by Ella M. Lee
“All the more reason to go,” Nicolas said, curling my hair idly around his fingers, sending shivers down my spine whenever he brushed the skin of my neck.
“Where?” I asked.
“Cancun?”
I tilted my head up to study his face. “That’s an odd choice.” Nicolas wasn’t one for relaxing on the beach or binge-drinking in clubs, and I’d never heard of him eating Mexican food. In fact, I wasn’t sure he’d even been to Mexico before. He didn’t speak Spanish—shocking, since he spoke practically everything else—and I couldn’t imagine he felt any connection to the culture.
“I want to get away with you…” he said. “And I also want to conduct a little business.”
The tiny bubble of hope that had been inflating in my chest popped abruptly. I’d wondered if Nicolas had noticed how anxious I was and wanted to help that by getting me away from clan business for a little while, but no—he wanted me to help with whatever plan he was concocting.
I swallowed my disappointment as quickly as I could, but not fast enough to avoid Nicolas noticing it.
He frowned. “Lamb, I do want this to be about making you happier, but you know I can’t resist killing multiple birds with one stone.”
“I do,” I agreed.
He touched my face, sliding his fingertips gently over my nose and cheek and chin. “There’s no one I’d rather run an operation with than you,” he said. “And I promise that I’ll make it worthwhile. A quick meeting, and then the rest of the weekend is ours. No magic, no clans, no worrying about conclaves.”
“Can we drive down to Tulum and see the ruins?”
Nicolas dragged me closer so that he could kiss me once, twice, and then a third time, each long and sensuous. “Whatever you want, always.”
I pulled back, unable to help my smile. I propped myself up on my elbows and asked, “So… what’s the business part of the trip?” Mexico sounded like Meteor to me; they owned most of the area.
“You’re not wrong,” Nicolas said. “Mark needs a few things from Ryan. I thought I could drop them off for him.”
Annoyance rolled through me, twisting my lips into an involuntary grimace. “I don’t want to see Mark.”
“I know, lamb.” Nicolas gave me an indulgent, amused smile. “You can stay at the resort. I won’t need much more than an hour to meet Mark. He’ll be in the area on other business, so it makes sense to arrange the drop-off nearby.”
I sighed. I didn’t really want to get anywhere near my pain-in-the-ass brother, nor did I want to walk into a city potentially crawling with Meteor magicians, but I had to admit that the warm weather and sandy beaches sounded like a salve to my overworked brain.
“Meteor hasn’t made trouble in Cancun for years,” Nicolas said. “I doubt anyone will even notice us. Xiao-Xiao, the Meteor pinnacle member who lives nearby, keeps the city locked down. Meteor makes money from businesses in the region. She’s crazy, but not crazy enough to risk upsetting that particular cash cow.”
“Fine,” I said. “But I’m going to stuff my face with marquesitas and try my best to ignore your little side venture while we’re there.” I could already taste the delicious melt-in-your-mouth crispy crepes filled with cheese, Nutella, and caramel.
“I will buy you a hundred of them, I promise,” Nicolas said, dragging me close once again and holding me against him. “Don’t worry, lamb. It will be a lovely break. Look forward to it, please.”
Although we’d only just arrived in Cancun, the tight coils of my chest had already loosened. Keisha had ported us to a secluded location, and Nicolas checked us into a cute little resort just outside the city. Our overwater bungalow was set at the end of a long row of them, with tall wooden dividers between us and our nearest neighbor, a large wooden deck with a hammock, a thatched roof, and worn wooden shingles on the walls. The wind carried the scent of salt and the cries of birds, and the azure water extended to the horizon.
Although there were other people staying here, and there was a restaurant and bar situated around the pool at the center of the resort, it was quiet right now.
No magic pressing into me constantly and suffusing the air, no list of a hundred things to get done as quickly as possible, no magical oddities or instabilities, no risk that someone would call my name and interrupt me with a task that would distract me and exhaust me for days.
