No, Mama Ami would come out on top. She always did. Her backup plans always had a backup plan. But me? I didn’t have a backup dream. What would I do if I couldn’t work with familiars? Maybe it wasn’t much to most people, but it was my bit of shiny blue ribbon and I wanted it.

Declan eased away from me, rolling out of bed. He put one hand on my shoulder. “Don’t move.”

I only half listened. I didn’t get up, but I definitely twisted enough so that I could watch him, and I had no regrets. Declan padded soundlessly across the hardwood floors, completely, gloriously naked. He’d pulled off his bandage, a faint scar the only evidence he’d been injured.

His back…I wanted to lick his back. Broad shoulders, smooth, shifting muscle, tapering down to an ass that should have its own Instagram following. That ass was an influencer.

He picked up my phone, carrying it back over to me as I tried very, very hard to not look down.

It was impossible.

I looked.

Truth time—I was actually leery of well-endowed guys. My personal experience was that bigger guys were usually crappy in bed. They thought that since they had the inches, they didn’t have to work for it. Not that I wouldn’t be willing to give Declan the benefit of the doubt, because hoo boy.

He smirked, smug but not cruel. I wanted to be mad, but let’s face it, he’d earned the right to look smug.

Belatedly, I slammed the door on those thoughts. Though I bound people to familiars all the time, I wasn’t used to sharing that bond myself, and certainly not with another person. If I wasn’t careful, I’d overshare. By the expression on his face, Declan knew exactly what I’d been thinking. Uuuugggh.

He put the phone in my hand and I just stared at it like I’d never seen a phone before as he crawled back into bed behind me, curling up like he’d never left. His arm went back around my waist, his breath returned to the back of my neck as he pressed his face to my skin. I shivered and felt his answering smile.

Okay, then.

I checked my messages. They were, indeed, important.

We had to meet with the tribunal at noon. It was ten thirty. I’d slept for more than ten hours. I was a poor sleeper, usually waking up several times in the night. Considering what I’d been through the night before, I felt pretty good. Which was weird, because between the back-to-back magical output, passing out, and the emotional roller coaster of maybe ruining two careers at once, I should feel like hot roadkill.

In fact, I felt better than I had in months. I’d been working a lot, trying to get as much as I could out of my apprenticeship and prove myself. Mama Ami wouldn’t pass me if she didn’t think I was ready, it didn’t matter if she’d helped raise me or not. In fact, she was harder on me than most, because she had high expectations for her children. I hadn’t been sleeping well, working too much, and until Declan, I hadn’t been the best at making sure I ate well. I’d gotten into the habit of burning my candle at both ends in college and I hadn’t slowed down like I needed to.