by T. S. Snow
Ecstatic
Book 5 of the arcane mage series
T.S. Snow
Ecstatic by T. S. Snow
Copyright © 2021 by T. S. Snow. All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. They are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademark owners of various products, brands, and/or stores referenced in this work of fiction which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Cover Design: CJ Romano @CoversbyCJRomano
Editing: Bookish Dreams Editing
Proofreading: Lorie Collins
Created with Vellum
To Harley,
None of this would have even happened without you.
This one is for you.
Contents
Foreword
Prologue
1. Charisma
2. Logan
3. Charisma
4. Andres
5. Charisma
6. Theo
7. Blaze
8. Andres
9. Charisma
10. Theo
11. Bastille
12. Blaze
13. Charisma
14. Logan
15. Charisma
16. Andres
17. Charisma
18. Blaze
19. Bastille
20. Charisma
21. Charisma
22. Charisma
23. Andres
24. Charisma
25. Blaze
26. Charisma
27. Logan
28. Charisma
29. Blaze
30. Charisma
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Also by T.S. Snow
About the Author
Foreword
Mom...let’s just…not talk about this, yeah?
Yes, the sex scenes.
Especially the sex scenes.
Prologue
Bastille
My worst nightmare had just become very, very real, and I didn’t know what to do. It felt like my heart was being squeezed tightly by ghostly, fiery hands. Like I was being punished, time and time again.
Was this because I was born a Necromancer from the Tumba’s line? Divine punishment for what my ancestor did decades ago?
My soulmate and I were living together, finally having the life I’d always wanted for us. Char had even warmed up to the idea of a harem and taken my brother as her second boyfriend.
We were happy.
Until the rug was pulled from under our feet.
All because I’d failed her.
Char had been kidnapped from my house. From my front door, actually, while I was off running errands and doing random, unimportant stuff so she could have some alone time with Andres.
Andres.
I swore to the Goddess, the next time I saw him, I was going to kick his fucking ass. I couldn’t believe he’d left Charisma alone, on her own. I’d planned on dropping my grandmother off, then I’d stop somewhere, pick up some food, and bring it home so we could all have a meal together.
Like a family.
Instead, I’d gotten a frantic call from Andres asking me if I was with Charisma or if I was home yet. The feeling of sheer panic after he’d asked those questions reminded me of the utter heartbreak I’d felt when I thought Char had died when her apartment exploded.
The only thing that kept me from completely losing my mind was the fact my grandmother had assured me Char was okay. Apparently, the minute she’d heard the news, while I was spiraling in despair, she’d contacted one of her ghosts. Whoever it was had rushed over to inform Gran that Char had been taken…along with the Nightshade and Soulbinder heirs.
I’d dropped Gran off at her house, begging her to try to get me Char’s location, and then I drove to my apartment like the bats of hell were after me. I’d hoped against all odds that I’d get home and Char would be there, waiting for me, laughing at having managed to prank me after all.
Instead, I’d run into Char’s ex, the Futhark heir, and he looked as desperate as I felt.
The love of my life had been kidnapped, and I had no idea who’d done it, or why.
But there was one thing I knew: I’d get her back, and I didn’t give a shit what I had to do to have her in my arms once more. I’d make a pact with the devil himself if that was what it took.
I just hoped Futhark wouldn’t throw me in jail the minute he found out what I was. Or at least, I hoped he’d wait long enough for me to get Char to safety first.
“How do you know all three of them have been taken?” Futhark asked from beside me as I tried for the third time to put the fucking key in the lock so I could check the house.
I knew it was pointless, that Char wouldn’t be there, but I needed to see for myself, and I had a feeling Futhark would need it too.
On the phone, Blair went silent, waiting to see what I’d say, how much I’d reveal.
“This is not the fucking time, dude. Our girl is missing. Are you going to stand there asking questions, or are you going to help me find her?” I asked him, finally unlocking the door. “Blair, I’ll call you back, yeah? Please, if you find anything, anything at all, let me know. I put Gran on it, so you might want to give her a call,” I said into the phone before opening the door and making a beeline to the bedroom.
But all I found there were rumpled sheets and discarded clothes.
I felt like a freight train had just come full force at me, slamming into me and taking my ability to breathe with it. Whatever hope I’d felt, even against all reason, was snuffed out in the blink of an eye because it was true—Char was gone.
No. Not gone… Taken.
Someone had taken my Char away from me.
“I’ll get her back,” I vowed to the empty room.
