Chaotic Magic: A Snarky Paranormal Romance (Modern Magic Book 6)

by Nicole Hall

  Koi pecked at Samantha’s knee, jostling them both, so Samantha put some effort into releasing her bad mood. The last thing she wanted was to upset her mode of transportation. She turned, dug a small loaf of bread out of the pack from Catia, and broke it in half.

  The trail widened to fit both of them side by side, so Samantha pictured what she wanted and Koi chirped happily. She quickly ate her half of the bread as they sped up until Samantha’s leg nearly brushed against Luc’s. He glanced at her and raised a brow, which prompted Samantha to blurt out the first thing that crossed her mind as she held out the other half of the bread to him.

  “Why would you be interested in an imp? I’d think you’d know as much as anyone about imps.” She must have caught him off-guard because his smile faded, but he took the bread as he answered.

  “I’m more interested in how the imp got here. Our realms are barely connected anymore, which is a good thing for humans because my kind are fond of slaves.”

  “That’s cheery. You’ll have to ask Charlotte, Keely’s sister-in-law. She’s the one who ended up with the imp.”

  Luc ate his bread and stared straight ahead as they bumped along, for once seemingly not interested in talking. Well, too bad. Samantha had other questions, and he was a captive audience.

  “Why fire-caller?”

  He glanced over briefly, then lifted his hand. A small flaming sphere appeared in his palm. She felt the heat of his power, and when he closed his hand into a fist, the orange glow of his magic remained a few seconds after the fire disappeared.

  “All ifrit use elemental magic, fire in particular, and the aforementioned slaves gave us the name fire-caller when they spoke among themselves. It stuck.”

  Samantha nodded, though he wasn’t looking her way. That explained why her dousing ability had worked so well with his magic. Her power came from elemental magic as well, rare for a human according to the mage who’d trained her, except hers manifested as ice. Fire and ice. She shook her head. Fate was playing a dangerous game with them.

  They rode along in relative silence for a while, with only the occasional chirp from the quinats to keep them company. Samantha felt her eyelids begin to get heavy as the rhythmic movement lulled her into relaxation.

  The third time she had to blink her eyes open, Luc tapped her ankle with his. “Look behind us.”

  Samantha carefully shifted in her seat to glance back. At first, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary for a forest full of giant plants, but then she noticed the fuzzy tail hopping from branch to branch above the trail. It looked suspiciously like the squirrel-thing, and as she watched, three more tails became visible in the dappled light.

  She turned to Luc. “How long have they been there?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure. They have so little magic that I didn’t notice until one of them got ahead of himself in my peripheral vision.”

  After another quick look, Samantha sat facing forward again. “I’m pretty sure there’s more than four back there.”

  “I agree. With the number of creatures following you, I’m beginning to suspect you’re a fairy tale princess.”

  Samantha sighed. “Animals like me. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy living in a busy metropolitan area. Significantly less Peter Piper adventures.”

  “If I were the hunting sort, you’d be a valuable companion.”

  She stared at him aghast. “You can’t kill them. They’re trying to help. What’s wrong with you?”

  “It was only an idle thought. I have no intention of harming your menagerie.” Luc grinned at her, and Samantha couldn’t hold back the answering smile.

  The rest of the afternoon passed quickly with Samantha genuinely enjoying their quiet conversation and attempting to ignore the growing horde of tireless rodents chasing them. As the sun sank below the horizon, the quinats slowed to a walk.

  The slight breeze through the trees got distinctly chillier as darkness fell. Samantha hunched in her saddle, trying to give the wind as few points of contact as possible. “We should find somewhere to make camp.”

  Luc nodded absently and led them past the shiny black stones that marked the edge of the trail. The trees let in plenty of moonlight to guide their way, so they didn’t have to go far to find another small clearing.