Nicolas rolled our suitcases inside while I opened the sliding doors and windows to let the fresh air into our room. The bungalow was tastefully decorated in neutral colors with a huge king-sized bed, a sitting area, and a bathtub that overlooked the ocean.
“Let’s move here,” I said to Nicolas, shaking my hair loose and peeling out of my jeans and T-shirt to change into a bathing suit.
“Perhaps we should put the next clan house in a warm location,” he said, coming up behind me and letting his palms sweep around from my back to the cool skin of my midriff.
My knees went weak, and I swayed against him, desire for more of his attention rippling through me. “When is your meeting?” I choked out.
“Tonight at ten,” he said. “Let’s relax and have a nice dinner, I’ll make the drop, and then we have two days to ourselves without a care in the world.”
Nicolas made good on his promise of a nice dinner. Our meal, served to us on the deck of our bungalow, was a full spread of lime soup, beautifully rolled papadzules full of pork and cheese, a whole fish served in a banana leaf, and several other local delicacies that I wished I knew the names of. I couldn’t help but think that if Dan were alive, I’d beg him to learn how to make Yucatan food for me. He’d have appreciated the challenge.
Nicolas ordered us a flight of tequila, and we lingered over dessert and expensive drinks until it was time for Nicolas to leave for his meeting with Mark.
“Don’t tell him I’m here,” I said, a pang of cowardice running through me.
Nicolas gave me a sympathetic look, his lips twisting. “All right.”
Once he’d left, duffle bag in hand, I threw on a sundress and a sweater and headed for the bar. As interesting as the tequila had been, I was craving a good old-fashioned piña colada, all sweet and frozen and creamy.
The bar, a little open-air shack next to the restaurant with a sign reading “Jose’s” over the entrance, was empty aside from me, the bartender, and a couple at the far end—clearly lovebirds, drunk, with their noses pressed together as they murmured and giggled.
I took a seat, ordered my drink, and stared out at the pool, where another couple was cuddling as they watched the dark ocean.
Nicolas hadn’t asked me to come with him to the meeting, but I wondered now if I should have offered. I didn’t worry about him with Mark, but who knew what else could happen nearby. Low risk didn’t mean no risk, and I’d just sent the love of my life off on a mission by himself.
But Nicolas would have been at least a little offended if I questioned his ability to handle a simple exchange on his own, not that I would have been questioning him so much as simply expressing my worry.
I imagined Nicolas was a little sick of my worrying. He hadn’t said as much—ever—but he often offered me a firm reproach if I worried too much about basic tenets of safety and capability. Nicolas, whose self-confidence touched godlike levels, likely couldn’t fathom my sort of self-deprecation, even though he saw it in my head every single day.
I needed to be stronger around him.
I was only three sips into my drink when a couple I hadn’t seen yet entered the bar. The woman, dark haired and full bodied, pursed bright red lips at her male companion, whose muscles bulged under a dark-blue polo shirt and khaki shorts.
Meteor.
They weren’t hiding their magic. On the contrary, it hung around them in flashy rivulets, magenta with flecks of gold, powerful but not overwhelmingly so.
My eyes went to the block-sync ring on my right hand, currently darkening all my magic so that it couldn’t be detected by others, before returning to the Meteors.
The woman’s small eyes had passed over the couple in the corner and landed on me instead.
I forced a polite smile onto my face, the kind you’d give any stranger who accidentally meets your eye, before looking away.
A million fucking resorts in the world, a million fucking resorts on the Yucatan Peninsula, and we’d somehow ended up at one with a couple of Meteors nearby. It wasn’t like there were that many Meteor magicians in the world. And there were even fewer Lightning magicians, by orders of magnitude.
What an awful coincidence.
It didn’t appear as though the woman recognized me, but her gaze lingered on me for longer than I found comfortable as she and the man seated themselves at one of several high-top tables closer to the pool.
Nicolas and I should probably leave the resort, just to be safe. Maybe he could book us into another hotel in the area.
