Light Up The Night: a Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Romance (Lick of Fire Book 2)

by Jacqueline Sweet

  He looked startled when Crowley and Tamsin raced up to him. And more startled when Crowley leapt into the pond splashing purple paint everywhere.

  "Did you miss me this much, love?" Gray asked when he saw her.

  Tamsin felt better being near him.

  "It turns out that if any of you get too far from me, the spell holding me together comes apart and I die." She offered Gray a sad smile.

  It was one thing to love these three men, but was she now their jailer? Had they realized when they saved her life that they were chaining themselves to her?

  And would they grow to resent her in time?

  Cash and Rye arrived soon after. The relief on their faces when they saw Tamsin was a gift.

  They loved her.

  “It's okay, boys. I’m okay.” Tamsin said. “But it's pretty clear we can't put off solving this problem. We need to get my soul back from the King in Shadow. We need to find out what Hannah knows." Tamsin was still tied to Crowley's back. It was surprisingly comfortable.

  "Well then, who feels like going to a dance?" Gray asked.

  33

  Keep Calm and Carry a Wand

  The Lughnasa Dance was the highlight of the summer season.

  It was held at the Hearthhome estate, on the northernmost edge of the Penrose campus. The estate was surrounded by ten acres of magically cultivated gardens and stood out like a plantation house in the middle of it all. It sort of gave Tamsin the creeps.

  All of the highborn witches and wizards would be in attendance. To not do so was to invite scandal and recrimination. And it wasn’t just the local magic community—mages from all over the world attended the dance. Technically it was a celebration of the mid point between summer and spring. Gray assured them that late season fruits and vegetables would be heaped in mounds for them to devour. But the point of the dance had become over the years to introduce the first year students to their betters.

  Nearly every first year was invited. Though neither Cash nor Rye had received invitations in their first year. Shifters, as a rule, were persona non grata. And Rye, he suspected, didn’t fit within their limited ideals of what a magic user should be.

  Tamsin’s invitation entitled her to bring one guest. She chose Rye.

  As a highborn mage in less-than-good standing, Gray was also allowed to bring a guest. He chose Cash.

  The Society mavens were already whispering ferociously about his choice. “A man?” they hissed. “He’s bringing a man? And a shifter, too? Oh, such a scandal! Oh, such a dishonor.”

  Gray, of course, relished the scandal.

  Hidden inside the painted world they had made their plans and then returned to the real world.

  Tamsin and Gray took it in turns to design clothes for them all to wear. Gray was much better at it, but Tamsin was a quick study.

  Rye cooked food for them all after Cash and some Brownies slipped into the kitchens and stole the necessary ingredients.

  They worked well as a team.

  The foursome were busy. The dance was that evening and they had much to do to prepare. But they managed to find time for more kissing, if not much else. Each of the boys in turn found time to pull Tamsin aside. And she found time to pull them aside, to feel their bodies on hers. To taste their mouths again. To feel their breath tickle her neck.

  It wasn’t long before she felt almost drunk on attention and dizzy with kisses.

  “I’ve never been to a proper ball before,” Tamsin said as she put the finishing touches on Rye’s suit. They were all wearing Gray’s family colors—silver with red highlights. When the four of them hit the floor together they were going to look stunning.

  “It’s a lot to take in,” Gray said. “There will be over a thousand witches present, each I can assure you with their own agenda. Deals are made at this kind of event. Fortunes secured. For a certain kind of society mage, this is the biggest event of the year. There are superstitions about meeting your future husband or wife during the dance.”

  “Hannah is going to be there,” Tamsin said. “She’s going to be freaking out. I know it.”

  “So will Esmé.” Gray’s voice was somber.

  Cash and Rye were off elsewhere in the dorm. They’d been too distracting while Tamsin worked on her dress with Gray.

  “Do you still love her?”

  “Yes. And a part of me always will.”

  Tamsin felt a stab of jealousy that she tried to push away. She and Gray had been together for what, one day? He’d been with Esmé for years. He had a right to a past and she had to learn how to accept it. But it might not be easy.