  Samantha slid off of Koi and groaned. Why were her legs so sore from sitting for hours and hours? The little bond assured her that Koi had no intention of wandering off, so she left the reins looped over the saddle. When she turned, Luc had already created a fire in the center of the clearing.

  “Aren’t you worried the fire might spread?”

  “No. I have control of the flames. Fire-caller, remember.”

  “What happens when you fall asleep?”

  “I set a minor ward around it to be sure it stays contained.” He busied himself getting comfortable on the ground using his pack as a pillow, but he didn’t close his eyes.

  Samantha sat on the other side of the fire, then jumped at the chittering noise in the trees behind her.

  Luc grinned. “I believe that’s your squirrel army retiring for the night.”

  After a long look into the darkness, she lay down facing him. She didn’t feel tired, but her legs and butt ached less in a horizontal position. A cool wind blew against her back. Samantha tucked herself tighter to conserve body heat and refused to meet Luc’s eyes. Too bad Catia hadn’t included blankets with their provisions.

  Her mind spun with questions and doubts about their current predicament. How many more nights? What would they find when they got to Pasheen? Should they be doing everything they could to get home instead of searching for Keris?

  She scooted closer to the fire and tried to get Luc to open up about his past to distract herself. “Did you have a family in your realm?”

  He waited so long to answer that she thought he’d chosen to ignore her, but then his voice drifted across the clearing. “No. Ifrit don’t have traditional family units. I had parents, certainly, but I don’t remember them.”

  Samantha kept her voice low in the hopes he’d keep talking. “No doting wife pining for your return?”

  He laughed low. “No. Pairings were about power, and only lasted until someone stronger came along.”

  “You don’t sound like you miss it much.”

  “I don’t. That world was rife with betrayal.”

  She snorted. “So is this one.”

  A cold gust pushed Samantha as close as she dared to the fire. Her front wasn’t too bad, but her back muscles had started to stiffen up. She rolled over to try to spread the warmth a little. This was why she never went camping. Sleeping outside sucked.

  “How did your mother die?” Luc’s quiet question caught her off guard.

  Samantha stared unseeing at the darkness in front of her. She didn’t talk about her mom, but Luc had answered her questions. He didn’t like to discuss his past any more than she did. Avoiding the subject hadn’t helped, maybe talking about it would.

  “Hit and run. She liked to take a short cut to the bodega by running across Third. One night, she didn’t notice the car with its headlights off. They didn’t even slow down.” Just as she’d seen it in her vision.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Me too.” Even with the fire, Samantha couldn’t get warm enough to stop shivering.

  She rolled over and caught Luc’s gaze. The pain and regret from the anniversary of her mom’s death had been the impetus for the one and only time she’d let her guard down all the way with him. He’d found her in the bar of his hotel—not an accident—mostly drunk and threatening the bartender. Not one of her finest hours. She’d been hurting and needed to lash out.

  In hindsight, she realized Luc had offered himself as a safe target for her anger. He’d accepted her insults, teased her, walked her home, then when he’d tried to leave, she’d used her magic to lock the door. By then, she’d sobered enough to realize what she was doing, but the alcohol had failed to make her forge
t. She’d had a sneaking suspicion that Luc would succeed.

  She’d been right.

  Samantha had tried to regret that night, but she hadn’t been able to fully convince herself. Across the fire, Luc raised a brow and opened his arms to her. Samantha chewed her lip in indecision, then gave in. It was stupid to torture herself because of how much she wanted to curl up next to him.

  The solemn look on his face helped. If he’d been smirking at her, she’d probably have stubbornly refused to sleep rather than give him the satisfaction of admitting she needed him. She grabbed her pack and joined him.

  Luc stretched his arm out, letting her use his bicep as a pillow. “It’s not that cold out here, why are you shivering?”

  Samantha pressed her back against his warmth and sighed in contentment. “You’re a living furnace, and you can say that to me with a straight face?”

  “I’d like to point out you can’t see my face at the moment, but feel free to continue avoiding the question.”