“Can I take this drink back to my room?” I asked the bartender. He nodded and waved his hand as though he couldn’t care less.
I threw down some cash and left as casually as I could manage, sauntering out of the shack and around the pool as though I were enjoying a relaxing stroll, taking sips of my drink while debating whether I should text Nicolas immediately or wait for him to get back.
The hair on the back of my neck tingled as I hurried down the boardwalk toward our bungalow. Magic. My own power flared out, fidgeting, looking to defend me. I closed my eyes for a second, calming it and focusing on what was behind me.
The two Meteors were definitely following me.
Get inside, text Nicolas, get inside, text Nicolas… The words reverberated through me.
Adrenaline heightened my senses, and now I could hear slight movement on the path behind me. I unlocked the door, threw myself over its threshold, and closed it with a snap. After tossing my drink so hard onto the table that it toppled over, I lunged for my phone, typing as quickly as I could.
Get back now. Trouble with Meteors.
I kicked off my heels just as a knock sounded on the front door. I waited.
“Room service,” a male voice called through the wood.
Yeah, right.
I drew myself up, activating a shield, letting Lightning bloom around me and crackle against my skin. Immediately, I relaxed with that power at my fingertips. I didn’t want to have to use it, but it was immensely comforting to have it inside me.
Leave, I thought hopefully. Because the other option was likely a standoff or fight of some kind. And if Nicolas got here and saw two Meteors threatening me… Well, there would be blood.
Not something we needed before a conclave.
“Open the door,” the male voice growled, and his voice sent another spike of adrenaline through me.
After another few seconds of refusing to answer, the door splintered off its hinges, blasting into the room and right at me. It clattered off my shield, and I stepped aside.
The man came through the door first, the gleam in his eye now feral and determined. The woman was right behind him. She’d tied up her long hair, and her mouth was twisted into a sneer, her feet already making their way into a fighting stance.
I held up my hands. “You really don’t want to do this.”
“Do you think you get a say in what we’re going to do to you?” the woman asked, letting out a peal of laughter. “You shouldn’t have come here alone. It’s not like anyone will miss another dumb girl disappearing on her bender in Mexico.”
Shock rang through me. They didn’t know who I was. They weren’t here to taunt a magician; they were here to fuck with the easy target of a single, mortal woman.
The man sidled closer, and I took a step back, position my rear leg for better balance.
“So… this is a big misunderstanding,” I said. “I’m not some girl.” Slowly, I took off my block-sync ring and tossed it behind me onto the bed, letting my magic bloom. “I’m from Lightning, and I really don’t think you want to pick a fight with another clan right now. I’m not here to fuck with you guys, so how about you don’t fuck with me, and we all go home without injuries?”
The woman laughed harder. “Lightning? What are there, ten of you in the world? The two of us could wipe out your clan. You think we’re going to back off because you say so?”
I rolled my eyes. Typical Meteor types. Too confident for their own good. But I could use that.
“Leave,” I said. I didn’t want to make a scene—to hurt them or destroy property or draw attention to us.
The woman took a step closer. My magic flared, giving off static electricity so thick that it choked the air. I took a deep breath, letting my power explore the area. There was a lot of heavy wetness here; rain was coming. With a single blink, I gathered an electrical charge above us.
The man and the woman finally seemed to realize they were dealing with a real magician. Although they weren’t familiar with Lightning magic, they could sense the shift in the air and the weather. They’d drawn shields around themselves, but not shields that would be any match for a commander.
“Last warning,” I said, making a shooing motion, hoping I radiated calm confidence. “Get lost.”
The woman’s incredulous laugh turned into a snarl as she lunged at me.
Before she’d taken two steps, I clapped my hands together in front of me, drawing a thick bolt of lightning down and shooting it at her.
Her shield shattered in a colorful display of red sparks, and the force of my magic threw her back against the wall, knocking her out cold.
Please don’t let her be dead, I thought, focusing my gaze on the man.
