Page 89 of Charming Her Monsters

“Talk about a forced proximity trope,” she mutters.

The witch makes no sense to me half of the time. “What?”

Another earthly boom rattles the bunker.

Jade’s green eyes shine through the shadow of Osen’s presence. “Where’s Flint?”

“He’s still dealing with our invaders.”

“We need to help him! If anything happens…” She can’t continue as her voice chokes up with emotion, already grieving for the gargoyle.

“If anyone can survive a witch attack, it’s Flint,” Osen calms her.

“But we know that there’s something more going on with Rob. He seemed to have incubus shadows. What if they use a freezing spell on him, like in your memory?”

“He’s tougher than he appears and resilient to most magics,” I assure her. “I wouldn’t have risked leaving him otherwise. Besides, they all would be upset if I let something happen to you.”

Reluctantly, she nods and doesn’t argue.

“Uh,” I begin, then pause, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. “Osen, I need to take advantage of this opportunity to talk to you. I regret not doing so before.”

“Um…” Jade hesitates, then finally seems to make up her mind. “If you guys want to… like touch or kiss, I’d be okay with that. Calder, not that I’d presume that you would want to… because… it’s me in here too. But I’ll try to give you some space.”

“You would do that for Osen?” I ask, shocked by her generosity. It’s no small thing she offers.

“For Osen, but for you as well.” Jade worries her bottom lip, and my gaze catches on her lush mouth.

Earlier, during our training session, I’d been tempted to kiss her. But now, it’s confusing. I don’t want to mix up my feelings for Osen with what might happen with Jade on its own.

“Thank you for the offer, Jade,” Osen says, using her name once again. “But Calder and I no longer had that sort of dynamic when I was alive.”

“Oh, sorry.” She pulls away.

I see her spirit retreat, feeling foolish for offering.

“Hey, Jade.” I reach out and grasp her hand. “I appreciate it.”

All three of us seem to be startled by my gesture. Sure, I’ve touched her before. But it was in the context of rescuing her from Rob both times. Oh, and I suppose she fell on top of me when Flint knocked her down. Then I hugged her when she was upset, but this is a kind touch that I don’t often offer to anyone.

“I’m going to try not to pay attention now, and you can talk freely. And the offer still stands for any affection you need to show each other.” Jade closes her eyes, and when they open again, it’s clear Osen is back in control.

27

VOYEUR

JADE

Now I feel a bit like a creep for offering my body for their reunion. At least Calder didn’t seem to take offense.

Osen, however, seemed strangely opposed to the idea. I’m trying not to dip my consciousness into his. I don’t want to go back into any of his memories. Now that I know they are memories and not some crazy dream I came up with, it doesn’t feel right to see them anymore. My gut tells me it has to do with his powers, and that perhaps things weren’t great between them when Osen died.

Except, even though I’m trying to block out what’s happening, I can still hear and see Calder.

“I, uh, I want to say I’m sorry for how I pulled away after my last resurrection,” Calder begins. His icy blue eyes seem to melt when he looks at Osen. Part of me craves for him to look at me this way. But I’m being greedy.

“It’s understandable,” Osen says, my voice coming out deeper and with a hint of an accent to match how he sounds in my mind. “You were paralyzed then. I’m sure my magic reminded you too much of that torture.”

“It did. But I should have gotten over it,” Calder argues and rubs his eyes with the heel of his hands. “Why didn’t I just push past the memory?”

---