  Her eyes closed as her body finally relaxed. “I get cold when I’m tired. It’s like my body forgets how to regulate temperature or something. Being outside makes it worse.”

  His body heated her from behind, and his magic slowly seeped over her like a blanket, making the hard ground at least tolerable. One more night, she promised herself. Tomorrow, she’d find another option for their sleeping arrangement. Her bond with Koi told her the birds were tucked up just inside the trees, maybe they’d welcome a wayward human.

  The stubborn part of her insisted on putting up a token resistance to sleep. As if the instant comfort were somehow a betrayal of herself. Luc tucked his hand under the hem of her shirt and spread his fingers across her belly. The skin on skin contact quivered when his magic met her shields, but a gentle pressure from him encouraged her to lower them.

  “Let me in, love. I can help with your pain.”

  His magic seeped into her, easing the ache in her muscles and the minor throbbing in the back of her head that she’d barely noticed. Even better, the inevitable flood of grief and guilt subsided. As if from far away, the connection from the bargain flared, but Samantha felt too good to examine the cause.

  “You’re way better than tequila,” she mumbled.

  He chuckled. “I have fond memories of the last time you indulged in tequila.”

  Warmth that had nothing to do with his magic rushed through her, setting off all kinds of fun nerve endings. “I’m here to sleep, and nothing more.”

  He nuzzled her hair. “Sleeping only. I promise.”

  The prickle of magic from their bargain followed her as she dozed off with him buried deep inside her shields.

  Daylight woke her, along with the chattering of what sounded like dozens of squirrels. Samantha peeked out to see a single squirrel with leopard spots watching her from a few feet away. It flicked its tail, then darted away when she yawned.

  At some point in the night, she’d rolled over. Luc lay on his back, both arms wrapped around her, with one hand cradling the back of her head. Her cheek rested against his chest where she could feel the steady beat of his heart. At least ifrit seemed to have all the same parts as humans.

  Her chill from last night had disappeared, replaced with cozy warmth. Samantha shut her eyes again to enjoy the feeling. If nothing else, she should consider keeping Luc around to replace her heated blanket. The thought made her laugh silently, and Luc surprised her by threading his fingers through her hair.

  “What’s so funny?”

  When Samantha glanced up, his eyes remained closed, but a smile tipped up his lips. The truth slipped out before she could stop herself. “I was just thinking how you’d make a great bed warmer.”

  Ah, there was the smirk she’d expected the night before. “All you have to do is ask, love.”

  Her half-assed assurance that she’d find another sleeping option came back to her. This was the part where she had to distance herself or risk succumbing even further. “Thanks, but I think I’ve got it from here.”

  Samantha climbed off his chest to stand, and he opened his eyes to squint up at her. “Since you’ve crushed my dreams of serving your every need in the bedroom, I don’t suppose you have any coffee in that bag.”

  She shook her head, feeling strangely refreshed after a night spent on the ground. “That would be fabulous, but no. I haven’t yet perfected the ability to create coffee out of nothing.”

  Luc sat up and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’d like to put in an official request for a bed at an inn when we reach the next town. Elders be damned.”

  “If we can figure out a way to fit in, we could probably work that out.” Samantha lifted her shirt to her nose and sniffed it. “I could use a shower and a change of clothes too.”

  A high-pitched squeak from the trees above her made Samantha look up, and a sense of unease caused her heart to race. Several dozen squirrels with leopard spots sat in the branches watching them. “Luc…”

  “I saw them. Did you notice their offering?” He stood and nodded his head toward the clear space on the opposite side of him from where she’d been laying.

  Except it wasn’t clear. Like the morning before, a neat pile of nuts and berries sat within arm’s reach of him.

  Samantha’s brows rose. “I guess I was wrong about needing provisions to last us the whole journey. Do you think these are safe to eat?”

  He crossed his arms and considered the pile. “We could always try feeding it to Sherlock, but that wouldn’t guarantee safety for human consumption.”