  “But she’ll be in disguise, right? So how will you know her?”

  “She’ll have a mask on,” Gray said as he flicked his wand and made edits to Cash’s suit which hovered in the air before him. “But she won’t be in disguise. She’s one of the highborn who find the anonymity afforded by the old traditions deeply distasteful. She wants to know exactly whom she is dancing with or speaking to all time. And even the thought of associating with a commoner would repulse her.”

  Tamsin held her tongue. She desperately wanted to say something bitchy.

  “I mentioned that the dance used to be a fertility ritual, yes?”

  “A wizard orgy,” Tamsin said.

  Gray laughed. “We’re experts in that now, aren’t we.” He winked at her and her face became so very warm.

  Since when did she become a girl who had orgies?

  “Yes, well,” he continued, “part of the need for the anonymity was to force the stuffy highborns into associating with common-born mages. Otherwise they grow insular and, I hate to say it, inbred. The community needs diversity. Diversity makes us all stronger. But Hannah found the entire idea repugnant.”

  “She sounds like a peach,” Tamsin said.

  Gray sighed. “Sometimes we don’t realize the hole we’re in until someone comes along to pull us out of it.”

  When the boys returned, they tried on their formal attire.

  Gray wore a slimmer version of his usual suits, but in a dazzling silver instead of the gray he usually favored. A crimson lion—his family’s crest—was emblazoned down the right side. It was a striking effect. His shirt was also silver and high collared. He wore no tie.

  Rye and Cash wore similar suits, also with Gray’s symbol on them. But they both had a more traditional cut and sported crimson ties.

  The men looked dashing. Cash actually took the time to make his hair presentable for once. Gray wore golden eyeliner that shone and sparkled. And Rye had painted the inner corners of his eyes with his mystical silver paint. It took Tamsin’s breath away. Any one of them would be the hottest man she’d ever seen. But all three at once? She might need a fainting couch.

  She retreated to her own room to get dressed.

  They’d seen her naked, sure. But this felt special. It needed to be special. She needed an entrance.

  MacKenzie was studying when she walked in, but instead of a shush she got a hug.

  “I wanted to thank you again,” she said. “For uncursing me.”

  “Sure, of course. Anytime,” Tamsin replied. The new MacKenzie was happy and calm and it would take some time to get used to.

  “Has Hannah been here?”

  “Not for days,” MacKenzie said. “Which is good for her, because if I see her again I am going to put my sneakers so far up her ass she’ll sneeze shoelaces.”

  Tamsin laughed.

  Maybe they would be friends after all?

  She took a breath and stood in the middle of the room. Her dress was made. She just needed to summon it.

  “What’s going on?” MacKenzie asked.

  “I’m going to the Lughnasa Dance.” Tamsin vibrated with giddiness.

  “With who? Rye? I’ve seen how he looks at you.”

  Tamsin bit her lip. Could she tell the truth? What if MacKenzie recoiled like Asha and Lorig?

  But how could she lie?

  “I’m going with Rye. And with Gray. And with C
ash.”

  “All three of them?” MacKenzie was unreadable.

  “All three of them.”

  “Okay, well, I hope you limber up first,” MacKenzie joked.

  “You aren’t shocked?”

  “Nah, I have three dads. One of them shapeshifted into a woman for nine months to have me, but they won’t tell me which. Love is love, y’know?”

  “Love is love,” Tamsin agreed. “But now I have to concentrate.”

  Tamsin closed her eyes and felt the raw magic in her blood. It was hers to shape. But where had it come from? Was the magic demonic itself, or just the gift of a demon? It probably mattered, but not right then. She let the blue flames out and they rolled down her skin, unraveling her clothes and leaving her naked in the middle of the room.

  “Holy shit,” MacKenzie gasped. “What spell is that?”

  Tamsin ignored her for the moment. The flames obeyed her. Magic obeyed her.

