Page 19 of Silver
Grabbing Silver’s hand, I dragged us over to our teardrop trailer, wanting us away from the massacre and into some clean clothes. Silver could give us a quick hose down with his water and I could add warmth to it with my magic.
As we stripped, hiding partially behind the trailer, Silver said, “So, you can command animals?”
I hadn’t really had the time to process it, but I knew that was what I’d done. I nodded, then decided to elaborate for my bonded. “I felt their presence, it felt different than what I was used to, so even before I tried, I knew I had some kind of magic that affected animals. Not our familiars, though. I can’t feel them in the same way.”
He nodded, taking our dirty clothes and moving them out of the way. “It was amazing to watch,” he laughed. “Their faces when the dogs all sat down.” He laughed harder. “Best sight ever!”
We washed with our magic, then dried, too, before changing into some clean clothes. The others didn’t keep their bloodied clothes, likely because they couldn’t be salvaged. Even with our distance from the fight because our magic had worked as long-range attacks, we’d still ended up getting sprayed because of the familiars and their brutal ways.
“We’ll find you a new baby pink hoodie,” I promised, looking at the pile of clothes we needed to burn, then at his ruined white sneakers. They weren’t the best choice for a life on the road, but they were pretty. “Shoes, too,” I said, mentally adding them to the list in my head.
“If we weren’t in such a hurry, I would drop to my knees right now,” he winked.
“No time!” Niam yelled from wherever he was, ruining my idea of a quickie as soon as I’d thought about it.
“Baby!” Niam yelled. “Someone left a letter for you!”
Chapter 18
Silver
We rushed to get dressed, then ran over to where Xari and Niam stood, looking down at a letter.
“Guys, we don’t have time for letters right now, you can read it when we’re far enough away from this place,” I said, knowing we were on borrowed time before another horde of mages were sent our way.
“Silver’s right,” Niam said, taking the letter from Xari. “Let’s gather our stuff and get on the move. But first, we all need to add to the ward around the van and trailer.”
We stood holding hands and created the new ward around us, figuring it would be the best choice to start out with. Then as soon as we’d packed the essentials, we dismissed our familiars, who were all glowing now, by the way.
“Ready?” Xari called, standing by the driver’s side. He was still the only one of us who could drive, and luckily didn’t seem to mind.
“Ready,” we replied and got in the back of the van. At least I was getting some quality time with my bonded.
The quality time was all fun and delightful until he asked methatquestion.
“So, what did you do for work before they found you?” he looked so interested and eager to know, but would he think less of me if he knew? I couldn’t exactly keep it a secret anymore, not that I was embarrassed. I’d loved working as a stripper and my friends there were all amazing. But I also knew my former job wasn’t for everyone.
I decided just to say it, and hope it wouldn’t change things between us. “I was working as a stripper.”
I could tell he hadn’t been expecting that. His eyes grew big, his mouth gaping as if he waited patiently for me to add “Just kidding!” but I wasn’t, so I just waited for him to catch up.
Then he laughed. I was unsure if I should be offended or relieved, so I kept watching him until he gave me further indication on how he felt about it, then he’d either get a slapora kiss.
When he realized I was watching him and not laughing with him, he stopped. Taking my hand in his he smiled. “I have no idea why that surprised me so much, but it also makes so much sense. Did you like doing it?”
I blinked, then remembered he’d asked me a question. “Um, yes. I loved it, actually.”
“It seems fun. I don’t have the confidence for it, so I became a waiter instead,” he shrugged. “I would’ve been paid better as a stripper, but Emma, my boss, became a very good friend and offered me to rent out her apartment. So, it turned out okay.”
“I didn’t always get paid a lot. We shared tips among us, making it more like a group effort than competition. It was what helped us all be friendly and think as a team. I have to admit that I miss them. They were the first ones to truly accept me as me. Except for my grandma. She always loved me, even without my powers.” I hated talking about Grandma when I was still unsure if she was alive or not. But I wanted Wilston to know everything. I needed someone to know every partof me and still love me regardless. Wilston was that man for me. My soulmatch. My bonded.
“I didn’t have anyone,” he admitted. “My grandpa stood up for me the day before I was shunned. But he was many years too late at that point.”
“What do you mean he stood up for you? To the leaders?” I asked, knowing Grandma would’ve done the same for me.
He shook his head. “No, my mother liked to yell at me a lot whenever I said something mean.”
“Mean?”