  Samantha smacked his arm. “That’s not funny. Sherlock is doing a fabulous job, and you should be grateful for her.”

  Luc grinned. “Finally accepted her name, have you?”

  She gave him a mock scowl and tried to smack him again, but he caught her hand this time.

  “So violent today.” He kissed her fingertips and released her to take care of extinguishing the fire.

  Koi wandered over, curious about their interest, and sniffed the pile. Samantha tried to shoo her away, but the bird was having none of it. She chirped and shifted her big body to the side, knocking Samantha back a few steps, then picked a couple of nuts out delicately with her beak.

  The bird trilled and went to town on the rest of the pile while Samantha stood with her hands on her hips. “Well, hopefully the squirrels weren’t trying to poison me this time.”

  Luc glanced over from repacking his bag. “This time?”

  “I once had a normal squirrel drop some poisonous berries in my tea, but it probably wasn’t malicious.”

  Luc nodded somberly. “The squirrels in Manhattan are aggressive. I was eating outside at a quiet café once, and a little grey squirrel came up and snatched the sausage off my plate. When I called out my displeasure, he made eye contact, knocked over my beer, and ran off.”

  Samantha laughed and started braiding her hair. She believed the ridiculous story because the squirrels were aggressive. It was one of the reasons she didn’t spend much time outside in the lush garden Dru had created. The local wildlife liked to bring her gifts. She didn’t have much use for poisonous berries or dead mice, but she brought everything inside all the same. Gifts were gifts, and shouldn’t be refused, though she preferred flowers.

  As if reading her mind, Luc stooped to pick a tiny purple flower from the edge of their clearing. He twirled it slowly between his fingers as he held it out to her. “Why do you hate nicknames so much?”

  She accepted the flower with a small smile. “My mom called me Sam. After she died, I retreated into myself whenever anyone else did it. Her death hit me hard. I had to rebuild myself afterward. The person I wanted to become would be strong, determined, and never less than her full potential. Samantha, always.”

  “And ‘love’?”

  Samantha shook her head. “I should have included unique in that list. I’m not interested in being one of your many ‘love’s.”

  He took the flower from her and tucked it into her braid. “I
’ve only ever called one person ‘love’.”

  She frowned as he turned away to see to his quinat. He’d been on the periphery of her life for more than a year, which provided a lot of time to observe him around other people. In the name of self-preservation, of course, not because he drew her attention whenever they were in a room together. Samantha blew out a breath. Her excuses sounded pitiful even to herself.

  Truthfully, she’d never heard him use the epithet with anyone else. Samantha couldn’t remember when he’d started using it with her, but definitely before she’d let him see her naked. Koi raised her head and bumped Samantha’s shoulder, interrupting her thoughts. The shallow bond indicated that she’d finished breakfast and would like to keep moving. Her quinat had the right idea.

  Luc’s charm was legendary, and she knew firsthand how he made every woman he talked to feel like the most important person in the world. How would he treat someone who was genuinely important to him? Her fingers brushed the tiny petals adorning her hair. Deep down, she hoped she knew the answer.

  And none of that mattered if she couldn’t keep him out of that room with the unstable shifter. They needed to find Keris and get the hell out of this realm.

  9

  LUC

  Samantha had gotten quiet after his confession, and he refused to ask leading questions to determine her reaction. The endearment slipped out without his control, but only with her. She could take that however she liked.

  After spending two nights with Samantha pressed against him, he’d expected to feel the edge of desperation. On some level he did, but he found himself encouraging her to talk instead of charming her out of her leggings. His interest in her had only increased as he’d learned more about her.

  Of course, her current silence didn’t bode well for any future charming either.

  Her army of squirrels followed them again as the quinats picked their way at a steady pace along the path. Sometime around mid-morning, he pulled out more of the hunks of cheese and bread Catia had provided and tossed half to Samantha.