Magaestra: Tested: An urban fantasy series Page 16

  Aldric blinked. "And now you are making fun of me."

  "Only a little. Crissy noticed that I've picked up a few of your speech patterns." Faith did smile now. "I don't mind, really. Makes me feel like you're with me, even when you're not."

  Aldric had no idea what to say to that.

  "I will put you out of your confused misery," Faith said. She turned to look him fully in the eye, and a small smile danced on her face. "Crissy and I plan to stay here. To move here permanently." Faith tipped her head in question. "Not that we're sure where we will live or any of that, but I was hoping that at least Crissy and Kaylee could stay here in the clan house for a while. Until she feels safer in the world."

  "Of course. They are Frostwalkers. You are all members of the Frostwalker Clan, you may stay here as long as you wish to." Aldric. reached out and put his mug on the table beside the sofa. He was sure that he would drop it soon if this conversation continued much longer.

  "Then we'll need to go pack up my apartment and their house. And Greg's as well," Faith said. "And..." now she glanced away, pulling her lower lip between her teeth and worrying at it.

  Aldric had his hand up, his thumb easing her lip out from between her teeth before he even consciously thought about it. "And?"

  "And I suppose we should make a decision about this bonding thing. I..." Faith took a deep breath and her expression was soft, though also serious. "I think it sounds nice. We've already started bonding, you said. How does that work? I know they're fiction, but you said that some of the things in your books are close to the truth."

  "It is not like in the books. It is not a simple matter of sex and a bite and now a couple is permanently bound forever." That would be far too simple and easy to do in the heat of passion. Far too easy to spend eternity regretting it and unable to anything about it.

  "I didn't think it would be that easy," Faith sighed. "Tell me what it does involve then."

  Aldric wondered if it was possible for a heart to actually beat right out of a person's chest. His certainly seemed to be attempting it.

  "Mostly," Aldric's voice cracked and he reached for his mug to drain the last swallow from it and then tried again. "Um.

  "Mostly it involves being close for some time. The foundation of the bond will grow naturally. We accelerated the process when you fed me. Being intimate would result in a similar acceleration if that is something you are interested in."

  Faith's lips twitched. "Accelerating the bond or being intimate?"

  Aldric felt very warm. "Er. Both."

  Faith nodded thoughtfully, though the mirth was still there in her expression. "And how do we finish it, then?"

  "There is a spell we recite together, and then yes, we do exchange blood as it is the fastest way to share our magics. It would be easiest for me to bite you, or," Aldric glanced at the empty coffee mug. "Perhaps we could make coffee."

  Faith laughed at that, then tipped her head. “Share our magic, hmm? So vampires never bond with humans?"

  Aldric shrugged. "Every living thing has at least a little magic. It is part of what makes us live instead of simply exist. You and I simply have a great deal more than most. So..." He swallowed hard and watched the thoughts swirl through Faith's expressive eyes.

  "Is this something you would be interested in? I mean, spending a very long life with me? Vampires live a long time unless something intervenes."

  Faith's smile was nearly blinding. "I guess we'd better date for a while and find out. Although, I suspect this dating thing will have to happen regularly, for a very long time."

  Aldric blinked.

  Faith chuckled softly. "I mean that yes, I want to start this bonding process. Deliberately, I mean. With the intention of staying with you for a very long time. I..." Faith sighed.

  She buried her head in his shoulder and breathed for a moment. And Aldric wrapped his arms around her, stroking his hand up and down her spine, trying to soothe whatever it was that upset her.

  “The worst part about getting kidnapped was the thought that I'd never see you again. Then I had this thought, this knowledge that you were coming to save me and I was terrified that you were going to get killed. I couldn't stand that thought."

  "I am well, Faith. I am here." Aldric soothed. "I have to admit, the thought that you were in the hands of those psychopaths made me insane. Marc had to talk me out of trying to save you on my own."

  "I'm glad he did. Remind me to give him an extra hug in the morning," Faith said. She took a deep breath and leaned back to look him in the eye. "I love you, Aldric. I think I've been falling in love with you since you crashed in and killed a bunch of rogue werewolves in our kitchen, then turned around to treat me so carefully. I hope..." Her gaze faltered and she started staring at his shoulder. "I hope that you can maybe feel the same way someday.”

  "Faith." Aldric's heart had stopped racing at some point, and now he found himself calm and sure. "You are brave and fierce and loyal. You are determined and clever, and I have seen how kind you are to even complete strangers. You have saved my life several times, and you put up with my stubborn foolishness, and you singlehandedly saved the entire clan from further conflict this morning. I would be a stone-hearted fool not to love you already."

  Faith grinned, joy shining from her whole self. Aldric could feel her magic brushing up against his skin, and he could feel himself responding to it.

  "Well, Aldric Donnelly, Head Enforcer of the Frostwalker Clan. Maybe you should do something about it." Faith grinned. Her fingers danced over his shoulders.

  "As you wish, Faith Latham, Magaestra of the Frostwalker Clan." Aldric bent and kissed her. He felt one of her hands leave his shoulder for a moment and then heard the door across the room close with a soft click of the latch.

