Page 8 of Silver (Shunned Mages #2)

Silver

Showered and feeling human again, we finally found a place that had something other than waffles and pancakes, much to Xari and Niam’s protests. I simply couldn’t care less. I needed something else for breakfast this time, and they always picked someplace with either greasy or sugary stuff.

“Oh, will you stop your whining!” I snapped at Niam who looked down at his oatmeal with mixed fruit on top. “We always eat what you two crave, now it’s my turn, and next will be Wilston’s. I think that’s a fair rule to follow from now on.”

Xari sighed. “Fine, I guess we just got used to it only being us, and because we’re so perfect together, we love to eat the same things.” I rolled my eyes. Xari was intent on proving over and over again that they were “couple goals”.

“I like it,” Wilston said, taking a bite and hiding his blush when we gave him all our attention. I smiled, shooting Xari a look that said “See! He likes it!” Xari just shook his head and stabbed his spoon into his own oatmeal.

Niam looked at Wilston, “You ready to head to your place after this?” Wilston just nodded and kept eating.

I could tell Niam had trouble with the fact Wilston rarely spoke, and when he did it was often short sentences he’d likely thought over in his head a few times before saying the words out loud.

Xari could read his emotions and didn’t seem too worried, but I knew Niam was big on all of us getting along.

I caught Niam’s gaze and shook my head. It wasn’t something he should push, I knew that much.

I took my sweet time savoring the oatmeal, knowing I wouldn’t be getting something like it for a long time.

The others could’ve ordered other stuff, they also had bagels and yogurt, but they seemed so used to all of us ordering the same that they just picked the same as me. It was kind of cute, actually.

Not for the first time, I felt Wilston’s eyes on me.

Whenever he looked at me it felt like a caress against my skin.

Was it magic? Fate? Who knew, all I knew, was that Wilston was looking at me.

A lot. I preened inside every time it happened.

That had to mean he thought we were soulmatched, too.

I could only hope he would be more talkative towards me when we were alone in the teardrop trailer tonight.

Last night I’d been too tired to stay awake for long, drifting off way too soon.

I knew my excitement over meeting Wilston had everything to do with my exhaustion, but I got to snuggle with him, even if I’d acted all surprised when I’d woken up.

I may have been awake for longer than that, feeling his eyes on me as I “slept” on top of his body.

I was going to do it every single night.

We all entered Wilston’s apartment, knowing splitting up even for a second could be fatal.

His apartment was small, likely as small as my trailer had been.

I could tell he seemed nervous about us being here.

We weren’t really ones to judge considering he was the only one with a real apartment. I decided to ease his mind a bit.

“Wow, your place is much bigger than my trailer was.” He looked surprised, then looked down at my clothes with confusion. “Oh, I lived in a trailer park before these guys showed up. I could only afford this because Xari literally makes gold.”

He nodded and smiled. It was a shy smile, but I felt good about it. I was reading him correctly and helping him feel accepted. I couldn’t lie, it felt amazing being something other than just a hot piece of ass for once.

“I lived in a van that couldn’t drive,” Niam added, likely thinking this would be another one of those bonding moments he was so fond of. I was, too, but I never admitted that.

“I lived on a couch at my friend’s place for a year before I bought the van we drive in now,” Xari piped in, adding his own story to the bonding experience.

Niam suddenly looked like a light bulb went off in his head, and looking directly at Wilston he blurted, “Hey, where did you end up when you went through the portal? I was dumped in the middle of a forest.”

“Oh, I was transported to a field of flowers,” he answered, not making eye contact as he gathered his stuff.

The no eye contact thing didn’t phase Niam, who kept going, “Wow! That must’ve been lovely.”

Wilston shook his head. “It would’ve been, if it hadn’t taken me several hours before I reached people.”

“Hours?” we all asked in unison.

He just nodded, still not looking at us.

“Well, it seems the leaders were kinder to me and Xari then,” Niam said, looking sadly at the hardwood floor. I decided not to mention that it’d taken Niam hours until he’d found people, too.

Wilston turned and finally looked at us, “What happened to you then, Silver?”

Oh…. my name on his lips were doing things to me.

Even if the topic wasn’t a fond one. “I um, I was dumped in the ocean. It was freezing and the only way I found my way out was because a lighthouse guided my way. I walked into a city wearing wet clothes and fainted. Woke up in the hospital with a bill and the knowledge I’d almost died of hypothermia. ”

They all just stood there gaping at me. I gave them a “what?” look.

Niam shook his head, “You’ve… you’ve never told us that part before, just ‘the dumped in the ocean’ one.”

“Oh,” I said, realizing he was right. “But now you know.” I gave them a weak smile.

Xari threw Wilston a knowing look and I hoped whatever I’d just told them hadn’t made Wilston think less of me.