taking a big bite of bean-encrusted toast.

“Seconded,” Flint agreed. “I definitely don’t want to visit the Fae anytime soon.”

“Thirded,” Cam said and sat down next to Macey. She noticed how they were all sitting very close to her rather than in a circle as they usually did.

“Fourthed? Whatever the word is,” she shrugged. “That doesn’t answer the question of how we actually do that, though.”

“I’m hoping the Staran might help us,” Flint suggested. “It has taken us to where we needed to be in the past, maybe it will do the same again. Somehow this is all connected to the Staran and if they want us to heal them, they better show us where to find the other Wardens.”

“Do you think they’re strong enough?” Macey asked.

“Only one way to find out.”

Macey was getting a little bit fed up of staring into the Staran, though at least it meant she could curl herself around Cam or Flint and feel their body pressed against hers. Now she had other experiences of that, she could enjoy the Staran even more.

“Are we really just going to trust that they take us where we need to go?” she half-whined, despite knowing that it was the best plan they had. Really, it was the only plan they had.

“Do you have a better idea?” Jared asked, seeming surprisingly laid back given his refusal to hang around earlier.

“Well, no...”

“Then this is what we have to do,” he pointed out, taking a step closer to Cam. She was grateful, she could use Flint’s warmth still, even if she wasn’t cold cold.

“But you’re sure it’ll take us where we need to go?”

“Of course not,” Flint said, laughing. “When has it ever quite done what it was supposed to?”

He had a point. Not that it helped matters at all. Rather, it only helped increase the worry making itself known in the pit of Macey’s stomach. Stupid Staran. Stupid Warden duties. Why couldn’t she just have a nice quiet evening in with her men? They could eat good food, but only if Cam was cooking, and laze about in the pool. They’d all seen her kelpie form now anyway, so she could even shift and swim with them.

Of course, if she stayed in human form, there were other things she could do with the three of them in a pool. Things that would most definitely be fun. Images of wet skin sliding against wet skin assailed her, along with gasps and sighs of ecstasy. She wondered what being with all three of them would be like. Exhilarating most likely. Not to mention exciting and enticing. Though just how much convincing they’d need before they followed through with her desires, she didn’t know.

“Earth to Macey,” Flint said, waving his hand in front of her face.

“I thought that was Jared?” she threw back with a grin. He laughed aloud, quickly followed by Jared. Cam gave the three of them a stern look, as if to say they were supposed to be being sensible right at this moment in time. The glint in his eye gave him away though, he was as amused as the rest of them by Macey’s quip. She wasn’t sure why though, it hadn’t been that good. She’d even go as far as saying it was cringe-worthy. But they all needed the light relief the joke would bring.

“It’s not Earth I’ll be bringing you back to,” Jared said after he’d finished laughing, tipping her a wink.

“Alright, time to get serious now,” Cam said sternly, his voice sending tingles through Macey. She hoped he had some other uses for that voice too. She could certainly think of a few ideas.

“Alright, okay,” she acknowledged, her laughter fading to a stop. “But don’t pretend you didn’t need the comic relief.”

She left Flint’s side and made her way to Cam, going up onto her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her gently, confirming the same emotions they’d been talking about earlier. While none of them had voiced them out loud, she was pretty sure they all knew them to be true. She bore the marks on her back to confirm that.

She pulled back, smiling softly at him, a look that he returned without hesitation.

“Okay, now I’m ready to go.” She unwrapped herself from him and made her way back to Flint, who held a hand out to her, using it to tug her forward and into his arms.

Closing her eyes and praying this trip wouldn’t be as bad as some of the others, she waited as the familiar tugging feeling of the Staran took over once again.