  And then there was nothing but the two of them and forever, which looked very appealing.

  Reviews make a huge difference! Please leave one here, I promise I’ll read it. -Katherine Kim

  Excerpt from Caroline's Internship

  Excerpt from Caroline's Internship

  * * *

  “Caroline! Welcome! We’re all pretty excited to have you here.” Point surged through a door on the other side of the short hallway like an elephant in a hurry.

  Caroline blinked at him. He was just under six feet tall, but nearly as broad as the hallway, muscled, and had the typical slate grey skin and lumpy facial features trolls were known for. The button up shirt he wore was working hard to stay buttoned, and in the back of her mind Caroline was impressed that he could find suits that fit at all.

  She’d been prepared to go down to Personnel to fill out paperwork today for her internship and start training. (Human Relations did, well, other things than dealing with employment paperwork and such.) It seemed, however, that Point had other plans.

  “I’m glad to be here,” Caroline answered. “I have to admit that I’m super nervous, though.”

  Point stopped them in the hallway, the sounds of a busy office flowing through the wide doorway just another foot further along their path, and turned to her.

  “I would tell you that there’s nothing to be nervous about, but I’d be lying through my pointy teeth.” He grinned, showing off the teeth in question. Caroline smiled back. Funny how Chief Point was absolutely not even a little scary to her, even with a mouth that a shark would envy.

  “You really know how to reassure a girl,” she said, and Point laughed.

  “Yeah, well. I’m not going to bullshit you,” he said. He dug in his pocket and pulled out an ID card on a lanyard. “There are probably going to be times where you’re in a tight spot. I have every confidence you’ll be fine, though, and I’m never sending you out there alone.” His eyes twinkled for a moment and Caroline found herself somewhat disconcerted. “At least not until you graduate to full agent.

  “Ah,” Caroline said. She looped the lanyard around her neck. Point grinned again and patted her shoulder gently.

  “Come on. Let’s get you in there.�
�� He guided her that last foot and then around into the large room.

  It looked almost like a stage set from a police procedural— desks pushed together in small islands, almost like a kindergarten classroom, worn office chairs and humming computers at each station, though the couldn’t help but notice th number of clear, empty desks scattered around the room. It felt like a theatre during rehearsal— occupied and lively, but not quite where it should be in terms of occupancy.

  The smell of coffee and something vaguely metallic hung in the air, and the ambient chatter in the room dropped significantly when they entered. Point sighed and stopped with what Caroline felt was a great deal of false reluctance.

  “Folks, everyone listen up! For those of you that haven’t met her yet, this is Caroline Peters, our new intern,” he shouted. By the end of the sentence, the room was silent. “Many of you will remember her from the raid a few months ago. She’ll be here for the next year at least, but if we’re lucky she’ll decide to stay with us for a while. Her hours are dependent on a number of things, not least of which being how badly you all behave. I will say this once, but I mean it. Behave or I will end you, if she doesn’t do it first.” Caroline blinked at him. She could tell that he was very serious about his threat, and she guessed that everyone else in the room knew it because there was a moment of surprised silence before someone started clapping. After a second the room was full of applause and friendly calls of ‘welcome!’ and ‘who’s throwing the good luck— I mean welcome— party?’ and ‘Anyone gives you any trouble, you can call me.’ and ‘I definitely remember how badass she was!’

  Caroline picked out a few faces she recognized from the raid that had rescued her and Darien from the Elf Supremacists and all the aftermath from it. The tall, slim woman with streaks of green in her long black hair smiled and applauded. The blonde man sitting at a desk in the corner who waved and grinned at her while bouncing a red playground ball, and looked for all the world like he hoped they could play together at recess. There was the dark, sharp-looking man near what she thought might be the break room, since he was holding a coffee mug with steam rising from it, who grimly nodded his welcome and turned back into the room beyond.

  She saw Ollie the ogre peek out and smile at her from another door, and blinked again. The ten foot tall ogre was wearing reading glasses and a lab coat and smiling broadly, and if she didn’t see the puckered scar on his chin she would never have known it was the same mountain of rage that plowed straight through a wall to completely destroy a half dozen archers making a last stand from the kitchen during the raid.

  Darien lounged in his desk chair and grinned so wide she was half afraid his head would fall off. She grinned back, feeling a bit less awkward. The bloodbond from back then had long since worn off, but they were still close. Darien had kept in touch after the kidnapping and raid, and they’d become pretty good friends. Even her parents liked him. Point steered her that way.

  “Okay, okay, simmer down. You all have things to be doing, I’m sure. D, you take Caroline around, show her where everything is. I emailed you her training schedule this morning, so make sure she knows where she needs to be, and when.” Point turned back to Caroline. “He’ll take you down to personnel to get your paperwork finished up. I know you did most of it already, but there’s always some damn thing. Your desk is here next to D, and I.T. should be by after lunch to get your computer set up. Till then, just get that paperwork done and make sure you know where everything is, or at least who to ask about whatever you’re looking for.”

  “Okay. Got it.” Caroline nodded and glanced at Darien who was still grinning.

  “Hey there, Sunshine. You ready for the tour?” Darien asked.

