by Hayley Todd
Damien cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders towards her. “Yes, it seems Mr. Carder assisted in your apprehension. What is your name?” He put his hands flat on the table and something in the gesture seemed to inherently be a threat.
The woman stayed silent, peering up at Carson occasionally but otherwise her eyes stayed locked on the table.
“What is your name?” Carson repeated the question. She flinched when spoke.
“Valeria,” she finally replied.
Valeria? That was unusual.
“And why did you go after my mate?” Carson asked, still seeming bored. His expression was tight and I could sense his tension from here.
“Mate?” Valeria asked as though she knew of no such events.
“Yes, my mate,” Carson growled. “The Magick that you shot.”
Valeria shrank from his gaze. She narrowed her eyes on the table and shrugged.
Carson was across the room in the blink of an eye. He grabbed her by the collar of the very plain white t-shirt she wore, hefting her face upward.
I could see in the movement that her hands were shackled directly the table, a long blackish metal loop holding the chains down.
“Ah, her,” she cooed, considerably calmer than she should been. “I was sent to either kill her or collect her. Preferably taking her alive.”
“Why?” Carson growled.
She smiled up at him. “Now, that would be telling.”
His face lit with fury. He took a deep breath, releasing her.
I felt his power grow before he started to visually change. It called to me, demanding I knock the door down and join him this instant, my king by my side.
“Interesting,” said a voice I honestly wasn’t familiar with from behind me. I turned to see Liam watching from a little too close to me. I shifted away from him, barely conscious of the effort. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard him speak before.
“What?” I asked, turning back to look at Carson who was glowing faintly.
“He is an incubus?” He asked, gesturing at Carson.
I froze, not sure how much of Carson’s life was public knowledge. “Yes,” I replied calmly. Part of me wanted to explain that he was actually a hybrid but another, stronger part told me not to give any information if I could help it.
“I’ve never seen one use the allure before,” he replied. He sounded curious, studious even. It wasn’t at all what I would’ve expected from him. He turned to me, jutting a hand out. “Kyra is it?” He asked. “Liam. Nice to actually meet you.”
I took his hand and shook it. “Same,” I replied.
Liam was very handsome. I hadn’t really taken much stock of his appearance which kind’ve made me feel like a jerk. He was tall, maybe as tall as Anton. He wasn’t thin but wasn’t rippled in muscle like Carson was. He had hair the color of hay and every time I had seen him, it had been nearly styled atop his head. He had deep blue eyes and long white lashes. His lips were pink and plump.
He had a very boyish, cute appearance. But much like Anton, he paled in comparison to Carson.
“So, you feel magic?” I asked, trying to be polite and conversational but for some reason stumbling over my words right now.
He nodded. “I have other talents but that’s the one they like me for the most,” he replied, a small sad smile gracing his lips. He stood before the glass now, hand clasped behind his back. His steps were just a touch too far apart to be natural which made it looked like a very rehearsed position.
“I can cancel out magic,” he responded.
“Cancel out magic?” I asked. No one had ever mentioned such a thing being possible. Would I never cease to be surprised by magick?
“Yes. If tackled the right way, I can take apart spells. It’s not exactly combat magick so I’m usually on the sidelines.”
“What’s that like?” I asked, genuinely curious now.
He scoffed. “It is equally fascinating and sincerely boring as an ability. I see magic as tiny strands in the air, or as a layer on something. I can visibly see its power. I can also typically see how it’s put together, meaning if I pull in the right place I can slowly tear it apart.” His voice dipped low toward the end, sending a chill down my spine.
Anton suddenly leaned on the glass, entering my line of sight. “And I can feel feelings and kind’ve throw fire around,” he said harshly. “There, we’ve begun our Magicks Anonymous.”
As hard as I tried, I couldn’t contain the tiny giggle that slipped from me. A small grin moved onto his face.
Liam rolled his eyes. “Ever the poet, Mr. Van Murg.”
