Magic Unbound: A New Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Touched By Magic: Dragon Book 1)

by Ashley Meira

  Sighing wistfully, I sunk back into my seat. “I remember how simple things were before I met you. Jeffery was an uncomplicated frat bro douche, and all rich people were either extremely weird or just plain rude.”

  “You’re ‘rich people’ now,” he pointed out, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

  “And it’s extremely weird. At least no one outside my friends is aware. Wait.” I sat up. “Symeon knows. He’s going to tell everyone. Crap. I’m going to have to adopt a small dog and wear giant, flowery hats now, aren’t I?”

  Adam burst into laughter as I groaned into my hands. “Consider it a uniform. Wear it while you use your money for good.”

  I gave him a petulant look and grabbed a muffin, letting out a content groan as I bit into it. Banana nut: food of the gods. “Maybe I’ll pay to fix the Black Citadel’s food. Seriously, the stuff they serve is absolute crap. Surprised there aren’t more instances of cannibalism in there.”

  The arm around me tensed as the smile on Adam’s face faded. If I still had my powers, I was sure I’d have felt his magic droop at my words. The memory of his soft evergreen magic hit me hard. If Bane wasn’t able to help me get my powers back, I’d need to stock up on those air fresheners people hung in cars and make Adam wear them as a necklace.

  “Do you—“ he stammered. “My dad exerted what what influence he could, but— If you want to talk about it….”

  I watched Adam tug a hand through his hair and sigh. Seeing big, bad Adam Pierce flustered and unsure how to speak to me would have been precious in any other circumstance, but now it was grating on my nerves.

  “I’m not a glass doll, Adam,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “It’s not like I was tortured or anything. Relax.”

  He didn’t. And neither did I. The turn our conversation had taken put me on edge. Not to mention how odd it felt to slide a heavy word like “torture” into what was supposed to be a casual conversation.

  After a weighty pause, Adam nodded and pressed a stiff kiss to my forehead. “Still, I’m here for you if you need to let anything out.”

  Those words should have made me feel all gooey inside and caused butterflies to swarm around in my stomach. To be fair, they did, but the pleasant feelings were lost under a hot slice of frustration. What made it worse was that it wasn’t Adam’s fault. He was just concerned. I was the problem. I was the one who had a chip on my shoulder, the one who let everyone’s pity make me feel two inches tall.

  And I was taking it out on him.

  I looked up at him, the displeasure in my eyes poorly concealed. His storm gray gaze was calm as it bore into me, and everything started sliding into place.

  He knew.

  He understood how I felt about people feeling sorry for me, whether it was sympathy or pity. He knew I hated how it made me reflect on my own ineptitude. He knew acting like this would make me take it out on him.

  And he was letting me. He was doing it on purpose.

  With a low growl, I lunged for him. My fingers threaded into his hair as I crashed my lips against his. Our teeth clacked together, but I pressed on. I tugged hard, my fingers now tangled in his dark curls, and swung myself over to straddle his lap. He was bigger than I remember, wider, and my thighs strained to keep me steady. His hands were warm as he gripped my waist to help, his lips firm against mine.

  Firm, but compliant. He let me take the lead, let me take out all my pent up frustrations from this day, this month. I pulled back long enough to catch a glimpse of his bright gray eyes, now darkened from our efforts. His submission faded when I dove back in, lips meeting his with crushing force. His fingers dug into my hip and his teeth grazed against my skin.

  My lips were tingling. Blood rushed through my veins. Only the soft exhales he let out punctured the steady thrum of my deafening heartbeat. I felt like I was on fire. Adam’s body was just as hot, but he didn’t seem to care. His grip kept tightening, his teeth digging into the exposed flesh of my neck as he continued pulling me closer.

  Soon, the burning became painful. Too painful. The need for air overwhelmed us both, and we pulled away with an audible gasp. Our breaths fanned the other’s face, and I was surprised there wasn’t a thick cloud of steam between us. Once our breathing began to calm, Adam let out a wry chuckle and pressed his forehead against mine.

  “Should’ve taken the bedroom.”

