I tried to walk around him, wanting to get back to Xarius, but to my surprise he didn’t move, which honestly wasn’t a surprise. He’d stolen most of the bed and was now stealing my space to escape, too.
“Hi, um, kitty cat, can you move away? I need to get back to Xari.” I felt stupid calling the snow leopard a kitty cat, but I still hadn’t thought of a name and needed to get back to Xarius. He nodded and moved back into the bedroom, like he understood me perfectly.
Xarius came over to me, grabbing onto my waist as we stood there and watched our familiars. “I think they understand us,” I whispered, like I was afraid they would hear me now.
He whispered back, both of us not taking our gazes away from them, “Oh, they for sure can.”
“I think we should name them, you know before we make them leave for now.” I felt him nod beside me. “So, I was thinking maybe something with snow for mine, or is that too cliché?”
He tore his gaze away from our familiars and looked at me, smiling his easy smile. “You want him to be named Snowflake, right?” blushing, I nodded.How did he know?!
“I’ve called him that in my mind since we saw him,” he laughed. Well, that had to be a sign.
“Then he’s Snowflake,” I announced, feeling like a proud parent.
“Leon,” he then said, looking over at his ostrich. “He looks like a Leon.” I couldn’t really disagree and calling him birdie wouldn’t be fair to this majestic creature either.
“Leon it is,” I agreed.
We stood there, side-hugging and looking over at our familiars proudly. I had a family now.
“Now we just need to figure out how to unsummon them.”
An hour later, and I finally figured it out. I looked at Snowflake and said, “take a rest, Snowflake, and I’ll call for you when I need you to return.”
And Snowflake disappeared.
“Snowflake, return,” I said, hoping it would work.
Snowflake reappeared, rubbing against my face like he’d been gone for hours. It felt weird being touched by him, but also like a big hug. He was mine. Ours.
“It seems so simple now that you’ve done it,” Xari said, rubbing his growling stomach. “Of course, we just need to ask them to leave, they can understand us. All those weird sentences made zero sense to me either.”
We’d gone over “I unsummon you”, and “be gone”, then we’d showered and it might’ve turned into a bit more, before we sat down and it clicked.
We unsummoned them and moved out for breakfast. We decided to drive back to the diner because according to Xarius they had“banging waffles”. I wanted banging waffles, so off we went. I was still getting used to feeling the magic under my skin, the power I now held so comfortably. To think I was ready to live my life without it. If it hadn’t been for Xarius, I wouldn’t have known I could get magic, that I would be one of the most powerful mages. It made sort of sense if genetics were at play, which they often were with power. Both my parents were strong mages, and Xarius’s mom belonged to the council of mages. Maybe the rest of the council members would send their children off, too, although only one other had a child, that I knew of, and they were still a toddler.
It was normal for the council to offer their positions to their children when they retired, and if no one fought them for the position, they would get it simply because they were the child of a former leader. Sometimes people challenged them and won, making them the new leader no matter their upbringing. Our home world was all about power. Why hadn’t I questioned the shunning of non-magical mages? I had been too busy trying to figure out how to live in another world to care about the council playing me.
Xarius had changed everything for me. It was one thing knowing I could get magic, when he’d said it, a longing and a want had started,but I didn’t want magic if it meant remaining here and having to hide it. When Xari had said we would be the most powerful mages, even if he was proven to be wrong, that couldn’t be ignored. The hunger for revenge had awoken inside of me. The former resigned shunned mage that I had been, had been given a chance to fight back, to become what I had only dreamed of becoming. Giving in and joining Xarius had been the easiest thing to do after that.
After our first kiss, it had been clear we truly were meant to be. I simply didn’t want to question it. I trusted him. And that trust had given me my bonded, Snowflake, Leon, and my magic. I had a family of my own now. I had a purpose that didn’t just involve survival.
“Everything okay?” Xari asked. We’d just parked behind the diner, and I hadn’t even realized it until now. “Your emotions are all over the place, not too many bad ones, but still.”
I smiled at him. “I just thought about how much my life has changed in these few days. I came here just wanting to survive, hoping I could get a job doing something creative with my art, and now… now I’ve got a family. I’ve got you.” He must’ve felt the love that poured out of me, since he kissed my cheek tenderly and returned my smile.
“I found out about the council of mages’ deceit the day before I got shunned. My mom was against it, but three against one left her powerless to do anything, and she could be killed for allowing my mother to tell me their plan, something she worked out herself. I promised her I would return, that we would see each other again someday. You are the reason I’ll have a chance to do that someday. So, thank you.”
I was crying now. I hadn’t even thought about how badly he wanted to return. He had parents who loved him, maybe friends, though I doubted that from the sound of it. If I’d continued to reject him, he would’ve never been able to see his mothers again. I truly had been selfish. “You don’t have to thank me. Being with you is what I want, too, not just for power and revenge. I want everything you’re offering, but mostly, I want you. I know in my soul you’ll offer me the kind of love I’ve only dreamt of.”
“Neither of us are alone anymore,” he said, then kissed me. “Let’s get some waffles.”
Chapter 18
Xarius
Before I could exit the car, Julie called. Niam stopped his movements, too, and waited for me to answer it. “Hi, Jules,” I greeted her.