Anton grimaced. “Actually got kicked off the family tree, so I was thinking of trying something new, like Steele. Anton Steele. It sounds good doesn’t it?” As he said his “new name”, he stretched and flexed with mock sincerity.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
His smile grew wider.
“So, anyway, where were we? Oh, yes. Any idea what your strengths are yet?” Liam leaned close to me, again far too close, but I had nowhere to go. He stared down at me. Anton’s eyes darted to mine and he quickly shook his head.
I paused for a long moment. A generous understatement wouldn’t be too impolite once I found out Anton’s motivations, right? Whether he was right or wrong, I could come back from that.
“Nothing yet really,” I replied, turning my eyes back to the glass. I struggled to focus on anything but the cool air coming off of Liam beside me.
“Maybe you’re a dud,” Anton said. I glared at him but he winked an instant before Liam trained a hateful expression on him.
“Well that’s not particularly kind,” Liam replied. “Us non-remarkable Magicks get by too.”
I felt a pang of regret as the words hit home. Was he jealous? Of Anton? Of me (even if he didn’t know it)? He seemed bitter.
I put a hand against his angrily extended forearm. “So, anyway, how do you know Lady Evelyn?” I asked. I hadn’t even really considered the thought until my mind had gotten the better on my mouth.
Liam cleared his throat, straightened up, and pulled along the lapels of his coat nervously. “Lady Stark and I actually met through your father. Your father had an internship program with his company and I applied and was accepted. I had a bit of an accident and came my Magick status. When I began developing my abilities, Lady Stark took an interest whereas your father did not,” he said tightly.
The three of us lapses into silence. I focused back into the room before us, trying to avoid babbling to fill the awkward silence.
Carson had Valeria’s chin in his hand, the blue glow radiating from him nearly blinding. Her eyes were wide and trained on his face. Carson’s expression was twisted in rage. His eyes shine and were dark, frightening shade of green.
“Anton! Bring Anton!” Valeria shrieked, as though she were in pain. It occurred to me as she spoke that she wasn’t seeing him. The stare on her face was empty, blank.
What the hell had I missed?
All eyes in our room shifted to Anton. Carson had stepped away from Valeria and was pacing the room. Damien has leaned back, looking stunned.
“This is ridiculous!” Carson cried, throwing his hands in the air. He ran his fingers through his hair, agitated.
“It’s easily disproven,” Damien provided.
This didn’t seem to appease Carson. He hurled himself from the rim and burst through the door of ours. He strode across the room. He stopped in front of me, grabbed me by the shoulders and crushed me with a kiss.
He pulled away, staring into my eyes. “Kyra, I love you. I need you to know that,” he breathed. He waited for a long moment, expectant.
“I do,” I gasped in response.
He released me and moved to Anton. He literally clutched Anton by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out of the room.
I could hear them yelling in the hallway but I couldn’t make out the words. Carson started in an angry hushed tone but it quickly developed into shouts back and forth.
“I’m sorry Liam but you’re going to have to wait.”
I whipped the door open and jerked away from his hand. Carson and Anton had frozen, squared off against each other. They both stared at me.
I propped my hand on my hip, gazing at the two of them. “Is there something I need to be clued in on?” I asked.
Anton was the one who unthawed first. He sagged against the wall and crossed his arms. “Tell her, lover boy, she missed the show too,” he said snidely.
Carson didn’t look at me.
“Come on,” Anton said, “she needs to know too.”
Carson sighed, still not looking at me. “Valeria says that she’s imprinted me.”
A wickedly cold explosion of pain blossomed in my chest. Why did that hurt? I hadn’t even heard to story. I swayed on my feet, crushing betrayal crippling me. He hadn’t done anything. Had he?
My knees felt weak, and I swayed, falling forward. Anton leapt forward, catching me beneath the arms. Carson had stepped toward me a moment too late and hovered behind Anton.
