“I’m kind of like a goddess,” Callie states, then cringes. “That sounds so dumb. Me a goddess?” she snorts with derision. “When I got the necklace, my aunt tried to better explain my power. It’s not just that I can access all elements or whatever. I’m supposed to be crazy powerful…” She bites down on her full bottom lip, because what I need right now is more reasons to look at her mouth. “Like Acts of God powerful.”
“What now?” I blink several times. My gaze shifts from her mouth to her clear water, grey eyes, while I attempt to pull my head out of my ass.
She fists her hands on her hips and starts pacing. “Yeah, so I guess blowing up trees or destroying half the town is child’s play for what I’m supposed to be capable of.”
“Don’t tell Nolan,” is out of my mouth before I can fully process what she said, and my heart starts to pound in my ears.
She stops, shock blanking her features. “Youwantme to keep this from him?”
I run both hands through my hair, tugging on the strands. “You can tell the rest of the guys, but Nolan is… when it comes to magic, he doesn’t think clearly.” There’s a sharp wrenching in my gut. We don’t keep shit from each other, but I know if he finds out too soon, he’ll do something he may regret. “You’re not lying to him. He knows what you are. Spelling out that it means you can create hurricanes that can take out several states won’t help.”
Her brows pucker, and she goes back to chewing on her lip. “Okay. If you think that’s best,” she murmurs. “Can I start punching things now?”
“Fucking yes. Let’s punch some shit,” I answer emphatically, grabbing the MMA and inner gloves off the counter and helping her put them on.
We walk over to the heavy bag, and I hold it steady while she switches back and forth from punching and kicking the spots I marked off with duct tape. For a few minutes there’s nothing but loud music and the sounds of her smacking against the leather. I don’t want to ask, but this seems like the best time to find out where we stand in regards to her aunt.
“So, you going to tell me how the call went?” I ask, after a particularly solid hit with her shin that normal people with as little training as she’s had would wince over. She should be wearing guards, but who am I to stop her? Normal people probably don’t have the same relationship with pain as Callie does.
Thankfully, she doesn’t play dumb, instead grunting out, “Fine.”
“I can’t believe I’m asking this, but you were talking with her for over thirty minutes. I’m going to need a little more than fine,” I press, while she swaps to a one-two punch.
Her lips purse, as she grits her teeth, visible by the subtle tick in her jaw. “She asked if I was depressed. I told her I didn’t know. It’s not like I can really go to a doctor for this stuff.” Callie stops, pitching her head to the side, and in a high voice, she mocks, “Hey, so my father physically abused me for years. Why isn’t there any evidence? Well, you see, I’m a special magic witch that can heal any wound.”
She rolls her eyes and kicks the bag again. “It’s not like it matters. I can’t exactly hurt myself, and I’m functioning... enough.”
That hits me like a dagger to the chest. We’re all dealing with our shit, but from the moment I met Callie, she’s seemed like this unstoppable force. Like no matter what’s thrown at her, she’ll get back up and be stronger than ever. I push away the memory of her crying in Kaleb’s arms earlier. The idea that there might be some truth to Gina’s bullshit makes my stomach turn.
“And? What’s she going to do?” I ask. This is the real reason I need to know. If it turns out Mildred sided with the school, I’m going to raise hell until she sees reason.
“Nothing, because that’s what I asked her to do,” she answers in a way that sounds like she’s ready for me to argue… which I’m going to.
“Like nothing with the school, or nothing nothing?”
Callie stops again and sighs. “Nothing nothing. I told her to play nice with the school and leave it at that.”
“Want to explain why we’re not letting Mildred chew through the Coven and make them wish they were never born?” I question conversationally, really liking the idea of a powerful witch working with us, instead of the normal against us… or just plain ignoring us.
“You mean besides possibly still needing their help?” she answers, shifting her weight to her back foot, while her arms hang at her sides.
“They won’t change their minds unless it’s a problem they can’t ignore, which your aunt going ape shit on them would accomplish,” I reason.
Callie turns sharply and does a high heel kick against the heavy bag, startling me and once again highlighting her flexibility.What were we talking about?
“Because I need Gina afraid ofme, not my aunt,” she answers, her foot still pressed against the bag.Look at her face, not her legs.“Mildred would be a band-aid, assuming it didn’t blow up in our faces, which is why I need her concentrating on getting this damn spell off. Once I have control of my powers, I’ll be the bitch she’ll regret messing with, and her reign of terror will come to an end.”
With a raised brow, I smirk down at her. “That sounds a lot like being the fucking hero that saves the day.”
“No, it’s a ‘don’t mess with me’ that has the happy byproduct of smacking her off her pedestal made of the people she crushed under her too expensive shoes,” she counters, dropping her leg and raising her chin in challenge.
That’s why it’s hard to believe any of Gina’s bullshit could be true. Callie is all steel behind that sweet face.And it’s a fucking turn on. Heat ripples across my skin, and I switch from thinking about demons and their stats to the most efficient way of killing them.
“Can I get back to beating the crap out of this bag?” she pleads, as done with this subject as I am.
“I’m not stopping you,” I tease, earning a squinty glare and another shin kick to the bag. This one I’m ready for and hold it steady.
Now that I’m concentrating on her form of motion, instead of just her form, I realize it’s off.Treat her like she’s anybody else,I tell myself, then remember I’m a dick to pretty much everyone else.Don’t flirt with her.Better.
