Master of Tomes

by Raconteur, Honor

  Mei Li clinked her glass against Rone’s in a promise. “Consider it done.”

  One month later

  Mei Li eyed the room carefully as she scrolled through a mental list. The design drawn on the floor was perfect, and she’d double-, triple-, and quadruple-checked it. That particular talisman was illegal in absolutely every country—except Dragon’s Peak. No one had thought to make it illegal here, too, as only dragons lived here. And they had no use for it.

  Well, except for Shunlei.

  Mei Li felt no compunction about using it for herself. Most people tried to extend their lifespans out of fear of death or to achieve their own nasty goals. Hers was both selfish and selfless. She’d promised not to leave her husband alone ever again. This spell would enable her to live precisely as long as he did.

  Neither of them wanted anything more than that.

  Arrayed around the design on the floor were candles of various colors and heights, all lit. This much illumination wasn’t necessary, but it did make the room very pretty. Mei Li wanted this moment to look as special as it felt. That was why she had an array of their favorite finger foods and snacks waiting in the kitchen, too, so they could have a private celebration afterward.

  Also in preparation for today, she’d brought out the clothes she’d had made for this moment, which would no doubt be used again for their renewal of vows this fall. The red silk felt deliciously smooth and light against her skin, and she might have spun to let the skirts flare out a few times. Shunlei was putting on his own wedding outfit, which admittedly did look very good on him. As a Red, the red outfit had been very intense and eye-catching. But against his black skin, the red clothes contrasted and looked very sharp, indeed.

  Mei Li knew that Shunlei preferred wearing either blue or white, but she really had to talk him into wearing more red accents.

  Speak of the dragon, and he shall appear. Shunlei stuck his head around the doorway in full wedding array, and Mei Li had to stop and fully drink in that view. It never got old.

  Mercy, but her husband was handsome.

  She once again congratulated herself for marrying him. Every day it proved to be an excellent decision.

  Shunlei beamed, seeing her in her wedding dress, and said hopefully, “You look stunning, my bride. Are you ready?”

  “I think I am. I’m reviewing, making sure I haven’t forgotten anything.”

  He ticked things off on his fingers as he came fully into the room. “Everyone on Dragon’s Peak understands that they interrupt us today on pain of death and dismemberment.”

  Yes, Shunlei had made that very clear. Mei Li was fairly certain everyone thought they were having a little honeymoon here because they’d all worn indulgent smiles when Shunlei was issuing the orders.

  To be fair, they weren’t exactly wrong. The plan was to do just that after the bonding spell was complete.

  Ticking off a second finger, he added, “Abe has assumed full Tomes duties until you can get the branch offices organized, so it’s not like someone will be pounding on our door to announce some imminent world-threatening catastrophe.”

  “They’d better not come to me,” she growled.

  “And I’ve got the house locked up tight, so no one can interrupt us short of using a battering ram on the door. We should be safe.”

  Mei Li immediately formed a sign with her fingers to ward off bad luck. “Alright.”

  Coming to her, he lifted one of her hands to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on her fingers. “Nervous, my love?”

  “Just a little.” Quite a lot, in fact.

  Mei Li was not nervous about living out the rest of her life with him. Shunlei was the one sure thing she’d had throughout her life thus far, and she trusted him more than herself some days. That wasn’t the issue.

  When Mei Li had first come up with this idea, she’d been focused solely on its benefit: matching Shunlei’s lifespan. But she’d failed to think the rest of it through until three weeks ago, when she’d started prepping for this spell. She had barely enough power to be a mage, so a spell of this magnitude would be a struggle. What if it went wrong? What if she messed it up somehow? It wouldn’t kill them, but she’d certainly injure herself significantly.

  It was a lot to swallow, no lie. Mei Li had lost more than a few nights’ sleep worrying. But in the end, she’d decided to still go through with it all. It would be hard, yes. But the situation wasn’t do-or-die if she didn’t get it right on the first try. If something seemed off, she could always stop, recalculate, and try once more.

