The Magic of Shadows

Chapter 8

Helaine's POV

It was harder than usual to keep my feet on the ground. I was so happy, I felt like I could float away. The fact that I physically could only made it harder to keep my feet on the ground. When I woke up the next morning, Brandon was waiting outside my door and pulled me into a world bending kiss. Being in his arms was bliss but outside of our bubble, things were more confusing.

Marc was already at the kitchen counter, nursing a cup of coffee. That spot in my chest thudded when he looked up, mismatched eyes meeting mine, but with his groggy smile came my own guilt. I'd kissed Brandon, but what I felt for him wasn't so different than what I felt for Marc or the others. How was I supposed to act?

When I hesitated, Brandon nudged me towards him so I could give him a hug. That part was a relief, but it cleared up absolutely nothing else.

"How'd you sleep?" Marc asked groggily, soft thuds indicating that someone had come down the stairs after us and was now making their way across the living room. Further evidenced by a mug suddenly appearing at Marc's side. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Marc muttered, a wary eye on the mug.

I picked it up as Victor came through the doorway yawning. "Did you steal this?" I asked, a frown on my face.

Victor's eyebrows shot up. "No? I've never seen it."

"Not you. Sorry." I glared at the wall as it creaked defensively. "This was Gavin Hawthorne's. He looked everywhere for it when it was time for him to leave." Sometimes my guests show up with an odd accruement of things. Gavin had been told he needed to disappear while he was making his morning coffee and in his rushed state, he'd brought the whole thing with him.

The way the foundation groaned sounded like grumbling.

"You can't steal things from our guests!" I reminded the house firmly as the guys tried not to laugh. "Get Victor a different mug, this one is going in the box for Phil to take with him." I moved towards the living room as I added on, "And no taking it back!"

The walls seemed to expand before dropping back in place, the air heaving in a dramatic sigh.

Through his chuckling as I came back into the room without the mug, Brandon asked, "How often does your house steal things, Helaine?"

"The house doesn't have a clear understanding of boundaries," I explained tiredly. "Or morals. It's a house, not a person, and when it likes something, it decides to keep it. Phil had to put a charm on his watch when he was staying here to keep the house from stealing it when he showered."

Sometimes it seems like a fondness, like the house wants something to remember favorite guests by. Most of the time it's just because it's greedy and wants whatever it is that it has decided it likes.

Once the guys have finished their coffee, we make our way down to the circle and the forest and it goes pretty much the way it did the day before. My magic tries to reach towards Victor's, but the barrier holds. The most notable part is that Marc seems... suspicious. His eyes keep darting between me and Brandon, and although he doesn't say anything, it feels like he's figuring something out from nothing at all.

The way he took my hand as we headed back towards the house almost felt like a challenge. Like he was waiting for me to pull away or for Brandon to get grumpy, but when neither happens, he relaxes.

I don't, not right away, at least. Just like Marc, I'm trying to gauge Brandon's reaction. We kissed. He talked about not wanting to waste time with me. Yet, he seems completely at peace with Marc holding my hand the entire way back to the house. It's hard to ignore the guilt—kissing Brandon was like stepping directly into a fairytale, but there's a rightness to being affectionate with Marc, too. If I had to choose which of them was my favorite, I don't think that I could.