by Ginna Moran
I don’t get a chance to respond or argue or beg or anything.
A flash of light ignites the world around me. I lose access to all my senses, losing myself to the blinding light. My hearing returns first, then my touch. I smell the strong scent of cinnamon. Footsteps shuffle. Digging my fingers into the ground, I push myself to my feet and shield my eyes the best I can. Fear zings through me as a gigantic silhouette cuts through the light.
“Restrain her!” a woman shouts, but I can’t see anything through the strange light. Her voice rings through the air as she calls command after command in a language I don’t recognize. How I know she’s commanding people? I’m not sure. Her voice, perhaps. The strange need to bow. To give up.
Something scorching hot snaps on my wrists, making me scream. The flesh on my wrists burns under the electric restraints as I fight. I drop to the ground, the intense pain shooting up my arms to spill into the rest of my body. Several figures stand above me, looking down as I writhe on the gravel. Through bleary eyes, I catch sight of the giant winged monster soaring high above us. It’s the only thing keeping my focus so that I don’t pass out. If I don’t struggle, the pain lessens.
“Does she have an I.D.?” another voice asks. “A mark? Brand? Tattoo? Anything?”
“A Mortal World driver’s license. Nothing else that I could see without stripping her completely,” Maddox responds, appearing in view. His dark hair blows in a suddenly hot breeze. The idea of him stripping me sends a strange sensation through my body. What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t actually like the idea, do I? “She’s playing mortal, but the magic shield she uses falters. We can assess her more when we transfer her.”
Transfer me? Transfer me to where?
The thought remains locked in my mind, my mouth afraid to move or speak. My body fears more unbearable pain from these definitely not-human creatures.
The woman huffs, crouching down. Her red-glowing eyes lock onto mine. “Nova Noble, what is your Magaelorum name?”
“Huh?” My word comes out as a whisper. It hurts too much to properly answer her. “What’s that?”
“We don’t have time for this, High Priestess. The Mortal Authority will come at any time. Several reached out. The shield won’t last long.”
The woman flares her nostrils. “Very well. We’ll extract the information from those with malleable minds.” She stands tall and kicks my side with her boot. “As for you, Ms. Noble. Under Magaelorum Law, you are to stand forth in front of the High Council under the accusation of murder and will be considered guilty until proven innocent or convicted. Do you have anything you’d like to say?”
“What the fuck?” It’s the only thing I can spit out through my clenched teeth.
The woman claps her hands, sending brilliant light through the air.
The world disappears.
Chapter 4
Falsely Accused
“YOU HAVE THIRTY seconds to tell me which warlock or witch made a deal with you. Was it the Lavarock Isle Coven? Seaview Hill? Fire Mountain Clan?” Maddox leans across the table and into my face. Fuck, why does he have to be so hot playing the bad cop? A part of me begs for this nightmarish trip to turn into a full-on fantasy, because none of this feels real. I expect Galaxy to pop through the door at any second to tell me this was all a stunt to get us onto some show. Maybe Rhett was a part of it.
But that’s impossible. Rhett knew my birth name. I fear that’s what the people here want, but what the hell is Magaelorum? I’ve traveled all across the United States with Galaxy and never once heard of anything like that.
I remain silent, continuing to plead with my mind to hurry up and strip his damn clothes off. There is no other way I want this weird situation to turn out. If he doesn’t, that means I’m screwed and not in any way I enjoy.
Maddox slaps the table, startling me. Damn it. No fantasy and just one awfully bad trip or something. Because my mind can’t fathom any of this being real. No man’s eyes can glow like his. I swear if they penetrate me anymore, I might smolder under his glare, a glare I’m growing used to staring at.
Because for the first five minutes upon waking up in this dank cell, I was terrified. I might have sobbed for a moment and yelled for someone to let me out. I even requested a lawyer—no such luck, by the way. Wherever the hell I am, the people don’t think I deserve help. I’m guilty until proven innocent. But how? No idea. It’s complete shit.