  And she couldn’t, no matter the cost, leave Shunlei alone again.

  Shaking the thought off, she continued, “The first three pages of this spell were all warnings. In fact, the warnings were longer than the spell instructions, which tells you something. But I’ve now quadruple-checked everything, and I’m sure I can do this without accidentally killing you or myself.”

  He gave her a mock-solemn nod. “That seems a good first step: life.”

  Mei Li poked him in the ribs. He could be such a brat. How anyone was fooled into thinking he was serious all the time was beyond her.

  “If you’re ready, let’s begin,” he encouraged, dodging her finger.

  “You really want me damage-proof as soon as possible, don’t you?”

  “That, and you said the spell would allow me to feel your location. I’m very, very tired of losing you.”

  Considering everything that had happened to her since their first meeting, Mei Li really didn’t have a single toe to stand on. “Fair enough. Alright, see that blue chalk dot? Stand directly on it, and no matter what, do not move until I tell you to.”

  Shunlei leapt lightly over the other white chalk lines on the floor, landing on that blue dot and then staying very still.

  Such an obedient husband. Mei Li would reward him for that later.

  Really, the only thing making her pause now were nerves.

  This must have shown on her face, as Shunlei gave her a supportive nod. “You’ll do fine, Mei. We’re completely prepared.”

  Mei Li sucked in a breath for courage and blew it out again. She appreciated his faith very much, especially with nerves jittering in her stomach. Showtime.

  “Then let’s get this done.”

  She moved to stand toe to toe with him, in his personal space, then linked both of his hands with hers, their fingers intertwined. His hands were pleasantly warm against her skin, his grip firm. Her head tilted back, just a little, so she could look into the clear blue eyes that stared right back at her. In those eyes, she saw all the love this man had for her. A love that had lasted thousands of years without wavering. And seeing that, feeling it, gave her the final push she needed to enact the spell.

  Her mouth opened, and she spoke the words, pouring her magical energy into the talisman under their feet. But for the first time in her life, she didn’t just use her own magical core. Through their joined hands, she reached for Shunlei’s life force and brought his natural, living energy into the spell.

  That was what made this spell so dangerous. Mixing two life energies was volatile enough, but drawing on another person’s—someone who wasn’t magical—usually ended in disaster. It wasn’t something a normal person could handle. Often, it ended with heart failure, which was why this technique was banned in so many places.

  But an elder dragon had more life energy than almost any other living thing. Shunlei’s force was powerful enough to challenge a mage’s. When Mei Li called to his life energy, it answered, and with such force that even she was taken aback for a moment.

  Well. This might be easier than she’d feared.

  Their life energy poured into the chalk lines, lighting them up like gunpowder on fire. The force of that much energy in a room of this size created something of a whirlwind effect, and wind started to swirl through their hair and clothes, strong enough to blow a few candles out.

  Of course the Master of All Dragon’s life energy would manifest itself as wind. Mei L
i really should have expected that.

  She kept pouring her energy and his into the lines, watching them keenly. The moment their energy met along the outer edge of the circle, the spell would be complete. And Mei Li really hoped that would be soon, as this felt draining in the extreme. She felt it like a heavy-laden fatigue in her limbs.

  Shunlei seemed utterly unfazed by it all, just watching with fascination as the talisman lines lit up around his feet.

  It did strike her as unfair that he had more energy to spare than she did.

  Turning her head, she checked the right side, only to watch it connect, both of their energies locking into place and then blending. Her heart was thrilled. Yes, that side done! Twisting her head, she looked behind herself, saw that one was already connected. Oh, what about behind Shunlei? She bent sideways at the waist, looking around him. Yes, that had connected, too, at some point.

  Then all that was left was this side?

  “Almost,” she murmured, staring at it, willing it to go faster. The white flow of magic seemed to be moving at a crawl now.

