There wasn’t, but my throat was too dry to say that, and I wanted him to keep going, so I didn’t say anything. When he reached my shoulder, another shudder worked its way up my back, and Remy breathed heavily against my neck.
I felt his tongue slide up my throat, and I tipped my head back so he could continue to trail it higher. He took another step closer to me and moved the hand he didn’t kiss out from between us. Without too much thought, I wrapped it around his back.
This wasn’t the first time I’d touched Remy, not by a longshot, but it was the first time I’d touched him like this. My fingers were nearly dancing as I tried to touch everything I could reach on his back.
His lips swept over my jaw, and I tipped my chin down. I was afraid he would stop and make a silly joke, but I was more afraid he wasn’t going to kiss me on the lips before he did.
I turned and pressed my lips to his cheek. I puckered the way he did, and Remy paused. When he didn’t pull away, I did it again and again until I could hear how heavily he was breathing. I liked how it sounded, like we just finished running around, but we were standing still.
Another heavy crack of thunder sounded above us, and I leaned back, startled by the noise. I’d forgotten it was even raining.
Remy was looking down at me when a flash of lightning lit up his face. In the next second, his lips were on mine and he was kissing me, really kissing me.
I’d thought about this with him, Felix, and Gray a bunch of times. I’d even pretended to kiss my hand, but nothing prepared me for the way it would feel when Remy licked my bottom lip.
The snap of a twig under a foot jars me back, the memory leaving a warm feeling low in my belly. I look around at my surroundings, taking in the trees and brush just as we move into a clearing. I expect to feel a swell of familiarity, but I don’t. Not until a surge of magic comes from Felix and the ground literally shifts.
Then a twinge of the past floats over me as if carried on the breeze. My magic, mingled with all three of theirs, dances across my skin as if to welcome me back. It reminds me so much of the house they built, and in this moment, I know why I always felt like something was missing. The guys even said it, but I wasn’t ready to believe or hear them—I was missing. Our essences should always be woven together like this. After feeling this before, even briefly through the started ritual, and then having it taken away is enough to make anything feel empty.
“It’s like we just left,” I whisper. The vines Felix intertwined are still supple and green, even though their roots are long gone. I glance up at him, knowing this is his doing. The vines wouldn’t have needed to survive to continue to hold the magic, but he made sure they did. How often does he come here?
Felix bends down, places the satchel he was holding near his feet, and pulls the zipper back. Another plume of magic erupts, and the scent of cinnamon fills the air.
He sets a wooden spell sphere onto the ground. That must have been what was preserving the things in the bag. Slowly, he removes several items. I cover my mouth when I see the tin of rosemary we stole from Gray’s house. It wasn’t even for spelling, it came from the grocery store, but we wanted it and he got it for us. I totally forgot about it until this moment.
My eyes leap to his, but he’s busy carefully picking up a few stray leaves and twigs from the area around the circle.
Remy crouches next to Felix and pulls a battered spell pot from the depths of the bag. The way he cradles it in his big hands makes it clear he thinks it’s delicate. I look behind me, wondering how I ever made it out of these woods while crying as hard as I was. I don’t even remember making it back to the road, if I’m honest.
“Ready to enter?” Felix is standing now with all the items within reach. His eyes linger on me for a moment, waiting. I try to say yes, but I just end up nodding.
“Don’t step on the circle,” he warns, looking at all of us in turn.
I’m the first to lift my foot and take a wide step into the circle. Once I’m inside, Remy follows. Every hair on my body stands on end, and the feeling only grows as Gray and Felix join us.
There’s a buzz in the air that makes me want to shake my hands out, but instead, I reach for the spell pot and ingredients, suddenly very eager to get started.
“Vanilla for lasting love.” My fingers shake as I run my nail down the center of the bean, and a few damp globs of paste drop into the pot.
Gray fidgets.
“Rosemary and saffron for success.” I dump what’s left of the two items into the bowl, and I feel my hair swirl as if the wind is blowing. I finger several rods of cinnamon. “Cinnamon for love, protection, and happiness,” I mutter and place three long sticks into the bowl, one for each of the intentions.
I look up to see Felix extending his hand to me. In his grasp are four licorice roots, already bound together with several pieces of our hair. With the pot in my palms, I offer it to him so he can include the roots in the spell. “Licorice root to bind,” he says, placing the bundle in the pot.
I shift so Remy is in front of me. He winks at me and plops his contribution into the pot. “Ivy woven into an infinity symbol so the bond may never be broken.”
The wind picks up again as I turn to face Gray. This is as far as we got last time. When I looked at his face and felt his apprehension, I lost my nerve and everything came crashing down.
He’s holding an athame in his fist, but I don’t feel any of the worry or fearfulness I did that night. Without hesitation, Gray lifts his other hand and scores a line down the center of his palm, then he fists his hand over the bowl so several heavy drops of crimson blood land on the ingredients within, mingling with the other elements. The magic in his blood flares, and I can feel him all around me for just a second. There’s no doubt or unease, just an overwhelming feeling of relief. “My blood to bind,” he states.
Reaching over his body, Gray hands the knife to Remy, who acts quickly to slice his hand and add his blood to the spell. “My blood to bind,” he repeats, then passes the knife to Felix without flinching. His essence fills the circle, but it’s not laced with magic the way Gray’s was.
My heart starts beating even faster. This is going so quickly. We’re only halfway done with the blood magic, and the spell feels so potent, I can’t imagine it growing even stronger.
Felix is more measured when he cuts his hand. When he opens his palm, there’s more blood than the others had. I almost open my mouth to ask what the hex he did, but he speaks before me. “My blood to bind.” A rumble under my feet actually shakes the ground as if a train is passing by, while a sense of calm I associate with Felix surrounds me.
I tighten my lips and take the blade he’s offering me, exchanging it for the spell pot so my hands are free. Athame in hand, I look up at the guys. With a silent prayer on my lips and in my heart, I slice my palm. The blade is so sharp, I’m not even sure I cut myself until the blood weeps to the surface. Reaching out, I drip magic and blood into the bowl and recite the final words. “My blood to bind thee to me.”
