“I tried, but it wouldn’t fall asleep.”
My brows furrow. “Then what did you do?”
“I smashed it with a rock.”
I shriek. “Lucas!”
He laughs and spikes the orb farther down the stairs, forcing me to duck again or get smacked in the head by it. “Its Entropy base causes it to absorb magic. Very little was getting through. Shields work, hence why I can contain it with my orb.”
Irritation flashes through me, and I growl, “Your negligence is astounding.”
He barks a laugh. “As astounding as your laziness.”
I gasp in outrage and whip around to glare at him mid-step. “Asshole!”
But it’s a mistake. My foot misses the thick, taller step, and I lose my balance, my nails raking along the stone uselessly. My heart freezes as I fall.
Lucas snatches me, his strong grip wrapping around my upper arm, and yanks me back up. I stumble and my back hits his front, his fingers curling around my biceps to hold me steady. He’s so warm that I feel him through my clothes.
My short hair shifts with his softly whispered, “Bitch.”
My heart throbs, my headache forgotten. His lips brush my ear and shivers ripple down my neck. “Fuck, I’ve missed you, Torment.”
I hide my breathlessness. “I missed you until I smelled you. Did you not bathe at all?”
He huffs a laugh. “Nah, I left my musk pristine for you.”
The spike of excitement through my center informs me that I should step back and away from his hold, but I don’t. Instead, I turn in his arms. A pang of longing hits me hard. He was gone for so long and I was all alone. I have Jinx, but she prefers to be a cat and isn’t much of a conversationalist. It’s not the same as having Lucas around. I never fully understand how lonely I am until Lucas returns.
Lucas’ eyes search mine and he nods towards the shop above. “Who was that guy?”
My jaw tightens, but I keep my lie smooth. “A potential buyer.”
He hums and his large hands slide over my hips in a familiar move. Excitement jolts through me. We’ve played this cat-and-mouse game for years and it’s become a deliciously habitual dance that I melt into.
“Liar,” Lucas whispers.
I tense and his thumbs graze my hipbones, my skin shivering. He continues, his voice a low vibration, “No one calls you ‘Tori’ but me and Jinx. Hell, Nora still calls you ‘Aster,’ and she’s your only other friend.” His lips graze my ear again. “That’s a powerful enchantment you used for a letter and card.”
My throat tightens when a wave of guilt washes over me. Lucas might know my true name is Astoria, but I never corrected him when he assumed I was a bastard Rosemont child using their last name. It was much easier to let him believe that than getting into the complexities of weaver reproduction. Besides, it’s my fault. I was drunk and full of self-loathing when I called myself a bastard in front of him four years ago. I omitted whose bastard and failed to explain that it means something different for weavers. In the Order, a bastard is an unwanted child chained to a family line.
The truth is, I use my mother’s family name because the Rosemonts were well-known Entropy weavers before they died out. It was easy to slip into this lie within the city. Humans tend to not pay attention to the complexities of family lines. They either do not know the Rosemonts died out or assume I’m lying so the Guild thinks twice about bothering me.
And if I’m being really honest, using my mother’s name eases some of the loneliness.
My arms slide up Lucas to drape over his broad shoulders. I tell myself it’s to distract him, but my heart knows better. He’s so warm in an addictive way.
“It’s just a name.” I play with the tips of his soft hair. “And it’s merely a spell.”
His brows go tight and with a sinking feeling, I realize the game is over.
“Come on, Tor. Who was he? What did he want?” He searches my expression with an almost desperate air. He’s so good at reading people; his inability to do the same to me frustrates him to no end. “Is this about your old Order?”
Though thick as the thieves we are, we rarely speak of our past. I intimated that I left the Astrum Order instead of being exiled, and Lucas hinted he did the same with the Amur’s Guild. It’s how I prefer it. The farther Lucas is from my past, the better.
Unfortunately, I might not have a choice with this secret. Out of the four families who currently hold the coveted Council of Weavers positions, there are only two who have held the seats since the Ascension. The Androclarias of the Creation Threads and the Bauers of the Preservation Threads. Where others have seen a flux of power shifts as families claw and scheme their way to power, the Bauers have never faltered in their absolute control of the Preservation Domain. Their family’s Soul Thread, the single line that is passed from parent to child, linking them all to the Great Tapestry of Magic, is the longest and most bountiful in existence. Where some family lines are a single thread, the Bauers are so blessed by the Tapestry that their family thread resembles the roots of a tree.
And the scion of the great Bauer family leader has just visited my shop with no real explanation. Any lie would be too easily uncovered by Lucas. I brace myself and permit a drop of truth to drip free of my well of secrets. “He’s… my ex.”
