Page 41 of Only You, No One Else

Ben scoffed, earning a glare from his brother.

Cyrus pointed at him. “He shows up out of the blue and freaks out on cue.”

“He’s not telling you what they were doing. Of course I freaked out,” Ben said, unbothered by his brother’s glare.

Xavier sat on the opposite couch with a glance in Mikey’s direction that Mark didn’t miss. “It wasn’t that bad. You really didn’t need to react the way you did.”

“Why? What happened?” Mikey asked, earning Xavier’s full attention.

“You think Cole’s parties are unhinged; you should see what these two do.” The outrage in Ben’s expression didn’t seem genuine.

Xavier shrugged. “It was just a little blood sharing.”

Mark glanced at Ben, and the look on his face was all the evidence he needed that Xavier had misrepresented that event.

“Yeah. Just a little,” Cyrus said. “But my brother shows up.” He leveled his younger brother with a look that could have been admonishment. “Uninvited and freaks out.” He turned to Mark. “The problem is, when he freaks out, Riley freaks out, and that is a problem.”

Everyone except for Mark, Ben, and Riley laughed. He glanced at the powerful witch to find an expression that seemed more like embarrassment, but familiar, like he’d been through this before.

“You see…” Cyrus said, drawing his attention. “The protection spell that he has on Ben is so powerful it immobilizes the threat.” He sat up, the mischief in his expression returning. “It held the whole room, what…” He glanced at Xavier. “…fifty people?”

Xavier nodded. “More.”

“Everyone in the room was paralyzed.” Cyrus reached for his neck, his frown seeming rehearsed, manufactured for dramatic effect. “It felt like his power was tearing at my cells.” Then he shook his head, the corners of his lips lifting with the smile he was working too hard to contain. “And all because my little brother freaked out.”

Mark smiled with him, but he didn’t need to imagine that feeling. He’d experienced it when he’d reached into Riley’s mind uninvited.

“How many times do I have to apologize for that?” Riley smiled. “I stopped, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Xavier said. “The humans there didn’t have a chance, though.”

Riley rested his forehead against Ben’s hair, his sigh earning laughter from the rest of the room.

My father wants to speak with me. Will you be OK?

Caught up in the story and Cyrus’s infectious joy, he jumped at Caster’s unexpected words in his mind. Cyrus frowned, and Mark checked on the barrier that would keep him out of his mind, relief making him smile when he found it intact.

He nodded his reply, and the unease he expected when Caster and Damien walked out of the room didn’t come. Cyrus narrowed his eyes at him, but then shrugged and jumped right into another story, having had enough of teasing Riley.

CHAPTER 26

Caster’s smile remained intact as he and Damien made their way to his father’s study. His brother could be a handful, but once he chose someone, he loved them much like their mother, entirely and without reservations. Cyrus had embraced Mark, and Caster could settle into the security it would bring. His brother was overprotective of those he cared about. That meant Caster could feel some security leaving Mark alone with Cy, though he doubted he would ever want to be away from him for too long.

“What do you think this is about?” Damien’s question drew him away from the enormous joy he experienced whenever he allowed Mark to consume his thoughts and back to the present evil threatening that joy.

His father’s bodyguard stepped out of the way, opening the door as they approached, and Caster took a breath. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good.” He looked at Damien. “If it was good news, the others would be here too.”

They walked in, and the mirrored worried expressions on both his father and Marcus stopped him cold.

“What is it?” Damien found words he couldn’t.

Marcus pointed to the sitting area, away from his father’s desk. “Sit.”

He glanced at Damien, but they both did as they were told, the comfortable couch doing nothing to ease his tension. Caster opened his mouth to repeat Damien’s question, still hanging in the spacious study, but his father beat him to it.

“Bastian has reached out.”

His father’s words penetrated the increasing worry invading his mind, and Caster turned to him. “What?” He glanced at Damien to find a mixture of eerie calm and uncontrolled anger on his expression. Damien did that so well, it was often impossible to decipher his true emotion.