Page 39 of Stormbringer (Tracthesian Academy #1)

M arc was nervous, which was stupid, except that he was, and the reason was ridiculous.

Wayla was the first girl in all these decades he had taken home to visit voluntarily.

It shouldn’t matter, but it did. Not because of what his family thought of her, but what she would think of him after the visit.

Well, he hoped Tanner liked her, but Wayla was pretty and funny. Of course, his little brother would like her. He had good taste, like him. Marc would be shocked if his father showed his face for more than two seconds.

He had made plans to pick up Wayla after lunch. They would take the jet and fly over. It was a short flight, at least with the magical boosters, they should be able to be back before midnight. Wayla didn’t want to miss her classes on Monday, and Marc had no intention of spending the night.

It was all planned out and in order. Her bag was packed and stood next to his. So why was he jumping out of his skin?

Marc tried to focus on something else, but his thoughts slipped into their previous training. Wayla still couldn’t pull the shield in place. She got the concept, but she just couldn’t make it happen.

He had resorted to training external shields with her to hide his frustration. Her frustration had been clearly evident. Still, an external shield, if she was fast enough to pull it up in time, could, at least partially, protect her from power buildups.

It wasn’t good enough, and they both knew it. Jarred knew it. Hellion knew it. Everyone in the house knew it. External shields were a defense against straightforward attacks. They didn’t encompass everything, like internal shields would.

Power buildups were mostly a harmless nuisance, even the one she had just gone through. The approaching Hell Moon and the power surges it brought could tear some unlucky being to shreds. They were running out of time.

Marc glanced at the calendar on his phone, which confirmed what he already knew. Hell Moon was rising way too soon for his comfort. He should cancel this stupid trip and train her more.

“Don’t you dare,” Hellion said from the doorway.

“What?”

“That’s your ‘I want to back out of this’ face. Don’t you dare cancel on Wayla after she sucked it up and accepted all those clothes, luggage, and things gracefully.”

“Why wouldn’t she have…” Marc trailed off in the face of Hellion’s disbelieving stare. “Um… Was there ever a doubt she would accept them?”

“You read her well enough to know she would never agree to date you for real, so you tricked her into fake-dating you, but you had no idea how much it would smart to have us get her a closet full of clothes?”

“Why would it smart?” Marc frowned. Hellion didn’t make any sense.

“Oh boy,” Hellion muttered. “I was so right and so wrong at the same time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We had a little screaming match before we came home Friday night. I’m talking about the fact that the thought of us getting her things made her apparently feel inadequate. I think the words charity case were mentioned.”

“Cha—why would she think that? Fuck, Hellion, I would get her anything she desired.”

“I know that,” Hellion said evenly. “I would too. And I don’t doubt Jarred wouldn’t hold back either. But it still made her almost cry. I’ve never seen a woman hold back tears that determinately. I wish she had punched me instead of apologizing with brimming eyes.”

“She… cried? Over clothes?”

“I’m not explaining this very well. The point is, don’t you dare back out.”

“Fine. Back to her crying. What the fuck, Hellion?”

“I explained to her that we got her all the things because we wanted to do something nice for her. I don’t think she’s had many people do things for her…” Hellion trailed off with a distant look on his face.

Okay, that Marc could somewhat understand. Most beings that circled them did things because they wanted something in return. Someone doing something ‘just because’ wasn’t something any of them stumbled on very often outside their own group.

That went doubly for families. Xuan was probably the only one of them who had a semi-healthy relationship with his relations at large. And that was saying something considering faeling nature and politics involved.

“Taking her there is a mistake, isn’t it?” Marc said glumly.

Hellion shook his head. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. Just pay attention to her reactions and you’ll know when to get the hell out of there. Oh, and tell Tanner I said hi.”

“I will.” Marc rubbed his face and then pulled himself together. Okay, so Wayla had a problem with accepting things from them. He would just need to work on that until she got comfortable with it. Picking up the phone, he dialed the captain.

“Marc here, I’ll need a selection of roses and champagne on board on top of the usual load.”

Hellion chuckled and left him to his preparations.

A s soon as the limousine turned into the driveway, Marc knew his instincts had been right.

“Quiet family dinner, my ass,” he muttered.

Wayla just glanced at him behind her roses. She had refused to set them down for a second. Champagne had been a wasted effort, though. Note to self, flowers good, alcohol bad .

She eyed the cars filling the side of the road but didn’t say anything. Marc rubbed his face.

“If you want to turn around and get back right now, we can.”

“Why would we do that?” she asked softly. “Unless… you don’t want to be seen with me? I totally understand if you don’t want to cause a scene in front of all these people.”

Marc let his eyes linger on her legs that the short summer dress left bare. The dress was so low cut that it threatened to spill out her breasts. Really, it was something that would be fine on a beach, not something to wear for a stuffy dinner. He loved it.

“Wayla, I’ll be the smuggest bastard in there if you agree to walk through that door with me.”

“Okay? Then why—”

“Because Harpy’s idea of a quiet family dinner is fifty guests and catering. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Now there was a slight smile playing on Wayla’s lips. “Do you still want me to be the scandalously poor troll you dragged in to soil the carpet?”

“Wayla, I—”

“Do you want me to act out, Marc, or behave?”

Marc looked out the window at the mansion as they turned and stopped at the front. All the lights were on and music, tasteful music, carried out from the open windows. His jaw clenched.

“One word from you and we are out of there, okay?”

“Fine. Marc, look at me.” Now there was a snap in Wayla’s voice, and he turned back. “I’m not some fucking wilting wallflower. I don’t care what any of them,” she waved at the house, “think about me. What. Do. You. Want?”

That boosted Marc’s spirits. He grabbed her hand, hauled her into his lap, kissed her until he couldn’t breathe, and then opened the door.

“Let’s go cause chaos.”

“That’s my—” Wayla cut herself off. “Well, anyways. Lead the way, handsome.”