  “And deprive Fiona of her sleep?” I panted, amazed I could even form words. “She’d kill us.”

  “Yeah, but we’d die happy.”

  I let out a breathy laugh, but my heart wasn’t it in. Speaking about killing and death brought my mind back to the destruction Seraphine was raining down upon an entire continent. It was impossible to stay in the mood with all this doom and gloom hanging over my head. Nicholas and his plans were one giant cock block, and the sooner we got rid of them, the sooner things could go back to normal.

  “Shame they didn’t allow conjugals,” I joked. “Though I guess you were too busy, anyway.”

  “I’d have made time,” he said almost too quickly before sighing and leaning back. “It doesn’t make sense. How can she be so hard to find? She literally creates deadly storms three times a week. But her patterns are erratic. Hell, there are no patterns. She’s constantly zigzagging around. And if we defeat her, then what? The devastation she’s wrought will take years to fix. Not to mention the damage control the Council will need to work on the non-magical community. If they catch a whiff that supernatural beings exist, we could end up at war.”

  His tirade caught me off guard, and I struggled to find the right words. You’d think I’d be used to my social ineptitude, but no. “They could be friendly?”

  He shot me an unimpressed look before closing his eyes. “Maybe. If one of our kind hasn’t been wreaking havoc on them the way Seraphine has. Like her or not—”

  “Not. Definitely not.”

  “—She’s one of us. Magical.”

  “‘The master’s plans are coming to fruition. Soon, everything will be upheaved’,” I recited, racking my brain for anything I might have missed during Diana’s visit.

  Adam’s eyes snapped open. “What?”

  “Nicholas’ plans are—”

  “I got that part,” he said, frowning. “What makes you say that? Why did you call him master? Did you remember something?”

  Once he was finished with his rapid fire questions, I took a deep breath and recounted my meeting with Diana the week before. I told him about how she snuck in using our mother’s name, how Nicholas — through Thomas’ connections — was the reason I’d been kept for so long…. I told him everything, though I lost my nerve when I got to the part where we discussed Gadot and Charlotte. At his urging, I continued, but the angry lines that formed on his face made me regret it. By the time I finished with her warning for us to hide, he’d calmed, if only a little.

  It wasn’t until we’d settled into a long pause that I realized I was still straddling him. A fun position for, well, fun, but an awkward one for the state we were in. I slid off him without a word and curled back up in my seat. He was still leaning back, eyes closed and covered by his hands. My discarded muffin was on the table. I grabbed it, picking at the edges as I watched Adam process everything.

  “Can we trust her?” he finally asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said as the muffin suddenly became the most interesting thing in my world.

  A large hand tilted my chin up. “Sophia.”

  “I want to,” I admitted with a heavy sigh. “I know who she works for, and I know what she’s done. Well, some of what she’s done. But she’s my sister, and she risked her life to visit me. Plus, she’s helped before. And yes, I know all of that, including the visit, could be some elaborate scheme on Nicholas’ part. What she says fits, though, doesn’t it? And—”

  “Okay, okay,” he said softly, the way a parent would speak to a hysterical child. I didn’t call him out on it — or on the equally placating look he gave me as he stroked my c
heek. “Honestly, I don’t know where I stand. She’s too much of a wildcard right now, and I don’t know enough to make a decision.”

  “But the odds aren’t in her favor,” I said, schooling my expression.

  His shoulders dropped and he gave me an imploring look. “I could lie—”

  “Don’t. Not to me. Not ever.”

  His lips quirked up and he leaned over to press his lips against mine, the impact all too chaste. “First things first, we meet with Bane, who is another wildcard.”

  “You just don’t like him because he doesn’t take your crap.”

  “How could I dislike him for that?” he said, quirked up lips stretching into a mischievous grin. “It’s what drew me to you in the first place.”

  I scowled to hide my smile. “Ass.”

  “Your ass.”

  “My ass is going to sleep before I decide to kill you.” I made my way to the large couch in the back, excitement bubbling up within me. I’d really missed this thing. “It’s been so long since I’ve slept in a real bed.”

