by Ella Summers
Oblivious as they seemed, a few of the mages did notice Sera as she passed by the dance floor. They stared out at her, their eyes alight with magic. She didn’t know if it was disdain or interest she saw in those eyes. Maybe it was just plain drunkenness. But whatever their thoughts were, the effect was the same: those staring eyes gave her goosebumps.
“What the hell am I even doing here?” Sera muttered to herself. She didn’t belong at Trove.
She bypassed the horde of dancing mages and headed for the bar. The magic wafting off those glowing drinks electrified the air, crackling against her skin. Maybe she wouldn’t feel so out of place after she’d had a glowy cocktail. She didn’t usually drink—and especially not while on the job—but if she didn’t settle her nerves, she wouldn’t be fighting anyone.
The bartender must have sensed her dire need to relax because before she even sat down at the bar, he had her drink ready.
“You’re with Kai Drachenburg,” he said, setting down a cocktail that glowed pink. A wisp of pale purple smoke floated along the glass’s rim.
“How did you know?”
“He called ahead to tell me he was meeting someone here. Said to watch for a pretty brunette who looked like she’d been forced into the club at gunpoint.”
“I do not look like that,” she protested, taking a sip of her drink. Magic fizzled across her tongue, tickling her tastebuds with ice and fire.
“Sure you do.” He gave her an easy smile. “How’s your drink?”
“Fantastic.”
“Good. Kai thought you might appreciate one of my elemental cocktails.”
Sera took another sip. This time, lightning sizzled against her tongue. “You seem to know him well. Are you two friends?”
“That man saved my life.” The bartender’s magic changed, his humor vanishing. It was displaced by a far more potent emotion: loyalty.
“Tell me about it?”
The humor returned to his eyes. “Next time you come here, maybe I will.” Then he gave her a wink and glided over to the group of male mages who had just sauntered up to the bar.
Sera took a few more sips from her drink, relishing in the elemental sensations, each time a different combination. She’d just started to relax when she saw something that threw her agitation back into overdrive. Cutler.
He was on the dance floor, gyrating with a woman wearing a minidress that made Sera’s outfit look like full-body armor. Cutler seemed to be enjoying her…um, company—so he obviously wasn’t too torn up about Sera turning him down this morning. Just in case, she turned away from him. He didn’t need to know she was here.
She was too late.
As the song ended, Cutler looked toward the bar. His eyes met hers with devilish delight, and she knew she was in trouble. He leaned down to whisper something to his date, then strode over to Sera, his smile widening with every step. By the time he was standing in front of her, his grin had gone supernova.
“Sera.” He dipped his chin to her as he sat down on the stool beside hers. He ordered a drink. As soon as it arrived, he spun his stool to face her. “I thought you were busy working tonight.”
“I am working.”
“Not dressed like that, you aren’t, honey.” His eyes panned up her body, lingering on her chest.
She flicked him in the chin.
“Ow!” he growled, nearly tumbling off his stool.
She shrugged. “It’s not nice to stare.”
He resettled his balance, his grin returning. “Now do it again, this time with magic.”
“You want me to flick you with my magic?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes, as hard as you can, baby,” he said, stroking his finger along the lip of his glass. From the way he was still gawking at her chest, he was obviously thinking about touching other things.
Sera looked down at her glass, which was only half-empty. She should have downed the whole damn thing the second she’d seen him.
“What do you say, gorgeous?” Cutler winked. “Care to have some fun?”
“What do I say? That I’m too busy for this nonsense. I have work to do.”
He took a long drink, and when his eyes met hers again, they were glowing. “What kind of work? Checking the drinks for poison?”
She glared at him.
He didn’t take the hint. “You know what I think, Sera?” Smiling lazily, he wrapped his arm around her. “I think you didn’t come here to work. I think you came here because you’re pining for me.”
“Pining? For you?” she said, nearly choking on the words.
He gave her a knowing nod. “Yes.”
She shrugged off his arm. “You’re delusional. You followed me to New York.”
“Of course I did. I want to see you in the Magic Games. And don’t pretend you’re not glad I came.” Cutler leaned in. “I know a woman in need when I see her, and you’re it. How long has it been since you’ve had sex?”
Magic and alcohol shot out of her mouth. She coughed. “Excuse me?”
“That long, is it?” Cutler nodded. “I thought so.” He stood, grabbing her hand. “But don’t worry. I’m here to help. Follow me. I know a quiet spot in the back.”
“Remove your hand before I do,” she growled through clenched teeth. Her magic was bubbling beneath her skin, its flames fed by her rage.
“So it’s like that, is it?” he said, unconcerned. “You want to be wooed first.” He smiled. “Very well. Let’s dance.”
Sera’s magic was bursting at the seams, ready to explode. She tried to push it down, but it refused to obey. Instead, it continued to pound at her restraint, chewing away at it one bit at a time.
“Let go,” she said, the words buzzing in her throat. “I will not tell you again.”
He laughed, his grip tightening around her wrist. “You’re sexy when you’re angry. I want to see the look in your eyes when I take you over the edge.”