“Easy there,” Anton cooed, resting me on the ground. He stepped away, and Carson knelt in his place. I had to blink hard to see him through the haze of panic.
“Hey,” he whispered, touching my arm.
I didn’t respond, fighting away the pain in my chest.
Carson looked at Anton and jerked his head to me. Anton knelt beside him and pressed his palm to my cheek.
Slowly, the overbearing pain and panic seeped away from my chest, easing the throb in my head. I didn’t have to fight to see. I could breathe again.
Carson turned away, cursing. He paced between us and the interrogation room door. He got very dramatic when he was upset.
Anton looked me over but he hadn’t removed his hand. “Kyra, are you okay?” He asked.
Carson froze as I spoke. “Yeah I’m fine,” I replied. The words still didn’t seem to be true.
Anton helped me up.
“I’m sorry,” Carson said, whipping around to face me. “I-I don’t know what’s happening,” he whispered, defeated. His face fell and the sorrow in his eyes broke my heart.
“Let Anton look,” I said, my body torn between anger, frustration, and depression.
Carson didn’t look pleased but stepped toward the door.
Anton stopped in front of me. “Are you going to be okay without me?” He asked. There was a grin on his face but I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.
I started to immediately refuse him, telling him to go find out what was going on, then I considered. Was I okay without him? I was doing better with managing my emotions now that I was aware of the excess but he’d still been siphoning emotion from me. I would have to grin and bear it regardless. I needed to hear what he had to say.
I nodded. “I’m okay,” I replied. Carson eyed me but Anton only nodded in response and headed into the interrogation room.
As soon as the door shut behind me, Carson clutched me to him. I hadn’t expected the sudden embrace and I jerked before returning it.
“Kyra,” he whispered, his lips near my ear. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
I ran my hand down his back reassuringly. “I know,” I replied. We separated and I stepped back to the viewing room door. He gazed at me for a long moment before following after Anton.
Back in the viewing room, Liam was watching Valeria cautiously through the glass. “What’s going on?” He asked.
I shrugged and joined him, watching Anton, Damien, and Carson discuss.
“She’s says she’s imprinted on Carson,” I replied, trying not to show how the words burned me.
His eyes were wide but he watched quietly as the events unfolded.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was hard to watch Carson’s array of emotions displayed on his face. He was obviously struggling. He flitted from fury to horror, then from despair to depression. It broke my heart. He stood awkwardly in the corner of the room, as far from Valeria as he could reasonably be. Damien had placed himself in the other corner, standing now. Anton stood beside her, staring hard at her.
“So, you’re saying you’ve imprinted on my buddy here?” he was asking, gesturing to Carson. His face was hard and I wondered how effected he would be by the raging emotions in the room.
Valeria didn’t react to his words but her eyes were locked on Carson. They were such an eerie color, almost passably blue but even from this distance, I could tell that they were no natural shade. They actually seemed somewhat familiar…
“Just do your test,” she growled, sitting back in her seat.
“It’s not exactly a test,” Anton muttered but slid his fingers onto her exposed skin. His eyes immediately went wide and he jerked his hands away. “Who are you?” he asked and the way he reacted actually scared me.
“Tell them,” she commanded, not responding to his question.
Anton looked up to Carson, then Damien, then his eyes settled on me through the glass. He acted as though he could see clear through it and his eyes were sorrowful. “She has imprinted on him,” he replied, somber. Then he approached Carson and wrapped his arm around his wrist. Carson tried to pull away but Anton wouldn’t let him. “Carson however, only has one imprint. The one for his mate,” he hissed the word mate as though it were a weapon against Valeria. Then his eyes lifted to me again.
He had done that for me, not for anyone else’s benefit. My heart swelled and I could’ve hugged him. That couldn’t have been easy for him. I had to consider how this entire situation would have made Anton feel. He had been raised to be my husband, to lead our people. Once I had imprinted with Carson, Henrick had disowned Anton, beat him, and left him with nothing. For some reason, he still chose to assist us. He really didn’t owe us anything. And then there was our imprint that seemed to be being rubbed in his face.