When I realized as much, my fear turned into anger, and I’ve been surviving on the high of my fury for at least a few hours. Maddox only makes it worse with his accusations. My brain struggles even to process anything—from the sexy beast man to the creepy woman who eyes me without intervening in Maddox’s interrogation. I can’t stop from looking at the glowing restraints or around the room at the strange shimmering walls.
I think it helps that I’m not alone, even if it’s with two people who somehow think I’ll admit to something they think I’m guilty of when I’m not. They might be persistent in their accusations, but I refuse to give up on trying to prove my innocence. Because they’re wrong. I’m not a murderer. There is no way I could kill a room full of people. It’s ridiculous to even consider.
“Tell me, damn it!” Maddox’s warm, cinnamon breath blows tendrils of my hair from my eyes, bringing my focus to him. I hope he screams in my face again. A few strands stick to my clumped eyelashes, annoying the hell out of me more than the strange-ass restraints that heat up if I so much as think of moving a muscle.
I blink a few times, twisting my lips. “For the thousandth time, I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about. I think I’ve been drugged. Something is wrong with my vision. I’m hallucinating.” I squeeze my eyes shut, willing for his glowing stare to return to normal.
He yells in frustration, finally clearing the hair from my face. “Stop playing games. You can’t pull off this human façade here. The magic will break, and when it does, you’re mine, cookie. You’re going to wish that you complied.” He says cookie like he only uses it as a threat to devour me.
“What fucking magic?” I ask and cringe, my restraints shocking the hell out of me as I absentmindedly try to throw my hands up.
“The kind blocking your true form.” Maddox jabs his finger right between my cleavage. I expect pain to explode, my sternum to break under his force or something. What I don’t expect is for a zing of electricity to spark against his hand, getting him to jerk it back.
I press my lips, my mouth wanting to laugh and taunt him for being a prick for hours now. “I don’t even know what the hell you mean. I am in my true form, asshole.”
Maddox composes himself, shifting his gaze from me and to the shadowy figure in the corner. “We will find out. Give it time. Your lack of cooperation will make things harder on you.”
Turning my attention to the woman, I lock my gaze to hers. She hasn’t said a single word this whole time since she arrested me and instead sits quietly in the corner as Maddox shouts, belittles, and accuses me over and over of things I can’t process. Witches? Warlocks? Hell. Maybe that’s what Rhett was with his purple eyes. Or the creepo white-haired man.
“I am cooperating. I’ve told you everything I know. I’m not a murderer or whatever the hell you think I am,” I comment to the woman instead of Maddox. If Maddox is the bad cop, then she might be the one I can reason with. “It was the psychos I told you about. I’m not from wherever the hell Magaelorum is. I’m from Golden Trails Valley...at least, I was.”
Grabbing my chin, Maddox forces me to look at him. Fire ignites in his golden brown eyes, and I swear a tendril of smoke trails from his flared nostrils. In the dim lighting, his face lines with shadows, enhancing a long, red scar that cuts across his cheek and over his jaw. “Bullshit! You have to be working with someone. Hiding. There are no records of Nova Noble with the High Council, and a shifter doesn’t just end up in the Mortal World without access to one of the gates. Not to mention that you’re alone. Where is your pack?”
; “My pack?” I ask, the hardness in my voice dissipating. “My pack of what? I left my purse at the bar.”
“Your pack of—” Maddox slams his hands on the table again and proceeds to lift it up and throw it at the wall. I’d react if this wasn’t the third time he’s thrown the damn table. The man has some major anger issues. “Damn it! Your clan, your pride, whatever the hell you identify your family as.” He swings his attention to the woman again as if she might be the one in charge. Locking his fingers to the back of his head, he adds, “Give me permission to interrogate her my way, High Councilwoman Laveau.”
Something shifts in the woman’s features, and she glances from Maddox to me and back to him. Nerves bunch in my stomach, fear finally breaking through my anger. I’m nearly certain whatever his way is might be the end of me.
High Councilwoman Laveau stands from her chair and straightens the few dozen strands of beaded necklaces draped around her throat. “We are out of time, CO Dreki. Judge Witherton has called upon us for the verdict. The court’s decision has been made.”