  Point made a face at him and simply muttered “Behave.” As he walked towards what Caroline assumed was his office.

  “Um, yeah,” she answered.

  “You don’t have to look so spooked,” Darien said, standing and stretching towards the ceiling. “Nobody here bites without express permission.” He winked at her. Winked!

  “Jackass,” Caroline muttered, and he just laughed.

  “Come on, We’ll stop in the lab first. Ollie’s been holed up in there for two days. You’ll be a great excuse to peel him away from his microscope for a minute.” Darien ambled off towards the door the ogre had poked his head out of a few minutes earlier, and Caroline had no choice but to follow.

  The large laboratory was about what she expected, except that everything was made to accommodate the giant body of Ollie himself. Long tables, half of which were extra tall, with various pieces of equipment that she couldn’t begin to identify positioned strategically. A rolling cart with various tools on the shiny metal top was pulled up next to a human-sized man while he held a light over a machine for a tiny woman with extremely long fingers who was prodding a tool inside.

  “Caroline! I’m so happy you chose to take Point’s offer!” Ollie’s grin rivaled Darien’s a few minutes ago. “I was extremely impressed with your ability to keep this idiot alive. You deserve a medal, in my opinion.”

  “Um, thanks?”

  “Hey!” Darien objected loudly. “I was doing okay, thanks. Not that she wasn’t badass or anything, but—”

  “You were either bleeding out and dying, or you lied to the powers that be. Which is it?” Ollie smirked.

  Darien grunted and frowned, and Ollie laughed.

  “You’ll keep this guy in line for us, won’t you?” Ollie’s eyes sparkled.

  “I suppose. If it’s really necessary.” Caroline grinned back, feeling much less anxious than she had an hour ago. This was all going to be okay.

  They left the lab a few minutes later, and Darien showed her the meeting rooms ,and the archive, and Human Resources where two very tired looking people sat on a sofa in the corner, drinking coffee and chatting.

  “Hey D. What’re you back this way for?” one of them asked. She was about Caroline’s height, but her fingers were long and slim, like the woman in the lab, and her ears were even more pointed than an elf’s.

  “I’m showing Caroline around. It’s her first day,” Darien answered. “This is Caroline Peters, our new intern. Caroline, this is Stevie Goodleaf,” the woman stood up and came over to shake hands. “And that is Nelson Wood” The elf on the sofa nodded and saluted with his coffee cup.

  “Pleasure to meet you! We don’t get a lot of actual humans around here. Mind if we pick your brain some?” Stevie asked.

  Caroline gazed around the room with a sense of reverence. It was all lighted mirrors with chairs facing them, and several rolling cases of what looked like makeup tools. There was a shelf of wigs along one wall, and two rolling clothing racks that had zipped-up covers over them. There was a smell of powder and coffee and laundry soap in the air.

  “You guys made Point look amazing when he came to the hospital! If I hadn’t already seen what he really looks like I’d never have known he wasn’t just a huge guy! You’re amazing!” Caroline felt a little starstruck.

  Nelson smiled and murmured “Thank you.”

  Stevie grinned. “Wow. You’ve got him gushing! I can tell that D’s got more for you to do, but you come on by and have a coffee with us sometime. There’s usually room on our couch when we’re not neck-deep in an operation.”

  “Thanks, I will,” Caroline smiled back and let Darien lead her away again. “Man, everyone’s been really nice. I expected tough federal agents to be more… I don’t know. Grumpy and overworked?”

  Darien laughed and they turned to go up the stairs to the next floor. “We are that, too, a lot. But everyone’s excited that you’re here. I’m pretty tough, to be honest. I have faster reflexes than humans and elves, and I’m overall stronger, faster, and harder to hurt than a lot of other beings, and then I’m a trained agent. Those elves still knocked me out and damn near killed me. Then you, an untrained teenager came in and not only managed to get through the ordeal with just a few scrapes and bruises, but you saved my life, took down several of
our captors on your own, and confronted an angry elven mage. That’s not exactly unimpressive.” They reached the top of the stairs and he turned to look her right in the eye.

  Caroline blinked at him. “I… I guess I never really thought about it like that.”

  “Well, you should. We’re all pretty excited to have such a badass human around here.” He grinned at her again. “And I’m not going to lie. There’s some folks who are jealous of me for getting to be your unofficial partner.” A shadow flickered through his eyes and Caroline wondered if he minded having to start from the beginning with training her.

  “Well, if you say so.” Caroline shrugged, and followed Darien down towards the gym that took up half the floor.

  If you want to find out what sort of trouble a human teenager can get into on a team of paranormal federal agents (hint: it’s a lot of trouble,) click here to read Caroline’s Internship and explore the world of the Federal Paranormal Activities Agency series.

  About the Author

  About the Author

  Katherine Kim is a lifelong lover of fantasy. She started early, being read Tolkien as bedtime stories, which honestly explains a lot. More recently she’s been drawn to more urban fantasy stories through both books and television, and reading continues to be a passion. She is an American that lives and writes in Tokyo, with her family.

  * * *

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  Books by Katherine Kim

  Books by Katherine Kim

  The Demon Guardian