  She was really and truly a witch now.

  Tamsin summoned the clothes she’d designed. Silver stockings flowed up her legs like water followed by underwear and a strapless bra that actually fit. Then her dress followed. Gray had designed most of it, days ago. But Tamsin had made her own alterations. It had a corset top that hugged her, but not too tightly. It gave her cleavage, but not the frankly obscene amount Gray’s design had. The fabric was smoother than silk and textured in a way that invited a deeper look. Below the corset was a swirl of fabric that reached down to her ankles. It was enchanted so that with every step it flowed and reached like a living thing. The effect was hypnotic.

  With a flick of her wand the blue flame flowed over her hair, lengthening it and styling it. She was tempted for a moment to change it into her mother’s hair—long red unruly curls. But she wasn’t her mother. Instead she opted for a crown of braids criss-crossing her head in an elegant pattern.

  She lifted her feet and gleaming silver heels appeared. They were enchanted so that she could actually walk in them, thank goodness.

  “You look fucking amazing,” MacKenzie said. “But you’re missing something.”

  “What’s that?” Tamsin asked.

  “Lipstick, my dude. You can’t go to a fancy dance without lipstick. There’s a law.”

  “I don’t know any makeup spells though.”

  “Yeah, that’s okay. I have actual makeup though. Let me help you. It’s the least I can do.”

  It was a gothier look than Tamsin usually wore, but when MacKenzie was done she couldn’t deny she looked great with her winged eyeliner and black lips.

  The boys, when she made her entrance, were utterly speechless.

  A row of white horse-drawn carriages waited for them outside Wilde House. Candles burned atop them with an eerie light. When all four of them tried to clamber into one carriage together the driver stopped them and explained each ride was limited to one couple. But Cash’s growl and flare of shifter energy in his eyes persuaded the man to break the rules, just this one time.

  On the ride over, Tamsin’s heart felt like it would explode from excitement or fear. What if they couldn’t find Hannah and get her soul back? What if the demon was there and took the rest of her? But also, what if she had the best night of her life, dressed like a princess and dancing with her lovers?

  The journey seemed to take only minutes. It was too quick. Tamsin wasn’t mentally prepared. So many people were going to be looking at her.

  A wave of anxiety crept up her throat.

  She could use the flame to turn her clothes back to normal. She could run away. She could find Hannah some other way.

  Rye put his hand on her knee. “It’s okay, koshka. We are here. We have your back.”

  Cash pulled uncomfortably at his tie. “Do we have to wear these?”

  “Would you rather disguise yourself as a waiter and serve spiced melon to the upper crusters all night? Or be my date?” Gray asked.

  “Be your date, of course,” Cash replied.

  “Then stop messing up your tie. If you’re my date, you’ll have to look the part.” Gray chided.

  “I am handsome as fuck,” Cash said. But he stopped playing with his tie.

  And then they were there. A row of carriages moved in clockwork precision, disgorging their occupants at the front door of Hearthhome. Though disgorging four occupants did disrupt the precision, especially when Rye proved to be almost too big to get out of the carriage.

  “I believe it grew smaller while we were inside,” he said.

  Hearthhome looked magical. A million candles floated in the air, weaving themselves into the shapes of constellations. An army of servants stood flanking the path to the main building. They all wore black tuxedos and black domino masks. The golden dragon of Hannah’s family was worn proudly on every lapel.

  It was on every candle.

  It was on every carriage.

  “How powerful is Hannah family?” Tamsin asked Gray in a low voice.

  “There are none that come close,” he replied. “You have a knack for making great enemies.”

  The servants were there to hand them their masks and to provide the briefest instructions on how to use them.

  It seemed monstrous that the Hearthhome family could have so many servants. All of them were wizards and witches. They could control the universe. Why did they serve?

  Is this what Gray was destined for? A proper marriage or servitude?

  Not anymore. Now he belonged with her. To her.

