The Responsible Witch (The Ward Witches) by Lauren McMinn Page B

his eyes again.
    “ I'm sorry,” he said, eyes still closed.
    “ For what? The bond? The nightmare?”
    “ Both, I suppose.”
    “ Well don't be. What was the nightmare about, if you don't mind me asking?”
    “ Not at all. I'll try to describe it as best I can. It was a kind of pressure to use blood magic, as if it were reminding me what kind of power would be at my fingertips if I ever chose to use it.”
    “ No wonder you were distressed. When can we do this spell to get the taint of it out of you?”
    “ I called Fiona yesterday while you were sleeping. She said she'd come by this morning with her gear.”
    “ Good. If it can be done, Fiona is the one to do it. Her sheer force of will can make a weak man break.”
    He laughed. “Good that she's on our side.”
    “ That's for sure. Let me go see if Skylar's awake and if I can get you some fresh clothes. Then we'll see what Fiona's plan is.” Dymphna got dressed, trying to hide a little from his scrutinizing gaze. She may have just had sex with him, but she wasn't entirely comfortable being naked around him yet.
    Skylar had left clothes beside the door, and Dymphna passed them to him before going down. Despite the early hour, Skylar and Leo were eating breakfast in the kitchen.
    “ Morning, guys,” Dymphna said, trying to be light.
    “ Good morning,” Leo responded. “I see you took advantage of your alone time last night.” After bonding with someone, both people had a change in their magic to indicate it as such. Leo would have no trouble seeing the difference in her as soon as she walked into the room.
    Dymphna blushed bright red. She stammered. “Yeah, I did.”
    “ Good for you. Congratulations,” Skylar exclaimed. “You deserve to have someone in your life. He seems like a good person.”
    “ Come on. We don't really know him since he doesn't really even know himself.”
    “ He may not have his memories, but he still has the same characteristics. His magic is compatible with yours, which means he is compatible with you. Since you're a good person, he must be as well. Besides, he's shown that even under torture, he still refused to use blood magic.”
    Dymphna looked for a flaw in Skylar's logic, but was having a hard time finding it. Then Gage came down, and her mouth watered as she watched him. Apparently the physical attraction hadn't really eased after sating the bond.
    “ Welcome to the family,” Leo said, calmly eating his breakfast.
    “ You're not even going to threaten him? Like, take care of my sister or else?” Dymphna asked, horrified. She had waited on having sex for years for fear of her brothers' retaliation on her boyfriend. Now he wasn't even going to threaten him?
    “ No. I'm not. We've established that he's a good person, and his magic is tied to yours. Besides, I shouldn't have to state it explicitly for him to know that if he ever hurts you, he will want to flee to the ends of the earth to avoid retribution.”
    That was more like it, though Leo's voice was still calm and nearly uninterested. But Gage didn't even seem worried. He took the plates out of the oven, where they were staying warm, and passed one to Dymphna before sitting down next to Leo.
    “ I'm not worried. I'd rather hurt myself than hurt her. As I told her, I would have gone through the blood magic withdrawal rather than force her into a bond with me. Luckily, that wasn't necessary. Aren't you going to eat, Dymphna?”
    She was still staring at her family, aghast. They just accepted him, no muss, no fuss. They had an easy attitude around him, as if they had known him for years. She closed her mouth and ate her breakfast in silence. She just watched while Gage thanked Leo for the clothes. Leo made some kind of joke, and they all laughed. Then it was just easy conversation. What a weird turn of events.
     
    Fiona rang the bell shortly after Dymphna finished cleaning up the dishes. If Skylar cooked, the least she could do was clean up. Skylar let her in, and