My One and Only (Bewitched and Bewildered #10)(34)

Micah frowned. "I don't need to beat his ass do I?"

"No, he was never malicious but I did provide entertainment for him more than once when studying for my Academy test."

He let out a nervous laugh. "Good, because have you seen the size of him? What did he eat growing up?"

"My family left Eiré Danu when we were about five so I could spend my formative years in Storm Keep and learn from other witches. Zach hung out with the fae warriors learning how to build muscle and how to fight. I got into scrapes with the other witch kids as we tried spells out on each other."

Micah chuckled. "I see that hasn't changed in the centuries since I grew up there."

"I wonder if I ever played on the same roads as you growing up? Or maybe passed your gran in the market?"

"We only missed each other by a century or two or three," he teased.

"A few centuries are nothing to paranormals."

"I'm glad we met when we did and not in Storm Keep," Micah said, kissing her forehead. "I was a cheeky shit until I hit three hundred. You would have hated me."

"I used to envy Laelia and Radclyffe, they've known since they were practically babies they were mates."

"How'd that happen?" he asked.

"They were born on the exact same, day, hour and minute. Radclyffe's family are very upper class. On the day he was born his mother went into labor while at the market, unfortunately for her, the closest assistance was the Water Temple in the Lower City. Laelia's parents were from the Lower City so of course when her mother went into labor she was brought to the Water Temple as well." She smiled as she remembered Radclyffe telling her the story excitedly as a child when they first met. "Anyway, both women were placed in the same birthing room. As the temple clock chimed midnight on All Hallows Eve, both babes drew breath and wailed," she giggled. "No one thought anything of it until about five years later. Radclyffe saw Laelia while he was at the market with his mother and followed Laelia home. Over the years Radclyffe was hauled back to his parents house by his ears nearly everyday. Laelia and I joke that his left ear is bigger than his right since his father is right-handed."

"You knew each other as children?" he asked.

"Yes, though when I returned to Storm Keep to study for my assessment and take over as head of the Water Temple it had been a while since I saw them. My family left Storm Keep right after Zach and I came of age.

"One of the first things I did when I returned to the city was look them up. They claimed one another not long after I left and moved to the Lower City to begin their work at the Water Temple."

"Why did neither of them become temple head?"

"Laelia said she didn't want the responsibility and Radclyffe was denied the position because his father is on the board that reviews application for city positions. When they moved to the Lower City his family disowned him."

"Why the Water Temple?" he asked.

She smiled. "It's where they were born."

"I studied like a fiend and they would help me, though they avoided Kendrick like the plague," she gave a one shoulder shrug. "Everyone thinks I can fuss back at him because I'm not impressed by his power, but nothing could be further from the truth. Growing up I saw his immense power and it terrified me, but I knew if there was one person in all the world who could help me get stronger it was him. I wasn't fearless, I was stubborn," she swallowed hard. "And it helped that I saw how he was around Keelan."

"Were the two of you close?" Micah asked softly.

She nodded. "They didn't receive many guests considering Kendrick's sunny personality so Keelan got excited when I came to visit as a child. He was studying for his warrior exams and used to share his note taking techniques," she shuddered. "The entire city felt Kendrick's grief the night Keelan was lost."

"According to Meryn he's just not in his body right now," Micah clarified.

"What does that even mean?" she asked. The last update received from Kendrick while she was in Storm Keep was that he was working to help Keelan. When she offered to travel to Lycaonia to help he advised her it wasn't a medical issue and everything was being done to restore Keelan.

"I have no idea and the Alpha Unit is very 'hush hush' about it. Not because they don't trust us, but because whatever happened is so important that the fewer who know the details, the safer Keelan will be. All the warriors respect that decision and haven't pressed for more details."

"Maybe after we cure the virus we can help them," she suggested.

He smiled. "That sounds like a good plan to me." He gave her a quick kiss then closed his eyes. "We won't be able to help anyone if we don't get some sleep."

"I am hoping for sexy dreams with a montage of our claiming," she said before yawning.

"Me too," he said.

Before she could think of another topic to keep her wide awake his even breathing lulled her to sleep.





CHAPTER EIGHT





Micah leered at his mate over coffee in their garden the next morning. "Thanks to your suggestion right before I nodded off, I dreamt about our claiming, it was a montage of sexy images, but done like an ESPN highlight reel." He sipped his coffee. "I got extra points for claiming you midair, then it got weird. We got stuck above the platform and my gran's next-door neighbor Mr. Compton had to get us down." He shook his head. "I don't know whether the dream was arousing, humiliating, or disturbing." He heard a thump and when he looked around he couldn't see his mate. Her cup of coffee was balanced precariously on the arm of the platform bed, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Serenity?" he called.