Descending Darkness(92)

I flinch and prepare to get hit as Liam moves toward James again. With his arm raised, Liam pauses and stares down at me. “Move, Ryanne.” Colton runs over and grabs Liam’s fist and pulls him back a little, away from me. Liam moves away but doesn’t lower his fist. Natalie is staring between James and Liam, shocked.

“I knew it wouldn’t take you too long to figure it out,” James says as he straightens up. He points down at me. “She’s smart. No one has ever been able to figure it out before.”

“Figure what out?” Colton demands as he finally lets go of Liam’s fist. Liam flexes his hand out and slightly winces. Seeing his wince, Logan moves to heal him.

“He has another power,” I say as I step away from James, positive that no one will attack him.

“That was a good punch, man. If I didn’t have my extra strength, that probably would have really hurt,” James says. Liam’s still staring at him like he could kill him but doesn’t make a move toward him. Natalie moves toward Liam and grabs onto his forearm. His harsh features instantly calm into the Liam we’re all used to. He nods at her but refuses to take his eyes from James.

“What’s his other power?” Colton asks.

I look behind me at James and wait for him to elaborate. I haven’t quite figured that much out yet. I’m one step ahead of everyone else but still far enough behind that I don’t know everything. “Some might call me Cupid.”

I know that my mouth drops. “You’re cupid?”

“Not in the literal sense, but I can tell when two people are meant for each other, and when they refuse to acknowledge it…well, that’s where I come in.”

“So, when you attacked me in the hallway..?” I start.

“I was trying to get him,” he points to Colton, “to react. The connection between the two of you is one of the strongest, I’ve ever encountered. I could have told you that you were soulmates when I first saw you two together. I go about things a little non-traditionally, but my practice is effective.”

“So, Liam and…” I look toward Liam and Natalie. Natalie still has her hand on Liam’s forearm, keeping him calm. Both of them are staring at James. Natalie’s mouth is hanging open and Liam’s eyes are extremely wide. When Natalie realizes that we are all watching them, she closes her mouth and takes her hand away from Liam’s arm. Looking down at the carpet, I can see the blush rising onto her cheeks. Liam looks away from James and focuses on Natalie. He looks back at me, probably remembering what I told him earlier. Sometimes there’s never a better time than the present. I smile and nod at him.

Liam takes a step toward Natalie. When she sees his movement, she looks away from the carpet. Everyone in the room is silent as we wait and see what is going to happen. Stopping in front of her, he reaches out and pulls her to him. She collides into his chest and gasps at the sudden movement but smiles up at him. Without wasting any time, Liam puts a hand under her chin and tilts her head up as he leans down. Natalie melts into Liam and kisses him back. Conner scoffs and looks out the window in the back of the room. I smile over at Emma, who’s elated at them. We’ve only been telling both of them that they would be perfect together for a while now.

Diverting my gaze, I scan the room, looking for the cat carrier with Olive inside. I haven’t been able to spend much time with her recently. Just call me a horrible pet owner. I spot the green carrier in Larkin’s arms.

“It’s never that easy,” James whispers to me.

“Emma and I have been trying to get those two together for a while now,” I tell him.

Colton walks over to me and pulls me away from James. I look up at him questioningly. “I don’t care if he only acted to get me to react, I still don’t like him.” I roll my eyes at him but stay by his side.

“Ok, so I think we should get to business now,” Tom says from the back of the room. I kind of forgot why we were here to begin with. I glance back over at Liam and Natalie. Natalie is biting her lip, smiling. Even Liam has a small smile on his face. It took them long enough.

“I’m guessing the end is getting close?” James says while sitting back down in a chair. Colton walks over to the couch and grabs my arm as he passes me, pulling me after him. Sitting down as far away from James as he can, he pulls me into his lap. I laugh at him but move so that I’m sitting directly beside him.

“Yes. Ryanne believes that we need to become more involved with other mages. We need to find out what is going on and formulate a plan on how to stop all this,” Tom explains.