by Dyan Chick
“A massive spider?” James said.
“It was awful,” I said. “Hey, have you heard of a place called Nowhere?”
“Sure,” James said. “Don’t tell me you wound up in that backward town?”
“Oh yes,” I said, going on to tell him about Moonbeam.
Once we got to the part of the story where Tavas came in, he joined in the telling.
“By the way, thanks for the whole binding thing,” I said. “I really loved having that one in my head.”
"Hey, I can't hear a word anymore, it's absolute bliss," Tavas said.
“It was the only way to make sure he helped you,” James said. “Plus, I figured if he spent some time in your head, there was no way he wouldn’t grow to like you at least a little bit.”
Turning in my chair so I could see Tavas, I smiled at him. “Is that what happened? I was wondering why you hadn’t flirted with me or said anything inappropriate in a while.”
“You can’t prove anything,” Tavas said. “Just being respectful of my best mate’s girl.”
The drive passed quickly, and as the sun was beginning its ascent, we were closing in on Realm’s Gate. An odd feeling of deja-vu passed over me. How many times was I going to be driving home after fighting for my life with James by my side?
With the dragon queen free from her prison, I had a feeling this might not be the last time I did this.
The ward shimmered in front of us as we approached. It was odd seeing it back up and running. The rest of the world had moved on, unaware of anything we'd been through. They didn’t yet know of the destruction and danger that was waiting for us in the coming months as the dragon queen worked to build her followers. But right now, I didn’t want to think about that.
Cold sliced through me as we drove through the barrier, officially back in Realm’s Gate.
“McKenzie,” I said, gently touching her knee.
“Hmm.” The mage pulled her legs away from me, going right back to sleep.
“I’ll wake her,” Tavas said.
“You sure you’re ready to confront the Mage Order?” James asked.
“I have to,” I said. “I can’t let them get away with this.”
“Alright,” he said. “Just show me the way there. I’m behind you.”
“Thanks,” I said.
When we pulled up to the iron gate of the Mage Order, I was surprised to see it was already open. James slowed the car. “Turn here?”
“Yes,” I said, unsure of why the gates were open. “McKenzie, those gates usually open?”
“No,” McKenzie said.
As soon as James turned the car into the long driveway, I knew why they were open. In front of us were several police cars, all parked in front of the mansion that housed the Order. My heart pounded in my ears. Jasmine had said they were keeping dragon mages here. Had more gone missing? Were they hurt? Were the police in on this?
James parked the car. “You sure you want to go in there?”
I already had my seatbelt off. “Why don’t you and Tavas wait here. Give McKenzie and me some time.”
“You have ten minutes,” Tavas said.
“Thanks.” I opened the door and stepped outside, then ducked my head back in. “You’re not so bad, yourself, Tavas.”
Closing the door behind me, I waited for McKenzie to join me.
“You have a plan, right?” McKenzie asked as we made our way to the front door.
“Sure, confront the Order, see how they react, get the remaining dragon mages out of there.” I shrugged. It wasn’t really a plan, but it was all I had.
Just then, Chief Matthias walked out of the open double doors, two police officers behind her. Each of the officers had a handcuffed mage with them.
“Morgan?” the chief called to me.
I lifted my hand in greeting, a sheepish smile on my face. I like the chief, and while I thought she was probably one of the good ones, I had too much distrust of authority figures even to consider calling her. Instead, I was here to deliver my own justice, without any sort of a plan. Seeing her here made me feel slightly foolish. “Hi, chief.”
She shook her head but wore a smile on her face. “I should have known you’d be involved somehow.” Then she turned to the officers behind her. “Get those two in for questioning.”
The police officers led their prisoners to the cars, and the chief walked over to where McKenzie and I were standing. “I’m guessing you figured out that the Mage Order was infiltrated by the Dragon-Bloods?”
“Jasmine’s dead,” I said.
The chief didn’t even flinch. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and nodded. “I had a feeling it went all the way up to her. What happened?”
“We were sent to find the missing mages,” I said.
“There were more?” Chief Matthias asked. “We found six underage mages here. Jasmine had convinced them they were going to die if they left the Order. They’ve since been returned to their families.”
I eyed McKenzie.
“I swear, I didn’t know she was telling them that,” she said.
“Please tell me the rumors aren’t true,” Chief Matthias said. “That they weren’t playing at raising a dead dragon?”
“Short version,” I said. “Yes. And the dragon is back.”
“Shit.” The chief rubbed her eyes. “And here I was hoping things could get back to normal around here.”
“It might be a while before that happens,” I said, wishing it weren’t the case.
“Right.” The chief narrowed her eyes at me. “You know, the Order is going to need new leadership. Someone who has a moral compass that isn’t quite so easily fooled. We arrested most of the leadership today. Several members were caught tampering with surveillance after Jimmy’s murder. And they called the hunters on you.”
It felt like someone was squeezing my insides as her words sunk in. Not only was she confirming the role of the Mage Order in this whole mess, but she was also asking me to step up and be a leader. I didn’t even want to be a member of the Mage Order.
Grabbing McKenzie by her shoulders, I pushed her forward. “Chief, McKenzie is the woman for the job.”
The chief eyed McKenzie, looking her up and down. “Well, I’m not a member of the Order, so I don’t have any say. But I’d guess that in the state they're in, if the two of you make the claim that McKenzie is the one for the job, the rest will follow.”
“Morgan, everything okay?” James called out from behind me.
I turned to see him standing next to the car. The door still open beside him.
Chief Matthias moved closer to me, leaning in and lowering her voice. “Now, I don’t know about you, but if that is what was waiting for me at home, I would get there as fast as I could.” She winked at me, and I felt my cheeks flush.
“You girls get some rest,” Chief Matthias called as she walked toward the waiting police car. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
“She’s got a point,” McKenzie said. “I can take it from here, Morgan.”
“You sure?” I asked, hoping she didn’t ask me to get involved with her quest for taking over the Mage Order.
“I’ve got this,” she said. “And thank you. For everything.”
“Right back at ya,” I said. “I guess some of the Mages in the Order aren’t so bad, after all.”
We said our goodbyes for now, and I headed back to where James was waiting for me in the car. I settled into the passenger seat. To my surprise, Tavas wasn’t in the back seat anymore. “Where’d he go?”
“He had some errands to run, said something about giving us alone time,” James said, leaning in close to me.
“Well, thank you, Tavas,” I said, matching James’s movements and meeting him in the middle for a kiss.
Author Notes
Thank you for taking the time to read my book! I hoped you enjoyed your time in Realm’s Gate. Book 3 is available for pre-order today!
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Also by Dyan Chick
Fae Cursed: Legacy of Magic Book 1
Dark Fae: Legacy of Magic Book 2
Heir of Illaria: Book 1 of the Illaria Series
Oracle of Illaria: Book 2 of the Illaria Series
Battle of Illaria: Book 3 of the Illaria Series
www.dyanchick.com
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