The day is getting even hotter, and the water feels nice against the punishing warmth. We swim around for hours, playing chicken and racing each other. I take out all of the guys in chicken, and I can tell that they were seriously trying hard to win. When it comes to racing, the twins stomp us all, no contest.

I start to shiver in the water, and my teeth are chattering so I climb out to dry off and get warmed up. The guys are still playing, and I start rummaging, hungry, through the packs and cooler to set out the picnic. I get everything accessible and call them in to eat. We all crowd onto the blanket and start digging in.

I take a bite of a sandwich and moan. It’s delicious.

“Did one of you guys make this or do I have the sisters to thank?”

“The sisters," they all admit in unison.

“I swear, every time I eat something they’ve made it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Every single time; how is that possible?”

The guys chuckle.

“I’m going to have to start doing two-a-days in the gym just to counteract their good cooking," I say absently.

“Just start using your magic more, that burns a ton of calories," Knox tells me.

“Oh, I didn’t know that. Aside from fighting and my runes, I’m not sure what other things my magic can even do. I don’t know how to use it except for little things here and there," I admit.

“Has Lachlan put in a request for you to have your reading?” Sabin queries.

“Yeah, some guy in Europe is coming to do it, said he’d be here in a couple of weeks.”

“Tearson is doing your reading?” Ryker asks, surprise and something akin to reverence in his voice.

“I don’t know the guy’s name, Lachlan just said that he was in Europe.” I reply, before shoving another bite of sandwich in my mouth.

Ryker stares at me a bit longer with curiosity before he remembers the food in his hand.

“So, what’s with the caster females are all delicate flowers mentality that some people seem to have?” I ask.

The curiosity has been bubbling inside of me since Sabin’s lecture this morning. So far, no one other than him has really treated me like that.

The paladin can’t seem to decide how they feel about me, but the other guys seemed fine to treat me like one of them.

“Well it stems from a couple of things, I guess. One is that there are far fewer female casters than there are male casters--.”

“Why is that?” I interject.

“Unfortunately, female casters have taken the biggest hit when it comes to things like inquisitions, witch trials, and any of the other innumerable events where women were killed for being different or more powerful. Because of that, casters in general almost died out. So, when female casters were born, they were fiercely protected and hidden in an effort to keep our race alive," Sabin explains solemnly.

“The current situation isn’t so dire; the ratio is now probably one female for every six or so male casters. However, that mentality of protect, shelter, and revere has now become embedded in our culture," Ryker adds.

“Not to mention that females are now used to males and covens fighting over them and bending over backward to keep them happy. There’s a certain expectation from females about how they should be treated and what their value is.”

“The delicate flower syndrome isn’t just perpetuated by male casters," Bastien explains. “You’re lucky because Lachlan is the kind of caster that will support any decisions you make when it comes to your magic or the mates that you choose.”

I scoff at what is clearly a delusional assessment of Lachlan being supportive or letting me make any decisions. So far that has not been my experience.

“Many female casters are more controlled. If not by their families, then by the elders. The stronger the magic in a female, the more the elders will try to match her up with a strong or prominent coven of male casters. There’s a lot of politics and matchmaking that goes on," Bastien continues.

“What do you mean by mates?” I query.

“Female casters take more than one mate," Valen answers cautiously.

“What the fuck?” I ask, with a high pitched squeak. I clear my throat and try again, aiming for less spastic. “I mean, excuse me?”

“No one’s explained this to you?” Ryker asks me, surprised.

“Uhhh, no.”

“Well, because of the skewed ratio of females to males, it became customary for female casters to bind with multiple mates. This allows multiple bloodlines to continue on and not die out. Casters are polyandrous. We all thought you knew," Valen fills in.

Holy shit! Maybe my theory that magic has something to do with my sudden attraction to multiple men isn’t so farfetched. Fuck yes, I don’t have to feel wrong for wanting them…all of them. Well, maybe not Sabin-- oh who am I kidding, I’d pounce on him, too. I’d just duct tape his mouth so I could stare at him without having to listen to him say rude, antiquated, sexist shit.

“So how does it work? You said there is a lot of matchmaking and other things that go into it. Does that mean you date? Like, does a female caster date a group or does she date multiple individuals until she collects all the ones she wants… like a bouquet of males?”

I chuckle at the visual.

“I suppose there’s no real one way that bonds are made. Typically, a coven that is already formed will start looking for a compatible mate. We start piecing together our covens as teenagers. We all grow up together for the most part, and we naturally start to form relationships with casters that have skills that complement our own.”

Sabin gestures to the guys all around him.

“We grew up as friends, but after our readings, when we knew we all wanted to be paladin, we were approved to come together to form a coven. Mates can work similarly. We grow up knowing the females in our community. The elders usually have an idea of the pairings that they want and will facilitate a coven’s interaction with appropriate females.”

“Plus, different areas around the world have different elders, and they all interact with each other and help set up matches that way, too," Knox tells me.

I cringe. Well, that sounds like a creepy meat market. It all seems so clinical to me. A bunch of elders gathered together and trading people like baseball cards.

“Does that mean you guys are paired up already?” I blurt, feeling annoyed and a little panicked.

I want to slap my hand against my forehead. I’ve known this group for like a day. Yeah, I want to pounce like a hungry raptor on each and every one of them, but that’s just sexual attraction. I don’t want to get married, or bind, or whatever the fuck it’s called.

I sure as hell am not ready to be having little magic babies. Casters make the females sound like fragile broodmares. Professional baby maker is not exactly what I envision for my future.

“We’ve been pushed in the direction of a couple of females, but they didn’t fit with us the way we wanted. We’ve all decided we’d rather not bind than settle," Bastien answers.

He looks like he wants to say more but doesn’t, and I catch him exchange a look that I can’t interpret with Valen.

Bastien’s revelation sends a shit-ton of relief coursing through me. The onslaught of that specific emotion creates a solid argument that some part of me does want a claim on these guys, and that freaks me out. It’s too soon for me to feel that way.

We seem to click, but I don’t know them well enough to envision anything long term, and I don’t want to mistake sexual attraction with long-term compatibility. When I look up, they’re all caught up in some kind of silent conversation amongst themselves. Sabin seems to get surlier as it progresses and I’m getting more confused.

I’m clearly out of the loop, which seems to be the story of my life these days. I decide this discussion has gotten way too serious, so I stand up--a mischievous grin stretched wide across my face.

“Last one in the water is a slave for the day!” I shout, sprinting towards the water before I even finish the sentence.

I hear a scuffle behind me, and once I’m in the water, I turn around to catch them battling and manhandling each other as they all rush toward the lake. I’m laughing so hard as I watch Bastien pick Knox up and fireman carry him, in a last ditch effort not to be the last one to touch the water. It works, and Bastien gets his feet wet before Knox can escape the hold.

“Noooooo!” Knox screams and shakes his fists at the sky like he’s acting out a dramatic scene from a movie.

Laugh-tears are streaming down my face, and I’m holding onto my side, which now has a stitch in it. Valen scoops me up in his arms and starts carrying me out of the water.

“To the rope swings we go!”