Lienda complied before moving toward me. She hesitated behind my chair. I tensed, wondering if I could handle any overly familiar contact. We’d kind of been skirting around it for days, trying to find our middle ground. In the end she just ran a light hand over my loose hair. I relaxed. I wasn’t sure I could handle a kiss, but I liked the sense of having a mother. Even if it did continue to take me by surprise.
Jonathon joined us, and when he kissed Lienda gently on the lips, I averted my eyes. I just wasn’t used to seeing my dad show affection for a woman. It kind of freaked me out a little. But I wasn’t a complete selfish ass, they deserved some happiness after all of their years of sacrifice. I didn’t know of course, but I could imagine the torture and pain they’d felt to not be with each other for the past twenty-two years.
We were quiet for the rest of the morning, each lost in our own thoughts. The front door opened at 8am and the very punctual sorcerer entered. Louis was dressed in ripped designer jeans, a white ribbed long-sleeved shirt, and black boots, which added an inch to his already impressive height. He looked like a model, not a hundred year old powerhouse mage. Jo and Jack followed him, both dressed formally. I hugged them. Jo squeezed me extra hard and I could sense her nerves.
“We will get them out,” she whispered to me. “Even if this does not go the way we hope today.”
I loved the Compass parents. They were some of my favorite supes, having put up with me over the years. I’d spent as much time in their house as my own. It was a huge comfort to have them there, no matter which way the trial went.
We sat and waited for Torag, who arrived about ten minutes late, which for a troll was almost early. As a group we left the house and strolled toward the town hall. Somehow I ended up at the back with the intimidating sorcerer.
“So which one of the Compasses is your mate?” His voice seemed to vibrate when he talked, as if he had so much power inside that it even coated his words.
I blinked rapidly a few times, catching his gaze. His purple eyes were stormy today, not to mention unusual and hypnotic. “None of them. I don’t have a mate,” I said, pulling my attention from his compelling force field.
“Right.”
I swung my head back around. That one word had said so much. “What?” I had to ask.
“You act the same way as a mate. Maybe you just don’t realize yet.”
I snorted, the air whistling out through my nose. “Those four have been my best friends for twenty years. I’d die for any of them, but still we’re only friends … pack.”
His eyes hardened then, the purple shifting to almost black. “All true love stories should start as best friends, because that’s the minimum foundation needed to survive the tumult of a relationship.”
There was the echo of years and layers of experience in his wise words. He was trying to teach me something, then the moment was gone.
“If you are not with any of them, I’d be interested in spending some time with you.”
My feet shuffled and then proceeded to trip over themselves. He caught me before I face planted into the road.
I stared up like an idiot as his arms tightened around me.
“What … why?” I stuttered, before slamming my mouth shut.
I sounded like a freaking star-struck idiot. Sure, he was famous in Stratford, and I’d bet all over the supernatural world, and right now he was … asking me out, but still, I was acting like one of those girls.
He continued to hold me, the corner of his lips shifting as if he was refraining from smiling. “You interest me, have since your … unusual birth.” He set me back onto my feet. He made the task seem effortless.
We started walking again, and I mulled over his offer. Of course he knew of my marks, his spell had been keeping me safe. But still … his words were resonating in my head. For my fun dalliances, I tended to stick with shifters; it was just easier. They understood the way I liked to keep things casual and they feared and respected my power. Louis was different, but I couldn’t deny my attraction to him. He was mesmerizing.
“If you make sure the Compasses are freed, I’ll consider your offer,” I murmured, hiding a little behind my loose hair.
He laughed. “I do like a challenge.”
I shivered again at the energy-strength of his words. He was one scary, interesting, sexy-ass mage. I’d just never imagined sleeping with a magic user. Well, for Louis, I could surely make an exception. Rounding the corner, I forced my hormones under control and focused on the task at hand. Jonathon wanted us to take note of who was present at the trial. He said the supernatural we were looking for would want to see the trial. In fact they were probably involved in the process.
“Stay close to your father,” Louis said, his hand brushing along my arm, and then he was gone.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the darker room. There were about twenty people milling around. I moved across the space to join my family, Torag, Jo and Jack in the front row. Louis had moved to the raised dais, across from Kristoff, who was presenting the evidence against the Compasses.
Supernaturals don’t get a trial by jury. The evidence is offered to our Book of Guidance, a large tome that rests in the center of the dais. This magical guide absorbs all the information and acts as an impartial judge. I’ve never trusted it myself. It’s archaic and seems rife for magical manipulation. Plus, it views all crimes as purely black and white, and we all know there is an awful lot of gray areas in the world. But what was the alternative? To have supernaturals act as a jury left the process open to mass manipulation. There seemed to be no truly fair way to judge these crimes.