  The foursome collected their masks. Tamsin chose a jewel studded mask in the Venetian style. It was very comfortable. Rye chose a full face mask with painted whorls on it. Cash selected one in a deep red color that was painted silk with eyeholes cut in it, like Zorro. And Gray chose a mask that covered his face from the nose up. It was almost a helmet. But it was silver, and that was what mattered to him.

  The moment the men put them on, Tamsin couldn’t tell who they were.

  The effect was incredibly alarming.

  “Gray! Cash! Oh, Rye! Where are you?” Being without them, for even a second, brought on a terror the likes of which she’d never felt before.

  A wizard in a silver suit with a crimson lion on one sleeve approached her. Her tapped his wand to her mask and said, “Recognize me.” It was Gray.

  Cash and Rye did the same to her and then the boys took care of each other.

  “That’s really freaky,” Cash said. “I couldn’t even scent you.”

  Rye smiled. “It was nice to be able to see how gorgeous you look in that dress again, even if it was as a stranger.”

  “Now remember, no one here will know you unless you tell them your name or say the magic words. So please, lads, keep your names to yourselves.”

  “Shall we?” Cash asked. He’d shaved before they left, but his stubble was already returning.

  “Wait,” Tamsin said. “Something about this—it just doesn’t feel right.”

  “Probably it is a trap,” Rye said. “We all agree on this, yes?”

  “A trap? No, Rye, no. We are here to trap Hannah.” Gray said.

  “But surely she suspects that? Surely her friend Janet with the super senses has told her we are coming. This is a trap.”

  “So what if it’s a trap? What can’t we face if we’re together?” Cash said.

  “I didn’t even mean that,” Tamsin said. “Though I think you’re right. I think Hannah or the King in Shadow will make a move on me. But, no. I mean our clothes.”

  “What’s wrong with the clothes?” Gray asked.

  “We look very good.” Rye beamed at them all. Had he ever worn a suit before?

  “It’s just. How do I explain this?” Tamsin tapped a finger to her lips. “We’re all wearing Gray’s colors because he’s highborn and this is his show. But—and I mean this with all kindness, Gray—he doesn’t own us. We aren’t his servants. We aren’t like these people here stamped with Hannah’s family symbol.”

  The men looked at each other. None knew what to say.

&nb
sp; “I can’t help but feel like you have an idea, love.” Gray said. “Whatever you do, I’ll back you.”

  Tamsin took a breath. She didn’t know a spell to do what she wanted. But the chaos magic she wielded, it didn’t care. She lifted her hands and spread her fingers out then curled them into a pose that felt right. The raw magic flowed from her towards her men. The blues flames licked at the lions on their clothes, removing them with delicate precision. And when they were done, Gray’s symbol was gone. In its place was Tamsin’s.

  A blue flame now marked the right sides of their suits from collar to cuff.

  And her dress, as well, now sported her new crest.

  “Sorry, Gray. I hope this is okay.”

  He grinned at her. “I will wear this flame—your flame—with the utmost pride.”

  “We don’t belong to Gray,” Cash said.

  “But we do belong to you,” Rye added.

  Tamsin linked her arms through Rye’s on one side and Gray’s on the other. Cash took Gray’s other arm.

  “C’mon boys, let’s dance.” Tamsin said with her head held high.

  34

  The Night Belongs to Lovers

  If Hearthhome’s exterior was magical, the inside looked like Versailles on acid.

  An enormous ballroom, larger than most stadiums, greeted Tamsin and her protectors.

  Every surface was either gold or mirrors or encrusted with jewels. A hundred thousand candles filled the air. Fluted columns rose so high that the ceiling could not even be seen. Flocks of golden songbirds flitted from place to place, filling the air with the most beautiful of songs.

  Near the entrance, mountains of fresh fruit were piled to be prepared by an army of masked servants.

  It was too much. Everything was too much.

  Diamonds the size of disco balls floated in complex paths above the dance floor, reflecting the candle lights in every direction. To call the effect dazzling would have been an understatement. It was mesmerizing. Hypnotic.