  “That is a couch,” Adam called, almost managing to hide the guilt in his voice.

  “A couch that is more comfortable than my bed at home. I’m going to fill an entire room with these one day.” I kicked my shoes off and plopped down onto the leathery paradise before shooting Adam an expectant look. “There’s room for two, you know.”

  He raised a brow but had already kicked off his shoes by the time I’d finished speaking. Unfortunately, he stopped stripping there and sauntered over to me. At least his t-shirt was tight enough for me to see the rippling of his muscles as he moved. There was no way he didn’t get those custom made for his body. I made a note to ask him about it when I could restrain myself. The smug remarks I’d have to endure about how I ogled him before he answered would definitely get him punched in the face.

  Just as I was about to reach for him, he stepped past me toward the linen closet and pulled out a blanket. The smirk he shot me as I pouted was enough to make me reconsider sharing the couch. Too bad my body immediately curled against his when he laid down, freakin’ traitor. I’d fed it and now it was snuggling up against him. Adam wrapped the blanket around us and nuzzled against my cheek in a way that sapped all the bitterness from my body.

  Before I could ask where he got the nerve to be so damn cute, he kissed my cheek and said, “You are responsible for any embarrassing pictures your sister takes of us.”

  Chapter Eight

  Plitvice Lakes National Park was still the winter wonderland I remembered.

  It shouldn’t have surprised me. I was the one who’d gone on about only being gone for a month, but I was still taken aback by the lack of change. I expected the trees to have turned a lush green and for all the flowers to be in bloom.

  That wish was granted — in a sense — when we stepped through the hidden barrier within the park and entered the dragon sanctuary.

  The air felt fresher here, cleaner, and I took it in by the lungful as I looked at the forest before me. My first visit here, I thought a bit more humidity was all this place needed to become a tropical rainforest. The idea struck me again as we walked here, but this time with a sense of dread. I could barely handle a California winter — how was I supposed to handle that?

  Thankfully, the sanctuary wasn’t the sweaty inferno I’d imagined it to be. It was warmer than before, sure. It had to be for all the dragons living here, but I wasn’t screaming in agony and trying to rip my shirt off before heatstroke got me.

  Other than the spike in temperature, nothing had changed. Rainbow-colored plants still covered the entire area, their vibrant overgrowth stemmed slightly by the tall trees sprawled out before us. Their vibrant green leaves shone under the bright sun.

  There was only the slight rustle of leaves swaying in the wind and the quiet rushing of the sanctuary’s high waterfalls to fill the silence. The clear water flowed from the peaks’ pinkish mountains all the way down to our level. I pictured the lakes they emptied into and remembered our first encounter with the dragons that lived here.

  As if he’d read my mind, Adam said, “Let’s take a path that doesn’t lead near any lakes this time.”

  I followed after him, holding back a laugh at the memory of Adam fending off the enraged dragoness while her babies tackled me to the ground for snuggles. They’d been precious, even if their rough scales had taken a bit of skin off. Their mother had been less friendly — to Adam, at least — and I found myself thankful that her bursts of lightning hadn’t set the nearby plants ablaze.

  We wandered through the thick foliage. My sister and I took in the pretty plants with gleaming eyes while Adam took the lead, his senses primed to pick up encroaching danger. Occasionally, Fiona would take a look around, her muscles taut with anticipation. I should have followed suit, but I couldn’t help the comfort I felt in this place.

  I thought it would have faded with my Fireborn powers, but the dragon sanctuary still felt like a haven. My first trip here had overloaded my senses with an influx of magic from all the life surrounding me. And while I could no longer sense the magic emanating from the plants and trees we were traipsing through, I still felt protected under their shadow.

  That wasn’t to say I didn’t miss the pleasant thrum of magic the flora had let out — or the vibrant scents emanating from their leaves. Once again, being in a familiar place without my powers felt like walking around without one of my limbs, but I tried to find comfort in the sanctuary’s beauty — and in the hope that Bane could help me restore my gift.

  “Surprised we haven’t seen any dragons,” Fiona said. “Those babies must be huge by now.”

