Atomic Mage by Garrett Carter (short books for teens txt) 📕

"You are not nearly trained well enough to combat me in earnest my Cade," Mina said with a mysterious expression on her face, the mystery marred by the glee that was quickly breaking through the facade.

Hearing a growl roll through his mind Cade's mouth dropped as he dove into his mind to see the two extra panther guardians lounging like giant house cats on the lawn of his mental home.

Rising and padding past him the two panthers raised their heads in passing and ran rough tongues along his cheeks.

"Well don't that beat all," he said in amazement as the giant cats stopped inside his barrier sitting as they waited to be let out.

Running a hand across his face in mild frustration he raised his mental barrier with a thought, allowing the guardians to return to their keeper.

Mina appeared suddenly as the panther guardians evaporated into thin air.

"Do not be angry my love I only wanted a deeper look at the man I would be choosing to be my mate and the father of my kits. What I found amazed me, you were and are more than I ever expected to receive. I have watched your life play out before me and have felt your pain, your struggles, and your triumphs. Tony was a lucky woman, I hope to be just as lucky for the rest of our long lives. I will not leave you without fighting to my last breath. I love you my Cade both for the man you were and the man you will be." Mina finished her tearful explanation with a fearful look in her eyes waiting on Cade to explode in a rage at her subterfuge.

"I am not mad my Mina, just surprised by my own ineptitude. You have been inside my head since yesterday with me none the wiser, you will be giving me lessons on how you did that by the way. I appreciate your honesty and understand more your confession from last night. All is forgiven my mate now let us continue our planning outside my head, sound good to you?"

As Cade finished with a wry grin and a shake of his head, Mina's breath burst out of her with a sob.

"Are you ok my Mina?" Cade asked as his expression changed from amused to concern for his sobbing mate.

Rushing over to hold her in his arms, he began rubbing his hand over her back, making shushing noises as his mate collected herself with hiccupping sobs.

"I am perfect my love, I just have never been so happy and relieved as I am now hearing your acceptance of my trickery, even if it was just to get to know you better," she explained as she finished her joyful sobbing and rubbed the last of her happy tears from her eyes she patted her mate on the chest to indicate she was ready to leave his mind.

Releasing Mina from his embrace, Cade lifted his hand to the horizon in the distance to let her leave his mind first. With a wry grin at his gentlemanly manners, she took one step and her form evaporated into the ether.

Shaking his head at the whole episode he left his mind to be met with the face of his gorgeous mate placing her lips against his.

Tasting her drying tears he returned the kiss with interest.

"Quickie?" Mina asked

"Quickie" Cade replied.

Shedding their clothes in a rush, the two lovers again reaffirmed their bond, as they made love slowly on the warm boards of the slaver barge.

Cade was reviewing his interrogation of the lizard man after his and Minas afternoon tryst, he realized the man's mindscape had been damaged only when he had physically damaged the lizard man's brain.

From the memories he had seen in Kaz's mind of Rista giving Kaz training to battle mind mages, he hadn't seen her explain or show what Mina had described earlier.

Curious at the implications of the fact that he knew mind mages couldn't directly affect the structure of the brain itself, but could only control the amounts of hormones released by certain parts of the brain to elicit emotions or hallucinations.

His thoughts also included that Kaz, for all his power, and surprisingly he was powerful by this wolds standards, wasn't a mind mage.

Dealing with Rista would be another matter entirely, she would have years of tricks and ways around defenses that Kaz would have no knowledge of.

Thinking on the ramifications of this, his hand left on the deck of the barge was almost bitten by a venomous snake that had slithered onto the barge looking to sun itself on the warm boards.

Grabbing the unwanted visitor with his power he ejected it back into the water.

"Starting to hate reptiles," he growled out, thinking back to the two individuals who had started that, the caiman that had almost made him lunch and the lizard man who had managed to catch him off guard getting him in the chest with a thrown dagger.

"Is that so my love, then you will have to temper your rage when we reach Opect.

Lizardfolk are almost as numerous there as my people are in the jungle." A now clothed Mina said as she cautioned her mate.

"Then why go to Opect at all then," he whined to his mate.

"Don't you have two years of exploration in this jungle under your belt? We could try again to find a place for us if you had to, right?" He finished his question with a flourish with his hand at the jungle around them, his hope for a different response than what he got yesterday plain on his face.

"That is possible my Cade, it is a big