Huh? When the hell did this happen. The woman hasn’t even moved or spoken on the phone. How the hell can she know that?
With one last nod to Maddox, she disappears, blinking out of sight.
Whoa, fuck.
I gawk at the empty space she left behind, missing the fact that Maddox closes the distance to tower over me. He puffs out his chest with his aggressive breathing. If I were to pant that hard, I’d probably pass out from hyperventilating. A part of me hopes he does. Another part of me thinks it would be my luck for him to pass out right on top of me to smother me to death.
I tip my head back to gaze at him, trying not to let him intimidate me. But damn it. I’m a bit scared now that we’re alone. He could do whatever he wants and claim I attacked him or some shit. I’m not naïve. I watch crime TV shows.
“You will regret your decision to remain incompliant,” Maddox says, his deep voice lowering even more. His full lips puff out with his breath, the cinnamon scent reminding me of the holidays with my aunt and uncle. I can almost taste it. If Maddox moves any closer, I might.
“I’ve been nothing but compliant. I—” I screech as Maddox drags me from my seat, cutting off my words.
He tosses me onto his shoulder and spins toward the door. My weight crushes my arms between our bodies. Blazing pain burns through me as the restraints explode with heat once again. I wonder if they hurt so badly to stop me from fighting during transportation, like having a bone-hard shoulder digging into my belly isn’t enough.
I grind my teeth, wriggling in hopes to shift my arms out from between us. “Let me walk. You’re hurting me.”
“Toughen up, cookie,” he growls. “Where you’re going will make this feel like a dream. I’ll ensure it.”
I groan. “You’re a fucking dick.” I want so badly to threaten him with retaliation, but fear grips me tightly enough to steal my bravado.
Maddox shoves the door open and continues to stride with me down a dark stone corridor. Shit. Is this a dungeon? A real, godforsaken dungeon? A man’s yells echo through the dank air. Fu-u-u-ck.
Strange green flames glow within sconces, turning the world eerier than I thought possible. Raising my chin, I try to look around, but there is nothing but the cold concrete and flashes of emerald firelight blinking on the walls with Maddox’s fast pace. The jerk probably carries me because he knows I’d never be able to keep up with his long legs, but being carted around like this makes me feel less than human.
He jogs up a set of stairs at the end of the tunnel, bouncing me harder. I huff and grunt and swear, the pain of the restraints kicking my body into action. I spread my legs into the splits, contorting my body in a way not many people expect, and manage to jerk myself off his shoulder. Maddox is so focused on climbing the stairs that he doesn’t notice until he reaches the top.
Dropping to the ground, I land on my feet as gracefully as if I’m performing in front of an audience. I should run. I should try to escape. But one look up at Maddox sends my mind screaming to drop to my knees and beg him for mercy.
“What the fuck?” he mutters to himself, jumping from the top of the staircase.
He lands so close to me that I fall back on my ass. I freeze, curling in on myself as small as possible. I expect him to rip me off the floor by my hair and to just toss me up the stairwell, but he hesitates.
His muscles ripple, his eyes burning into me. His sudden stillness unnerves me.
“Please,” I whisper, tipping my head back. “You’ve made a mistake. I don’t know who or what you think I am, but you’re wrong. I’m a Sky Dancer for Galaxy Gold. I’m part of a traveling aerobatic show. I hadn’t even planned on going to that bar, but this guy offered my boss free drinks and he forced us all to go there.” Now that I think of Galaxy, I can’t help but think of Star and Orion. Pain clenches my chest. They acted so strangely before they dropped—fuck I hope they’re not dead.
“Stop lying! There were witnesses.” Maddox swings his arm and punches the wall, sending fragments of stones pelting over me. The rumble of his intense fury sends trembles through me, and I dig my nails into my palms to chill myself out the best I can.
“Witnesses? Everyone was dead...” I let my voice trail off as I cringe. The way the words come out of my mouth sound all wrong. They sound almost like I’m disappointed that anyone survived such a massacre. “The men I told you about—it was them. They were monsters. They tried to kidnap women and came after me. One second I was fighting and in the next, they were all dead.”
