Page 65 of Shattered Illusion

“Alright. Be good, and just know that I’m watching you two.” She points to her eyes then glares daggers as she points back at both of them. “Take care of my girl.”

“I will,” they say simultaneously, throwing each other odd looks.

The door closes softly behind Marion as she heads back to class, leaving me with the two men currently staring at me, waiting for me to explain what happened. What is there to say, really?

“Combat class.” There. Simple answer. Explains it all.

“What the hell were you doing in combat class, goddess? Playing punching bag?”

“Goddess,” Thaddeus murmurs to himself, eyeing Luka. He looks almost green with jealousy at another man calling me that, but he shakes his head, focusing back on the conversation.

“Yeah.” I groan again. “Fuck. Hold on.”

Closing my eyes, I whisper a silent plea to my magic to heal what it can while directing it toward the mark between my breasts. Oh so slowly, the aches and pains start to go away, making me feel a little bit better every minute my magic heals me.

A phone's ringtone pierces the quiet room, knocking me out of concentration. I sag back on the couch, the extensive use of my magic zapping all the remaining strength I had left.

Luka pulls the phone from his pocket and answers it, switching it straight to speakerphone.

“Luka, I got your message. Is she okay? How badly is she hurt? I can be there in minutes if you need me. Just please tell me she’s okay.”

I give a tired giggle, my eyes fluttering. “I’m okay, vampy. Just got run over by a bulldozer.”

“Why the fuck are you around construction equipment?”

All three of us laugh at his words.

“Who the fuck is there with you?” he grunts, knowing there are very few I surround myself with. “Besides Luka.”

“Hey, Axel. It’s just Thaddeus.”

“Oh. What’s up, man?”

My eyes flutter closed all the way as I listen to another bromance coming to fruition. It may not be as advanced as the one Luka shares with Axel. But it’s definitely something.

Listening to the three of them talk, contentedness washes over me and I let myself fall into the blackness of my mind, knowing that with the three of them here—even one by proxy—I’ll be okay.

Warmth chasesaway the cold of the nightmare I’m deeply embroiled in. I will it to stay, to keep me feeling the semblance of peace that it offers me. My body jolts as my back hits a comfortable surface, and the warmth disappears, leaving me bereft of the safety it was offering me.

Blindly, I reach out, trying to bring it back to me. My hands brush up against something, and I grasp it, pulling it closer, and whatever it is comes without a fight. The weight settles next to me, causing me to roll into it as its vast weight dimples the surface of where I’m lying.

“Goddess,” a sweet, masculine voice coos, making my insides all mushy. It takes me a minute to place the voice, but when I do, a sleepy smile curls my lips as my eyes flutter open. That’s when I realize the warmth, the safety, comes from Luka himself. My demigod. My soulmate.

“What time is it? How long was I out?” Instead of moving further away like I know I should, I burrow myself deeper into his large chest, fisting his shirt.

“Not long. Only about an hour. Thaddeus just left, so I thought I would put you in bed where you could be more comfortable.”

“Mmmm,” I hum, my eyes closing once more. “That’s nice.”

Luka rumbles a laugh, shaking the entire bed. My eyes pop back open—more awake and alert this time around—to a pair of stunning navy ones. He smiles a boyish grin down at me when he sees me staring. “See something you like, goddess?”

“Mhmm.” There’s nothing about this man that I don’t like. He’s tall, handsome, sweet, and so completely different than what I thought when I first met him. Yeah, I thought he was drop-dead gorgeous then, but I also wasn’t going to touch him with a ten-foot pole. It’s crazy how much things can change in such a short period of time. But these are things I wouldn’t change now for the world.

He’s mine, and I’m his. Irrevocably. The fates deemed it so when they exchanged parts of our souls so we could find each other in this life. And hopefully in the next. If there is such a thing.

My stomach chooses the inopportune time to grumble, pissed that I haven’t eaten since breakfast. I really need to make sure I get food in my system so I don’t backslide into where I was after the whole mall incident. Since last week, when Luka coaxed me off the grounds of the academy, I’ve been able to eat more, sleep better, and just live the way I should have been if that whole thing had never happened.

Luka chuckles as my stomach voices its displeasure, and it’s a no-brainer what it’s saying. “Don’t move, goddess. I’ll be right back.”

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