He was taking her over the edge all right. Her magic snapped out and punched him in the gut. Cutler doubled over, his grasp finally broken. Groaning, he straightened.
“Was that hard enough for you, baby?”
His eyes were swirling with pain. And excitement. “Sera,” he began, making her name sound like a dirty word.
Someone passed between them, cutting Cutler off. Sera looked up into Kai’s eyes.
“Go,” he growled at Cutler. When Cutler didn’t move, he barked, “Now.”
Cutler took one look at the dragon scales sliding across Kai’s arm, then scurried off. When he was gone, Kai turned and sat down beside her.
“Thanks,” Sera said. “I was this close to blasting him across the room.” She stared down at her drink and sighed. “I still have so little control over my magic.”
“You showed remarkable restraint against that punk.” He lifted her drink, turning it in his hand. “Do you mind?”
“Go ahead.”
He drained the glass in a single go. “My magic was close to the surface too.”
“You’re always in control,” she said, watching the scales fade from his skin.
“Not always.” He tapped his arm. “As you can see.”
“I thought you were just showing off for Cutler’s benefit.”
“No. I was half a second from losing it. Reining in my rage was…difficult.”
“I’m glad you didn’t blow up the building. There are better ways to show off,” she teased, giving his arm a pat.
He caught her hand as it withdrew. “Tell me.” His thumb stroked her palm in slow, deep circles.
Her heart stuttered. “Tell you what?”
“I’ve never cared about showing off for other people.”
“You don’t need to. Your magic speaks for itself. It’s…” She gasped as his magic slid against hers. “Kai, that’s very distracting.”
“What?” His eyes focused. “Oh.” He snapped his magic back into himself. “I didn’t even realize I was doing it. You are distracting.”
“So this is my fault?”
“Yes.” He gave her a rare smile. It was a hard smile, not sticky and slimy like Cutler’s silly grin. “You made me wonder about what I could do to impress you.”
“I thought you didn’t show off for people.”
“Not people.” He took her other hand. “You.”
She opened her mouth to say something surely witty—if only she could have thought of something—but he’d already dropped her hands.
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Let’s get you some dinner.”
“I already ate,” she said, trying to ignore the beat of her pounding pulse.
“Did you?” He rested his chin on his hands and looked at her. “And what did you have?”
“A peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” she told him.
He looked horrified. “That’s not even food.”
“How is that not food?”
“It just isn’t,” he said, as though that were that, no need for further discussion.
“And what do you consider food?” she asked.
He didn’t even need to think about it. “A steak,” he said immediately.
Sera gave her eyes a long, slow roll. A steak. Of course.
“Which is why I ordered you one,” he continued. “You need your strength.”
“You ordered me a steak?”
He nodded.
“At a nightclub?”
“Yes,” he said.
“And you expect it will actually taste good?”
“Of course. I’ve had their steak before. This isn’t just any club. And this isn’t just any city.”
Sera tore her eyes away from the groping couples on the dance floor. “I see.”
“Just give it a try. If you don’t like it, I’ll eat it,” Kai said as the bartender set a large plate down in front of her.
Her stomach betrayed her, greeting her dinner’s arrival with a growl. “Ok.” She poked the steak with her knife. It looked normal. And the fact that it didn’t poke her back spoke in its favor. “I am hungry. Naomi and I trained hard this afternoon. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to be blasted with Fairy Dust thirty-eight times in a row?”
“No.”
Of course he didn’t. The military had shot tank ammunition at him, and he’d claimed it only tickled. It must have been nice to have super-defenses. She poked the steak again.
“Sera.”
She looked up from her plate. “Yes?”
“If you don’t stop torturing that steak, I’ll be forced to save it from you.”
She pointed her fork at him. “Says the man who steps on people.”
“Only if they annoy me.” A feral grin curled his lips. “Now eat.”
Sera cut off a piece of the steak and set it into her mouth. As she began to chew, salt and seasoned butter melted against her tongue, splashing it with a dozen subtle flavors. The only steak she’d ever had this good was that one from Illusion. Which Kai had also gotten her. The dragon sure knew his meat.
“And?” he asked.
“It’s really good. It doesn’t taste at all like bar food,” she replied, cutting off another piece.
“Maybe you’ve been going to the wrong bars,” the bartender said, sliding a glass of red wine across the counter to her.
She smiled at him. “Maybe I have.”
Kai took the second wine glass, frowning as he swirled it around in his hand. “Are you flirting with Connor?”
“Why? Are you jealous?” she asked, grinning as the bartender walked away.
Kai’s eyes narrowed. “It’s a good thing we switched to wine. That glowing cocktail went to your head. You’re being silly.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m always silly.”
“On that we can agree.” He sipped from his glass. “Tell me about your training session at Mayhem.”
Right. Straight back to business then.
“Naomi and I spent two hours in the gym,” Sera said. “She blasted me with Fairy Dust. She has some elemental spells too. They’re not so bad alone, but the Dust mixed with the elemental magic hurt like hell. I thought my hands would freeze off. Or burn off. It depended on what combo she was using.”
“It sounds like good training for you.”
“Losing my hands?” she asked.