  I arched a brow. “They were barely two months old the last time we were here.”

  “Have you forgotten how big a dragon is? They must grow fast.”

  “Is that how it was with Damien?” I asked Adam, a teasing smirk on my lips. “He learned to shift and those growing pains went over nine thousand?”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “The only pain growing up was mine because of him.”

  “So, no giant growth spurt that turned him into an awkward teenager with gangly limbs?”

  “Damien is shameless. He doesn’t have an awkward bone in his body. Besides, I’m taller.”

  “Never said you weren’t,” Fiona said, her voice turning coy. “Unless he was taller at some point. Was baby brother a head taller than you once upon a time and you never lived it down?”

  “You better hope a dragon doesn’t snatch you up. I’m not flying after you,” Adam said.

  “I’ll just shrink out of its grip.”

  “You guys are a lot friendlier than I remember,” I said, looking between them. “It’s weird.”

  Fiona grinned. “Jealous?”

  “Weirded out,” I repeated. “Are we going the right way?”

  Fiona shrugged, but the smug look she gave me made it clear she’d picked up on my clumsy change of topic. “Don’t know. Bane met me at the entrance when I visited. I tried to memorize the path, but I think he led me around the long way on purpose. Sucks, really. I could’ve opened a portal if I knew the way.”

  “What about when Adam came storming back in?”

  He gave me an exasperated look. “I didn’t—”

  “You totally did,” Fiona said. “And he met us halfway. Maybe he has wards to alert him of strangers?”

  “It’s possible,” Adam said, still glowering at her. “But wouldn’t he have come to meet us if that was the case?”

  “Maybe the dragons saw you and told him?” I asked.

  “Could explain why he hasn’t come.” Fiona craned her neck toward the sky. “I haven’t seen any dragons flying around so far. Is that normal? There were always a few in the sky before.”

  I looked at my wrist, then frowned and pulled out my phone to check the time. “It’s early. Maybe they’re still sleeping?”

  “Should we yell Bane’s name out until he finds us?” Fiona asked, her emerald eyes twinkling with mi
schief. What a fairy.

  “Let’s not piss off the guy who can help me.” I pulled her down our makeshift path. “He could know we’re here and is waiting for us at his place, though that feels kind of weird, too.”

  Adam nodded. “Bane doesn’t seem like the type to do that. He’d meet us far before we found his home.”

  “So, are we lost?” Fiona asked. “Have you led us down the completely wrong path?”

  He frowned. “You could have taken the lead.”

  “You’ve been here more than I have.”

  “Once more,” he said flatly. “I remember his home was north-west from the entrance, which is where we’ve been going. We might just need to go farther. Which is very likely, considering how impatient you are.”

  “Hey!” Fiona huffed. “You’re calling us impatient?”

  “Just you.”

  “Why, I oughta—”

  Before I could break them up, a loud, piercing roar did the job for me. The streams of light filtering through the copse of trees vanished. The pale dirt below us turned black as we were robbed of all light. A huge gust of wind slammed into us, nearly knocking me off my feet. It brought along the smell of meat and blood, causing me to reach for my sword.

  Another roar rang out, and the eclipse above us vanished. We had a split second to look around before the trees behind us vanished in a cloud of dust. I staggered back, fingers clenching the hilt of my blade. A giant, scaly foot appeared through the dust, its claws digging into the ruined remains of the trees it had crushed.

  Two red, slitted eyes glared down at us as the hulking black dragon raised its head up to screech once more. The vibrations made my legs numb, but I managed to stay standing. A quick look around revealed no baby dragons nor anything that resembled a nest. We didn’t appear to be intruding, so why was this dragon so mad?

  Another screech sounded off in reply, followed by another burst of wind to our left. A sand-colored dragon with a long neck appeared, its body dipping down into a pouncing position. Sharp green eyes bore into mine before the dragon lunged toward me. I leapt back, its toothy maw slamming shut behind me with such force I felt its wind. The black dragon swiped at Adam and Fiona, who scrambled away from the crushing blow.