I had once seen Anton as a selfish, arrogant brat. Now, I saw him in a new light, self-sacrificing, and driven. He had taken up for me on numerous occasions now. I actually appreciated his friendship.
Though I wasn’t sure he could see me through the mirrored glass, I gave him an appreciative nod. A small grin slipped across his face and he turned back to the room. “So, exactly what bearing does an imprint have? She’s somehow imprinted you? So what?” Anton asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Excellent question, Anton,” my father said. Anton beamed at his approval. “Even if you’re imprinted to Carson, what difference does it make? Why were you trying to apprehend my daughter?”
Valeria’s eyes narrowed. Was she unhappy that her ruse hadn’t worked?
“I want to see her,” she growled.
Damien and Carson exchanged a look before Damien approached him, grabbed his arm and pulled him from the room. Anton remained, sitting down across from her as though nothing had happened.
The door behind me opened and Liam sprang away. I hadn’t realized how closely he had moved toward me until then.
Damien and Carson filed through the door, arguing quietly.
“No,” Carson was saying. “No way.”
Damien gazed at him, thoughtful. “We’ve gotten no valuable information from her so far. I don’t know that we have much choice.” He looked crestfallen, and his gaze shifted to me.
Carson had his knuckles clenched into white fists. “This is bullshit,” he hissed. “We’d be risking her. And for what? We have no proof that she’ll admit anything!” His voice was rising, more hysterical with each passing word.
“I’ll do it,” I whispered.
Damien, Carson, and Liam all turned to me, surprised. Carson’s expression was guarded, Damien looked sad. Liam just looked surprised.
There was a suspended moment of silence before my father nodded and opened the door for me. I stepped out into the hall, my heart racing.
Why did she want to see me? What did this prove?
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But the idea that the information she could provide would help Will had my feet moving forward.
Carson remained where he was, angry but Damien had already opened the interrogation room door, waiting for me.
I looked up at Carson and touched his arm, tenderly. “I have to do this,” I whispered to him, “for Will.”
His eyes softened and he nodded jerkily. He was far from sold on the idea but he was letting me go.
I followed after my father.
Anton and Valeria both stared at me as we reentered. I felt self-conscious under their gazes. I hoped that my bruising had either faded, or was still hidden beneath the hood of my sweater.
Valeria laughed, harshly. “So, this is the beautiful princess that everyone is fighting over,” she said with distaste. She scoffed and I had to fight to keep the anger and hurt beneath the surface.
“Yes, this would be our stunning future queen,” Anton responded with a growl. His eyes ran over me and I had to fight the urge to shrink away from that too. He looked appreciative and I wanted to squirm beneath his gaze.
“What do you want?” I asked. I didn’t say it kindly, more as if I were asserting that this little rendezvous were an annoyance to me. It actually pretty much was so it wasn’t hard to pretend.
“Come closer, little Magick,” Valeria growled. Every part of her form was predatory, angry, conniving. She was tense, her muscles tight along her arms and shoulders. I could imagine that being chained to the table was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. Good.
Damien gave me a reassuring glance as I stepped closer to the table. Those violet eyes followed me hungrily. “So, you are the human who earned Carson’s attention.” There was an angry jealousy in those eyes.
“Not so human anymore,” Anton chimed in from over my shoulder.
Valeria rolled her eyes. “It may as well be the same thing to not turn until you’re a grown adult. She’s more human than any of us,” she hissed.
My eyes flicked to Damien and he stepped past me, speaking up. “Her age at the choice has no bearing. What do you want from her?”
Valeria smiled, the expression cold and off-putting. She beckoned for me to come closer with a long slender finger. “I will tell only the princess,” she said, making the word sound like a curse.