A hand clasped my shoulder, and I turned my head to see Futhark behind me, his eyes shining with a fury that matched my own. “We will get her back.”
1
Charisma
“Come morning, you’ll all be dead, and her Necromancer boyfriend will be the one taking the blame for it all.”
Cara’s words rang in my head, over and over like some annoying song you hear once and then can’t get rid of, no matter how hard you try.
No. No. No!
I refused to believe it, refused to accept it.
There was no way this would be the end, no way this could be the end.
I gripped the bars tighter, as if I could go all Hulk on them and rip them apart with my bare hands.
Except, I was more Bruce Banner than Incredible Hulk, and no matter how much I tried to force the damn things apart, all I did was hurt my hands.
“Charisma, what was she talking about?” Logan’s question cut through my internal freak-out, and I stared at him like a deer caught in headlights.
I’d been standing by the heavy iron bars of our cell since the Wicked Witch of the East—aka my cousin Cara—had left, after dropping her threat. I still couldn’t believe she was involved with the resistance. I mean, I’d always known she was rotten, but to stoop this low? It made no sense. She was already heir to t
he Silverstorms. All she had to do was keep using strong-as-fuck magic and look perfect near my parents, and she’d inherit everything—the name, the mansion, the power.
The resistance went against everything she was working to become. Or at least that was what they said, anyway. The resistance rebelled against the current way our society was structured. They wanted to bring down the Council of Six. So why join them at all?
Even if she was the one in charge—which was highly unlikely—it still made no sense.
How was it that I was living inside an RPG and nobody had told me my dice were cursed? I needed a new Dungeon Master, one who wouldn’t fuck me this badly, especially without any lube or prep.
“Char, baby, talk to us,” Theo coaxed, and I blinked at him.
Right. Priorities.
Although, I really did not want to explain to two heirs that not only was I buddies with a Necromancer, I was actually dating one.
Avoiding Theo’s gaze because I wasn’t sure I could deal with what I might see there when I told them, I looked at Logan instead, calculating the minimum necessary details to explain things.
His dark hair was a mess, like he’d run his hands through it one too many times. Or, you know, like he’d been beaten up and imprisoned. Like that time at his apartment, he was in jeans and a white shirt, except now, his clothes were in tatters. There were holes in his shirt in multiple places, and dark stains covered half of it.
I didn’t know whether the stains were blood or filth, and I wasn’t sure which was worse.
Blood is probably worse, Charisma.
His clear blue eyes were as cool as always, but this time, it felt more like a winter storm in the making than a frozen lake.
All in all, Logan looked rough. Dangerous.
“Erh… Right, so…” I started, stalling as I tried to come up with a way to explain the situation that wouldn’t put Bast in danger. I was fairly certain I could convince Theo that Bast wasn’t a threat, but I had no idea how Logan would react.
“What was it about a Necromancer, Charisma?” Logan asked again, his voice getting harsher the thinner his patience ran.
I really, really didn’t want to answer that.
Logan knowing about it put Bast in danger, and there was no knowing what he would do with the information, or how many people would die because of it.
Assuming we all got out of here, that was. But we were going to. I was sure of it.
We were three strong, intelligent mages. We’d find a way out, and if we didn’t, I was sure Bast, Blaze, Andres, Blair, and Christian would find a way to get me the hell out of here.
Hopefully before Cara got her way and finally had me killed.
That would be an unfortunate end.
“Char, baby, just tell him. Cara was talking about that Necromancer guy you are…friends with, right?”
I turned to face Theo so fast I almost broke my neck.
“You know?” I hissed the question, panicked. “How do you know?”
I’d been living with Bast for a while, but I’d never actually gone out with him on dates and stuff, except for that one time when we first met face-to-face. But other than that, Bast and I had only ever left the house together when he was driving us somewhere. There was no way Theo could’ve found out I was dating a Necromancer.
Unless…unless he’d seen Bast’s aura.
Fuckity fuck. I’d forgotten about that.
Theo blushed, his cheeks, ears, and neck becoming the color of his hair. He cast his gaze down so his bright green eyes wouldn’t meet mine, and he shuffled his weight from one foot to another.
Oh boy.
I narrowed my eyes on him.
“Theodore Louis Soulbinder.” I practically growled his full name in warning, putting my hands on my hips.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Logan cross his arms and his lips tilt up in amusement.
At least my interaction with Theo had distracted him for now.
Theo raised his hands up in surrender. His eyes finally met mine, even as his blush increased.