  “Is it almost done?” Shunlei asked, voice rising in excitement. “I can feel you, I think.”

  “Yes, it’s almost there. That connection on the left side is all we’re lacking. Come on, come on—”

  “Can I move when it connects?”

  “No, I have to do one more finalizing spell to lock it in place.”

  He forced himself to be still, eyes glued to the missing section, much like hers were.

  Come on, Mei Li chanted in her head. Come on, come on, almost there. Was it actually slowing down, or was this something like watching a pot of water, waiting for it to boil?

  She blinked, and it was an inch away. Another blink, half an inch.

  She blinked again, and it connected fully, the two energies blending where they met, much as every other side had done.

  As much as this thrilled her, she was quick to turn back to Shunlei and say the closing line of the spell, wanting this drain over with before she collapsed to her knees.

  “Rang wóm de sheng jiáozhi zai yii.”

  Let our lives be entwined.

  The wind rushed upwards from the floor, engulfing them for a moment, sending hair and clothes flying. She closed her eyes on instinct to protect them, but as sudden as that gust was, it ended just as quickly. With eyes closed like this, the feeling of connection with him was even stronger, and she paused in wonder.

  The heaviness in her limbs was gone. She felt lighter, stronger, more energetic than she ever had before in her life. Even with her eyes closed, she could see in her mind’s eye exactly where Shunlei was. He was a fire burning clearly, there no matter how she turned her head.

  A delighted smile turned up the corners of her mouth, and she nearly bounced with joy. Oh. Oh, that feeling was beautiful. To have this connection with him. Mei Li had always thought of this spell as a means to an end, a way to stay with him. But it was more than that. She felt Shunlei as she never could before, his life force a warm glow that brought her nothing but joy.

  “I feel you,” he said, and the joy in his voice was breathtaking. “I can feel and sense you clearly. Mei, I do believe this is the best wedding present you’ve ever given me.”

  “It’s going to be hard to top this,” she admitted, laughing. “How do you feel?”

  “Ecstatic. You can’t leave me now.”

  She laughed again, shaking her head. This man, seriously. “I meant physically.”

  “Oh. Amazingly energized. You’re alright?”

  “Also feeling amazingly energized.”

  “And it’s done?”

  “It’s completely done. My heart will now beat as long as yours does.”

  He practically glowed, his emotions were so strong in that moment. “Forever? You’ll age at the same pace as I do?”

  “I should. I set up the spell to let me do that. I won’t be as tough as you are, but my body will heal faster, too.”

  Come to think of it, she hadn’t explained that last part. Shunlei had been focused more on her sharing his life span and being able to find her.

  She might have traumatized him by disappearing so many times.

  He practically vibrated in place. “Then you really are safer now. Please tell me we can move?”

  “We’re free to move,” she confirmed.

  Shunlei promptly scooped her up by the thighs, lifting her up and into him, kissing her ardently. She kissed him back, twining both arms around his shoulders, sharing his joy. It had been a long time coming, this moment. And the result couldn’t have been more perfect.

  “I love you.” Mei Li brushed the hair out of his face, basking in that joy. For all the heartbreak she’d brought to this amazing man, hopefully this moment made up for it.

  “I love you,” he repeated, eyes bright with unshed tears. “You’ve brought us to a new chapter of our lives, and words cannot express how much that means to me. Thank you, beloved. For prioritizing our life together above all else.”

  “I promised you on our first wedding day that I wouldn’t leave you alone completely. It took five thousand years, but I finally made it happen.”

  He kissed her again, softly. “You were well worth the wait. For the next five thousand years, how about I just enjoy you?”

  Mei Li grinned. “Sounds perfect.”

