I couldn't even count the number of times Jonas was able to hit me with a spell. I could count the number of times the hit had been good enough to knock me out. Unfortunately so could he and I had a feeling that he wasn't going to keep that information our little secret. Soon Pritkin would be pumping up the volume and intensity of his training sessions.
Pritkin.
That was exactly my problem now. I'd nearly lost him. Infuriating, rude, bull headed Pritkin. And just thinking about what could have been made it hard for me to breath. I refused to let myself think about my feelings for Pritkin, but after everything that has happened it was nearly impossible.
And training with Jonas in Pritkin's house, the house he'd shared with his wife was just way too distracting.
Mircea wasn't very far from my mind either. He remained persistent about his feelings for me. But I could not honestly say if he wanted to possess me for my power or just love me. Either way I suspected he was becoming less inclined to the idea of me spending so much time with Pritkin.
Mircea looking at Pritkin as competition would not end well. For anyone. Plus I had not even had the time to sort out what feelings I had for Mircea. He was my first crush, but how much of those feelings were the geis and how much was what I felt I my own I had no idea.
Juggling two men in my mind was enough to keep me occupied, but that was the least of my worries. I still had the aftermath of aiding in the death of a god. Trying to mend fences with the Silver Circle so we could work together instead of against each other. Preparing to be officially recognized as Pythia. Training to understand all my powers. Plus looking after a group of magical kids. Hunting down the vampire that kept my father's spirit enslaved and hoping to avoid at all cost a demon lord that I'd totally pissed off.
After the fourth time I woke up to Jonas frowning above me I decided to pack it up. Feeling sore from the tips of my toes to the tips of my hair I drank a cup of tea and smiled as Jonas rambled on about what I needed to work on. I knew I had to focus better. Too many lives would be at stake otherwise.
"Have you talked to him?" Jonas's sudden change of tone brought me back to reality.
"Excuse me?" I took a sip of the almost bitter tea watching as Jonas gave me a knowing smile.
"Have you and John discussed your little adventure together?" I tried to hide my grimace. I knew exactly which adventure he was talking about.
"Not yet." I did a bad job of keeping the tension out of my voice. I wasn't even sure how to bring up the whole topic of our body swapping and the near sex thing only made that issue harder to figure out.
"Having too many things on your mind is a burden, Cassandra." I'd finally talked him out of calling me Miss Palmer or by my formal title. I hadn't gotten him talked into Cassie just yet, but it was an improvement. "Agnes and I-" Jonas paused and if I hadn't caught the way his voice broke I would have been able to see the pain in his eyes that made it all too clear that he and Agnes were more than just friends.
"It is important for the Pythia to have a confidante." Jonas stood to get another car of sugar. "John can be a lot to handle sometimes but he is a good friend. And when he shuts up long enough to hear he is a good listener too.