“Okay. You’re not going to like this, but I, ah…I may have seen you meeting up with a Necromancer once. Before…before your apartment exploded and we thought you’d died. I kind of forgot about it until now, honestly. But he was your friend, wasn’t he? I mean, you two looked…cozy.”
It was my turn to blush.
Goddess, I shouldn’t have been surprised Theo the stalker had seen that, yet somehow, I was. Based on what he was saying and what he wasn’t saying, I was pretty sure he at least saw Bast and me kissing.
Which…should be fine, because Bast and I were now in a relationship. Well, Bast, Andres and I, but details.
“Oh,” I said, feeling like my cheeks would burst into actual flames.
Theo’s eyes searched mine for something, and when he didn’t find whatever he was looking for, he cast them downwards again.
“Yeah. So, anyway. Is that the Necromancer she was talking about? Char…what the hell were you thinking, getting friendly with them? Have you forgotten what Augusto Tumba did to our people?” Even though he was reprimanding me, at least this time, he didn’t sound pissed off about the whole thing. In fact, there was clear concern in his voice.
I ran my hand through my hair, wanting to grip it and rip some of it out in the hopes that would help me deal.
“Listen, Theo…” I trailed off.
What should I even say? That it was none of his fucking business? That the whole war against the Necromancers was a scam? That what Augusto Tumba did was bad, terrible even, but that didn’t mean all Necromancers were inherently bad?
Would any of this change his mind in any way?
I doubted it.
Honestly, I didn’t even think his problem was the fact I’d been in “cahoots” with the Necromancers. If so, he could’ve reported me long ago. No, the problem with Theo was that…well, I was pretty sure every time he looked at me, he saw the Charisma of years ago, the Char he knew and loved, and the one who loved him. The Char that belonged to him.
But I was no longer that Char.
I was no longer Charisma Silverstorm. I was Charisma Carter now, and that changed everything.
“Does anyone care to enlighten me on what the fuck is going on?” Logan asked from behind me, and I jumped.
I’d been so focused on Theo, I’d forgotten about Logan.
Shit.
I rubbed my eyes, trying to think.
“Can we…can we sit down?” I asked, looking around the room and trying to find someplace even remotely comfortable to have this train wreck of a conversation.
Fuck it.
I plopped down on the cold, hard floor and stared expectantly at both guys, waiting for them to follow my lead.
This was far from ideal, especially considering we were supposed to be working together to figure a way out of this place. But if I knew these men at all, they wouldn’t cooperate with me until they had all the intel.
Clearly, they needed to sort out their priorities.
At least it didn’t seem like we would have to worry about being overheard, considering in the time we’d been down here, not a single soul had come anywhere close.
Except for Cara when she paid us that delightful visit that left me reeling.
From the looks of it, there was only the one cell down in this prison, and they trusted the bars enough to hold us without the need for guards or constant supervision, which might just be a blessing in disguise. The longer we went forgotten, the more chances we’d have of living to see another day.
Theo was the first to sit, but Logan stared down at the floor in disgust, probably trying to find someplace less gross to sit down. At last, he sighed and sat on the floor with as much dignity as could be expected from someone with torn, bloody, dirty clothes sitting in a cold stone cell in someone’s dungeon.
Still, he made it seem like he was sitting down at a conference with the world leaders about climate change or something.
Wh
en he caught me looking, he raised an eyebrow as if to say “Well…?”
“Okay. So. Quick crash course in the stuff happening in our world, and you cannot use this against them or me, or I swear to the Goddess, I’ll find a way to make your lives miserable. Yes, I am friends with a Necromancer. Yes, I’m aware of the danger if our society finds out. No, I don’t give a crap, and do you know why?” I asked, but I didn’t let them try to answer before I kept going, staring straight at the bars that were keeping us locked in. “I don’t give a crap because A, I’ve known this Necromancer for years and I trust him with my life; B, if he had wanted me dead or zombified, he could’ve done that by now; and C, the whole war with the Necromancers at the border of our city is a sham and I can’t believe neither of you know that.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the smallest flinch from Logan, so I whipped my head to him in surprise.
“You knew? This whole time… How?” I couldn’t help gaping at him.
Logan just raised his eyebrow in that infuriating way of his. The one that said “I’m so superior, hear me roar” and made me want to poke his eyebrow until he learned to stop looking so damn smug.
“You’re aware I’m the Nightshade heir, right?”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“No way! Here I thought you were just their butler! However will I live with myself now that I’ve found out about this great, well-kept secret?”
“You knew about Char and her Necromancer?” Theo asked from beside me, and I wanted to groan.
