Page 19 of Shattered Illusion

Cracking the door open, I peek my head out. “Umm… Thaddy.”

“Yeah, Bailey?” His mop of white hair pops over the back of the couch, looking in my direction.

“What did you want me to wear?”

“Uh,” he clears his throat, “something that I can see all of your runes in, so I can get pictures of them, but otherwise, just something comfortable that allows me access.” I snicker at his unintended sexual innuendo. “Mind out of the gutter, Bailey.”

“Fine. Be boring.” I roll my eyes as I close the door, debating what I can wear. The best bet seems like a sports bra and a pair of boy short panties. Oh God. This is going to be awkward as hell. He’s my freaking teacher. Yeah, we seem to have a different relationship than student-slash-teacher because he’s helping me. But still.

Ugh. Might as well get this over with. After slipping into a pair of black cotton boyshort panties and a red sports bra, I snag a black zip-up hoodie to throw on over it. I quickly dig out a pairof black leggings to put on once we’re done to combat this tricky situation.

My cheeks puff as I blow out a breath before opening the bathroom door and making my way back into the living room. Thaddeus is still sitting on the couch and jumps at my arrival. His eyes trail over the bun on my head and down to my now-exposed legs. Then they make another sweep before meeting my pink gaze. He clears his throat and then adopts an almost clinical air as he pulls his cell phone from his pocket.

“Alright, Bailey. Come stand over here and hold out your arms and part your legs a little bit so I can get pictures of them all. I apologize now, as this isn’t very professional on my part. But in order to help you, I need to do this.”

I move to stand where he indicated, and heat fills my cheeks as I unzip my hoodie and toss it on the back of the couch. There’s no denying that what I’m wearing now covers more than the bikini I was wearing yesterday at the lagoon, but something about this feels more intimate. Especially since he’s going to be getting up close and personal with my naughty bits to get all the pictures.

“This is amazing,” he murmurs to himself. His fingers brush softly over a design on my shoulder, trailing down my arm to my elbow. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a curiomancer with as many runes as you have.”

“Is that… bad?” It has to be. If there hasn’t been one with this many runes, that means I’m what? More powerful than any that came before me? That’s bad bad. Like, super duper bad.

“It’s not bad, per se. But it means you’re a very powerful woman, sunshine.”

“I don’t want to be powerful, Thaddy.” I sniffle, trying to keep my composure at this revelation.

“Hey.” Thaddeus pockets his phone before pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and tilting my gaze to his.“This is why you have the glamour. Everyone will see you as a normal person—as a witch-shifter hybrid. We may not be able to specify what type of shifter yet, but we will. And until you have a handle on your powers, that’s the story we will stick with.”

“I don’t know.” I shake my head as much as his hold would allow. “How long can we possibly keep this ruse going before the truth gets out?”

“For as long as we can, sunshine. And you basically have a whole team to protect you. Let us worry about that. You just worry about learning your runes and how to harness your power. Okay?”

“I guess I can do that,” I murmur, a little hope lightening the edges of my worry.

With deft fingers, Thaddeus’ hold moves to the back of my neck, removing my glamoured necklace and setting it on the couch next to my hoodie and leggings. His phone reappears in his hands once more, and I assume the position, ready to get this seemingly awkward part of my day over with.

The entire time, Thaddeus mumbles himself with every picture he takes. At times, his fingers trace the outline of one of them, then he goes back to snapping away. It’s all very clinical. Almost like I’m a lab rat waiting to be tested on. Definitely not something I’m enjoying one bit. And even if I wanted to enjoy it, I wouldn’t. The man has a girlfriend, and I’m not a homewrecker.

Finally, after what feels like freaking hours, Thaddeus steps back, his eyes glued to the photos he just took. He looks deep in concentration as he flicks through them, almost like he’s forgotten I’m even here.

Not wanting to interrupt him, I slip into my leggings and throw my hoodie and my necklace back on. It’s something I’m going to have to make a conscious effort to remember, especially since I can’t see the difference myself.

When I can’t take the silence any longer, I clear my throat, hoping to get his attention again. He startles, his phone almost slipping through his fingers as his gaze connects with mine.

“Shit. Sorry, Bailey. These are all just so fascinating. While I knew a few curiomancers in my time, I never got a chance to ask them about their runes. A lot of what they did was very closely guarded. But there are some that I recognize that I can help you with.”

“Well, thank fuck for that,” I quip sarcastically. “So which ones are you thinking?”

“Let’s have a seat, and I’ll show you.”

Thaddeus and I get situated side-by-side on the couch, and he brandishes his phone once again, this time with one of the pictures he’s taken blown up on the screen. It’s hard to tell what it is, and by sight alone, there’s no telling what it can do, but that’s where I’m hoping he’ll come in.

“This one here,” he traces the circular shape, then continues to the outer circle around it and the almost wave-like lines coming from it, “this is a portal rune. Most witches and fae, if they want to open a portal, they need a certain spell, the right words, or the right hand movements—and sometimes the combination of all three—in order to bring a portal into being. For you, it should be as easy as pushing power into that rune with the intent of where you want to go.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound so hard,” I murmur, staring at the design. “Where is this one located?”

“Ahh, well,” Thaddeus mumbles, his cheeks turning pink. “That one is on your left hip, more back toward your gluteus maximus.”

I snort a laugh at his description of the location. “So you’re saying it looks like I have a target on my ass, and I have to push power into my booty cheek if I want to go anywhere?”

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