“Facing different varieties of magic.”
“Yep. That’s why I asked Naomi to train with me.”
“And did you practice stringing your spells together like we talked about?” he asked.
“Uh, so… The thing is my magic wasn’t cooperating so well. I might have used some magic or another during the fight. You know, in between repelling her with those big ropes that hang from the walls and ceiling.”
“I see.”
Sera hadn’t believed anyone could pack so much disappointment into so few words. It…hurt. Yes, hurt. She could be mature and admit that she cared what Kai thought about her. Admit to herself anyway. Not to him. No way, no how.
“But I did kick Cutler’s ass on the way to the gym,” she told him. “And I only used magic. Lots of magic. With lots of stringing spells.”
“Good.”
He glanced across the club. A group of mages was sitting on a big sofa, Cutler and his unfortunate date included. Cutler met Kai’s stare for a moment—then hastily looked away.
“I hope you’re not going to pull him around back and beat him bloody,” Sera said.
“I don’t have to. Apparently, you already kicked his ass.”
She snorted.
“Are you going to eat that?” he asked, pointing to her steak.
“Why? Are you hungry?”
“Yes.”
“If you ask really nicely, maybe I’ll give you a bite.”
He gave her a cool look.
“Or you can just glower at me. That works too.” She cut a piece off of the steak and pointed the fork toward him. “Here you go.”
“What happened after the gym?” he asked before eating the piece of meat.
“I went to go help Mayhem’s Disposal Department dissect a bunch of vampiric tapeworms.”
He didn’t even blink—or stop chewing. “That sounds appetizing.”
“It was really gross, to be perfectly honest.”
“Worse than chopping up monsters?”
“Oh, much worse. When you’re in a fight, you don’t have much time to stop and smell the monster guts.”
“Indeed.” He lifted his glass to her.
She raised her glass too and took a cautious sip. The wine tasted a lot fancier than the generic stuff she bought from the grocery store. It kind of reminded her of dark cherries and chocolate. Did he know her tastes so well already? Scary.
“Then after the dissection, Naomi and I went shopping,” she said.
“And bought this outfit?”
“No. Naomi got this outfit for me from the hotel store while I was napping. I was almost too embarrassed to wear it. You know, on account of it being really…”
“Provocative?”
“Slutty,” she amended, biting back a blush. “But it’s the only thing I have that isn’t ruined or on Trove’s black list. You see, not even half an hour into our shopping trip, two gangs of centaurs stormed through the mall, shaking their swords and screaming insults at one another.”
“They always do that. They’re just looking for attention. Ignore them, and they eventually gallop away.”
“I couldn’t just ignore them when there were panicking shoppers riling them up,” she said. “We scared off the centaurs, but then vampires attacked.”
“Your magic is very appealing to monsters. It draws them in.”
She shook her head. “Not this time. The vampires weren’t after me. They were after a mage. Someone from the Magic Council.”
“Describe this mage.”
“Rich, powerful, rude, claiming jurisdiction. Basically like someone from any of the magic dynasties.”
Kai gave her a cool look.
She smirked at him. “What? You kno
w it’s true.”
He remained unimpressed.
She sighed. “Ok. Fine. Male. Roughly fifty. He had silver hair, and a really bad attitude. About half a second into our conversation, I was already regretting not letting the vampires have him.”
“Duncan Blackbrooke,” said Kai. “What happened to the vampires?”
“There were two groups. The larger group—the bloodlust ones—ran around the store while a smaller group went after Blackbrooke. And only after Blackbrooke.”
“Someone was controlling them?”
“I believe so,” Sera replied. “Maybe someone with access to the Blood Orb.”
“If it’s really a magic-hating group behind this, they could be targeting members of the Magic Council.” He pulled out his phone and began swiping away.
“Kai, you’re on the Magic Council.”
He didn’t look up from his phone. “I can take care of myself.”
“That’s what Blackbrooke and his entourage of bodyguards thought.”
“I am not Duncan Blackbrooke.”
“There’s something else.” Sera reached into her purse. “The vampires were wearing magic-resistant armor. I managed to swipe a piece before being shooed away.”
Kai looked up as she set the knob on the counter. Blue light flashed in his eyes.
“Look familiar?” she asked.
He stared down at the knob, his expression darkening. “This is from my labs.” He picked it up, rolling it back and forth between his fingers. “How many armor suits were there?”
“Four. One for each vampire. The mages’ spells bounced right off.”
“And now Blackbrooke has the armor?”
“Yes.”
He pocketed the knob, then began swiping across his phone screen once again. “I haven’t been informed of any recent thefts at my labs. Not since the Priming Bangles last month. My security guys are checking the suits now.” His phone dinged, and he looked down at the screen again. “Everything is still there.”
“Maybe the suits are from someone else,” she suggested.
“Maybe.” He didn’t look convinced. “I’m having my security guys question all the people who work in the lab. We’ll find out soon enough.” He took another sip of wine, a longer one this time. “What happened after the vampire attack?”
“By then, I wasn’t much in the mood for shopping,” she said. “I was, however, in dire need of a nap and a shower. And a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