His eyes bulged, his skin flushing, his tense muscles straining as he looked between me and his partner. With a roar, he threw himself at me. I stepped around his clumsy attack, striking out with a jab to his throat that sent him reeling and choking.
With one arm, he groped for me, the other protecting his vulnerable neck.
His shield was stronger than the woman’s, but not by much. When his arm got within reach, I grabbed his wrist, flinging him down to the ground, shooting magic so hard into him that his whole body went taut, his veins bulging.
Yet still he struggled to his feet. This one was strong.
I hurled myself across the room, hoping to set up another lightning attack, but I needed a moment of calm to build the charge and draw it down.
I didn’t get it.
Faster than I would have thought possible, he ricocheted across the room and grabbed me around the neck. My shield shocked him over and over, but his rage seemed to drag him through the pain.
With all the strength I could muster, I kneed him in the groin, stepping back to deliver a kick square to his chest, the force nearly breaking my foot.
But it dropped him, thankfully.
With the precious moments his disorientation allowed me, I pulled together another charge, electrifying the air above us, gathering the force of the strike.
I clapped, and lightning flew down to meet me. I opened my palms again and sent it at the man. He groaned as the bolt struck him—only a small tendril, really—and fell back, his eyes rolling up into his head.
My frantic gaze found the woman, still unconscious by the door.
Well, I had warned them.
I was just spinning to grab my phone when movement caught my eye, and Nicolas burst through the destroyed entryway, his shield drawn up around him, his intense gaze surveying the scene.
I took a deep breath, my fingers shaking slightly. “Hey,” I said, far more calmly than I intended.
Nicolas’s concerned expression slowly cleared into a glorious, wolfish smile as he took in the two disabled Meteors. He spread his palms, his eyes glowing. “I’m here to… save you?” he said, one brow raised.
Laughter burst out of me, and Nicolas joined me, his broad smile proud and satisfied.
“What do we do with these two?” I asked, toeing the man while Nicolas checked the woman’s pulse.
“I’ll call Mark. I doubt he’s left the area yet.”
/>
“Did you manage to get the drop done?”
“Yes. I received your text just as I was leaving. I raced back.” He smiled again. “Although I am glad you didn’t need me.”
I couldn’t help but blush under his obvious enjoyment of my success. “Do you think we should… I don’t know, question them? I don’t think they knew who I was, but I suppose we can’t be too safe.”
“Which one did you do less damage to?” Nicolas asked.
“The man,” I said, pointing to his sprawled form. “I hit the woman with way too much power. I’m glad it didn’t stop her heart.”
Nicolas crouched by him. Nicolas’s shield was still up, purplish and sparking around him. He patted the man’s cheek several times, eliciting a pained, hoarse groan. After another few harder slaps, the man’s eyes opened.
When they fell on Nicolas’s face, they went wide.
“I suppose Fiona didn’t warn you who else was with her?” Nicolas asked coldly.
The man simply gurgled, his eyes bulging.
“I told them to leave,” I said. “I didn’t want to attack.”
Nicolas tilted his head at the man. “Let me see if I have this right. You”—he poked the man’s shoulder, gaining a flinch—“followed Fiona here, ignored her warnings to leave her alone, and provoked her into defending herself?”
“I—” the man began.
“Never mind,” Nicolas said, waving a lazy hand. “I don’t care.” His gaze sharpened on the man, his eyes narrowing in disdain. “Lay a hand on any member of Lightning again, and I will hunt you down, break all the bones in your body, and drown you in your own blood. And I will do so happily. You know who I am.”
The man’s eyes darted between us several times as he wheezed. If he wanted to say anything, he didn’t get the chance before Nicolas delivered an open-hand strike to his neck that knocked him out again.
Nicolas came to stand in front of me, surveying me carefully. He touched the side of my neck where the man had grabbed me, and I flinched. His breathing went shallow, angry and tense. “Are you all right?” he asked softly.