  Cream – newborn

  Yellow – 5-10 years

  Orange – 10-20 years

  Red – 20-100 years

  Green – 100-300 years

  Blue – 300-1000 years

  Purple – 1000-3000 years

  Black – over 3000 years

  Abe – AH-bay

  Acala – ah-CAW-la

  Bader – BAY-der

  Bai – bye

  Bohai – boh-hi

  Budworth – BUD-worth

  Cavanaugh – kaa-vuh-nuh

  Chen – chen

  Dolan – doh-lin

  Edan – AY-din

  Elora – EE-lore-ah

  Enlai – EN-lie

  Ernest – er-nest

  Gen – g-en

  Giselle – JI-zelle

  Hawes – haw-z

  Horvath – hor-vath

  Huan – h’wan

  Hui – h’wee

  Iram – ee-rahm

  Janine – ja-NEEN

  Ji Lin – JEE lin

  Jingfei – JING-fay

  Kalei – kay-lee

  Kare Tamu – KAH-ray TAH-moo

  Kiyo – KEE-yo

  Kovel – co-vell

  Laborde – la-BOARD

  Leah – lee-ah

  Liasa – lee-ah-sa

  Liggett – le-get

  Ling Ling – LING ling

  Llona – l-ah-na

  Lothar – low-thar

  Mei Li – may LEE

  Melchior – mel-kee-or

  Nord - nord

  Odom – OH-duhm

  Pari – pa-ree

  Preston – PRESS-tuhn

  Rabarbra – rah-bar-bra

  Rone – rone

  Sandeep – san-deep

  Scott - scott

  Shunlei – Shoon-lay

  Simeon – si-mee-on

  Sotejo – so-TAY-jo

  Tanguay – TAN-gway

  Tengfei – TENG-fay

  Teoh – TEE-oh

  Voas – VO-as

  Wightkin – WHITE-kin

  Yu Yan – you yahn

  Zaffi – zah-fee

  Thanks for reading the conclusion to The Tomes of Kaleria. I hope you enjoyed the world as much I did writing about Mei Li and Shunlei. See you in the next world!

  In the mood for something similar to Tomes? Have you read any of The Human Familiar series? It hits all the spots: unique magic, end-of-the-world baddies, and banter galore. Check out The Human Familiar HERE.

  An FBI agent, a Magical Examiner, a Royal Mage, and a world of trouble. Though usually they’re the ones solving the trouble, Henri would like to make that clear. Check out The C
ase Files of Henri Davenforth HERE!

  Other books by Honor Raconteur

  Published by Raconteur House

  ♫ Available in Audiobook! ♫

  ADVENT MAGE NOVELS

  Jaunten♫

  Magus ♫

  Advent ♫

  Balancer ♫

  ADVENT MAGE NOVELS

  Advent Mage Compendium

  The Dragon’s Mage ♫

  The Lost Mage

  WARLORDS (ADVENT MAGE)

  Warlords Rising

  Warlords Ascending

  Warlords Reigning

  THE ARTIFACTOR SERIES

  The Child Prince ♫

  The Dreamer’s Curse ♫

  The Scofflaw Magician♫

  The Canard Case

  The Fae Artifactor

  THE CASE FILES OF HENRI DAVENFORTH

  Magic and the Shinigami Detective

  Charms and Death and Explosions (oh my)

  Magic Outside the Box

  Breaking and Entering 101

  IMAGINEERS

  Imagineer

  DEEPWOODS SAGA

  Deepwoods♫

  Blackstone

  Fallen Ward

  Origins

  FAMILIAR AND THE MAGE

  The Human Familiar

  The Void Mage

  Remnants

  Echoes

  GÆLDORCRÆFT FORCES

  Call to Quarters

  KINGMAKERS

  Arrows of Change ♫

  Arrows of Promise

  Arrows of Revolution

  KINGSLAYER

  Kingslayer ♫

  Sovran at War ♫

  SINGLE TITLES

  Special Forces 01

  Midnight Quest

  THE TOMES OF KALERIA

  Tomes Apprentice

  First of Tomes

  Master of Tomes

  Dear Reader,

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