Locking his hands under my arms, he lifts me back to my feet. He sets me upright and herds me like an animal with his massive frame until my back hits the wall. Maddox grabs my chin in one big hand, his thumb and middle finger grazing each of my ears. He leans in with his fire eyes, forcing me to share his cinnamon breath. I automatically inhale, ultra-aware that his leg rests between mine, my thighs squeezing him a bit as I remain steady. If he’s aware of how close he is, he doesn’t react. His steely face remains sharp with his fury.
“You mean Rhiordan. White hair, tall. One of the most powerful warlocks I’ve ever met?” Maddox’s eyes search mine as he pins me. The warmth of his body heats me up everywhere we touch each other. And damn it. I like it. My hands do too, because I risk the electrocution of my restraints to ball the front of his uniform between my fingers.
“There were three of them,” I say, nodding.
“None of them were monsters, cookie. You will soon see what real monsters look like. That, I promise you.”
It’s my turn to glower. “You can’t see that because you’re fucking like him. A monster too.”
Maddox roars in my face, making me flinch. Releasing me, he takes a few steps back and heaves a breath.
My legs turn to jelly, and I prop my back on the wall until I steady myself enough not to fall over. Strange golden-green scales sprout across Maddox’s cheek before disappearing with the fire from his eyes.
“Fucking Rhett,” I mutter under my breath. I tilt my head toward the ceiling. “If you weren’t already dead, I’d kill you for this.”
Maddox must have some crazy hearing, because he jerks his attention to me and glowers. Swinging his arm out, he catches my wrist restraints and tugs me so hard that I fall forward. Without hesitating, he drags me with him, not giving me a chance to run behind him. My knees throb with each stone step he lugs me up until he kicks the door open and tosses me through. I screech and skid across the floor, bright light engulfing me. A golden chandelier sparkles overhead, sending starbursts of light over a blue, jewel-encrusted domed ceiling.
“Rhett was a good man and my damn best friend,” Maddox snaps, looming over me. His massive frame blocks out the beautiful view of the ceiling, forcing me to stare into his smoldering glower. “I don’t know what you got out of this, but I will find out. You will not only rot for the rest of your damn life, but you will suffer.”
His words slap me like an unwanted promise.
I open my mouth to argue again, to swear my innocence, to beg for someone, anyone to believe me, but Maddox reaches into his pocket and pulls out a rectangular piece of fabric. I scramble on the floor, slipping and sliding on the tile. He catches my foot and drags me to him faster than I can get away.
“Under the authority of the judge, you will not speak. Now it’s time to get what you deserve,” Maddox says, lurching forward.
“Wait! Wait! How can I prove my innocence if I can’t speak? I want a lawyer. I want to talk to the judge,” I beg.
“You had your chance but chose to play dumb, cookie,” he whispers, picking me up from the floor to pin me to him, facing me out.
“Please. This isn’t fair. Don’t do this. Don’t—”
Maddox ignores me and presses the fabric to my mouth. It buzzes before practically melting to my skin. At least the shit isn’t hot. Because I don’t know how much more I can take. The longer I remain trapped here, the more I question my sanity. I hope and pray and beg that none of this is real. I’ll wake up at any second to find I had one helluva night with Star, drinking way too much.
I shiver over the sensation of his breath against my ear. My. Stupid. Body. Tingles prickle across my skin despite my mind begging for my body to chill out. This man is a monster. He threatened me. He handled me like I’m the dirt in the tread of his boots. I should not find him even the teensiest bit attractive. But damn it. He and his cinnamon breath smell good.
“Don’t tell me what the fuck is fair. The death of sixteen people isn’t fair. This?—it’s time to find out how pathetic you truly are now that you can’t shift and no longer have the power given through the deal of magic. Your witch can’t save you now.” Stomping toward a grand set of double doors, Maddox kicks one open so hard that it bangs against the wall.
He pushes me into the brightly lit room only to turn around and exit. I glare at the closing door, wishing with everything in me that this sticky fabric didn’t prevent me from speaking. I’d call him every bad word I could think of. The fuckhead asshole. Screw him and this strange-ass place. Screw everything.
