“You do?” Sondre teased.
“Yes. Fuck,yes.” The throbbing pleasure built toward something more than mere magic as the combination of his fingers and the thickness of him had her wanting to say more than that shelikedhim.
He followed her orgasm with his own, and they stayed there, breathing heavily and entwined. Then he rested his forehead against her shoulder and said, “Luckily, I like you, too, wife.”
A part of Maggie ached for something more than “like,” but they had a good companionship and consistently orgasmic sex. It was a lot more than she ever expected to have again. She was safe, cherished, and satisfied. Her son was safe because of Sondre, too.
I still want more. Greedy woman that I am.
“I want to love you,” Maggie whispered. “I want to know everything. Know it. Not just have you tell me about it…”
“Maybe you will.” Sondre’s voice was just as quiet. “We haven’t known each other very long. Remember? I told you that.…”
She nodded. “No one can know I know that, though.”
“That’s right.” He smiled at her. “Because the only way I can keep you and Craig safe is?”
“No one knows what you told me, and I never ever talk to Elleanor Brandeau,” Maggie repeated dutifully.
“Other than that?”
This time, Maggie grinned. “Nothing. I’m not obligated to like you, love you, obey you, or fuck you.” She tightened her internal muscles until Sondre’s expression darkened into lust again. “But I want some of that… maybe everything but the obeying.”
“Me too, Maggie. Me too.” He brushed his lips across hers and then pinched her ass cheek. “But right now? You’re going to be late if you don’t get dressed.”
He lifted her to her feet.
“You’d think being married to the headmaster would have perks,” she grumbled as she bent down to grab her jeans.
Sondre swatted her ass. “It does.”
When she glanced at him, she saw that he’d already magicked his own clothes back on. She, however, was left naked and dressing herself as he watched. Maggie gestured between them. “Not fair.”
“Perk for me,” he said mildly.
By the time he teleported her to outside the classroom, Maggie was still smiling.I think I could love him, but even if I don’t, this is pretty damn good, too.
4Ellie
That evening, Ellie found herself walking toward the Congress of Magic. It was, in part, a way to escape the castle. Classes that day had been fine, but Ellie was not sure whyshehad to take them. She was obviously staying in Crenshaw and knew what her magical strength was. Why did she still need to attend remedial magic school? And why did she have to stay in the castle?
Ellie walked toward the town center, knowing that either hobs, students, or witches watched her every move. The forest that reached out toward her like sentient branches made something uneasy crawl up her spine. That discomfort blossomed when an older witch stepped out of the shadows. The witch had once-red hair that had developed white streaks, and her gaze had the sort of glint that made Ellie scan her surroundings.
“Looking for your friends?” Agnes, Lady of the House of Grendel, thunked the end of her staff onto the ground with what seemed excessive force as she stared at Ellie. Two witches waited a few yards back, like guards. The first was a witch with a long, thin braid. He smelled of skunk and sweat, even from here.
The second was a witch she’d met previously. Jenn. She’d seemed recently arrived, maybe a few decades at most, and she had that pinched face of someone who was perpetually sending her food back or asking for a manager.
Ellie watched a third witch sidle up to a tree, still within the shadows. All she could tell was that he had a more masculine form. As Ellie watched, she saw at least a dozen more people moving in and among the shadows.
Glancing back at Agnes, she asked, “Meeting of the New Economists?”
Agnes narrowed her gaze. “You’re quite an unusual witch. Braver than you ought to be, all things considered.”
“Well,thatfeels like a threat.” Ellie saw a hob pop into existence and vanish just as quickly. She didn’t recognize the hob from here, but someone’s spy had gone to report. “Are you threatening me, Lady Grendel?”
“Not as daft as you look.” Agnes scanned the area. “All alone then?”
Ellie shrugged. She stared into the shadows. Easily twenty witches lurked there. Even with her increasing control of her magic, Ellie was incredibly outnumbered. Within the dark of the wood, shapes shifted as if there were more people than she wanted to face even with help. All told there were less than a hundred New Economists, and like any group, there were probably true believers and hangers-on who were there for other reasons. Those details had been glossed over in one of her classes, in a lecture on the history of Crenshaw. Even Prospero wasn’t very forthcoming. She mentioned a few names in a “stay clear of these witches” way.
