Free The Mirrored City by Michael J. Bode Page A

have looked messy but weren’t. Around the collar of her dress was a trim of fine black feathers. She extended her hand, covered in an intricate tattoo, to him. “I’m Rebekah.”
    “S-Soren,” he stammered and bowed. You should have taken her hand. You look like an idiot.
    She giggled and lowered her arm. “You’re cute, Soren.”
    His face was hot, and the tops of his ears burned.
    She cocked her head. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just wanted to say hello. Look, it’s fine. I’m going to get a drink. If you’d like to have one with me, I’ll be over there.”
    He breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she stepped away.
    Samantha looked up from her notebook. “Relax. Rebekah’s just really friendly with the staff. She’s an interesting person. You should go talk to her.”
    He looked over and saw Rebekah standing by herself with a glass of bubbly. She was attractive, maybe older than she looked. Smiling, she seemed to be casually taking in the scenery, but her finger raced nervously around the rim of her glass.
    Soren gathered his courage and walked over to her. He laughed nervously. “Hi.”
    “Hi.”
    They stared for a few awkward seconds.
    Rebekah offered, “Would you like that drink now?”
    “Yes,” Soren said. “Please.”
    She waved her hand, and a bottle pulled itself from the silver ice bucket and poured its contents into a glass that floated over to him. His eyes widened with amazement. He’d seen a fair bit of magic, but it had never been so close to him before. He took the glass, feeling the weight of it fall gently into his fingers as the force holding it let go.
    “Wow.”
    She smiled and flipped her hair back. “I teach at the Magesterium, and one of the most rewarding things about my job is seeing a student’s face light up like yours. Do you have any interest?”
    “They tested me at the orphanage. I had no potential.” Soren shook his head and drank the wine. It tasted fizzy and kind of unpleasant, so he tried to drink it quickly.
    “Do you find me attractive, Soren?”
    He spit out some of the wine and looked at her, unsure how to answer. She was, in fact, beautiful, but he didn’t know what to say. “Um…”
    “Do you like women, Soren?” Rebekah asked gently.
    “I have never been with one,” he admitted. “So I can’t say for sure.”
    Her eyes sparkled. “A virgin? Really?”
    He looked away.
    “No, no, no. That explains everything. Oh, this must be really uncomfortable for you. I assumed that since you worked here that you were working . I apologize. It’s just that Lawrence, the attendant before you, and I had a regular arrangement. You must think I’m such a creep.” She shut her eyes and rubbed them.
    Soren shook his head. “No, it’s not that at all. I’d like to have sex with a woman. I’m just scared is all. I have these episodes—fainting, headaches, seizures. Sometimes I pass out when I’m stressed. That’s all it is.”
    She forced a smile and nodded. “It’s fine, really. You don’t have to try to make me feel better. I’m just a little unused to rejection.”
    He tentatively touched her arm to comfort her. Growing up in an orphanage with all boys, he’d never even felt a woman’s skin that he could remember. A tingling surge flowed from his fingers, like a wave of heat that spread through his body. His cock grew warm and tight against his leather. He pulled his hand away immediately.
    “I want to fuck you,” Soren said, surprised by his sudden conviction.
    She moistened her lips and took his hand. “Are you staying in Lawrence’s old room? I know the way.”

    His room was tiny and plain wood on all sides, but it contained a plush bed and a wooden trunk for his things. Small idols of the various gods Lawrence must have prayed to were set on a shelf above the bed.
    Rebekah kissed Soren, and he felt his body come alive with excitement. He clumsily reached for the back of her dress but then found himself pushed back to the bed by a