Enemies Allied

by Serena Lindahl

  He brushed against her as he swung to the branch she'd almost slipped from, but he paused before his head cleared the floor. His hazel eyes gleamed; his dangerous aura and scarred skin made her heart skip a beat. She hadn't confirmed he wasn't the enemy. He didn't say anything more, though. He just tipped his head and departed, leaving her alone.

  The night felt colder and darker without him. Mac rested her head against the tree. When the tears finally came, she didn't stop them. The evening air chilled the moisture on her cheeks. She wept for her mother and her lost year. She wept for all the blame, sadness, and grief. Then, she wept for the uncertainty of the future. She could still lose any one of her loved ones if the battle to come promised to be as dangerous as Eli and Davin believed it would be. She didn't know if she could do it again.

  Chapter Three

  Jenira

  Jenira pulled her shirt over her head, admiring the beauty of the room she'd been led to. It reminded her of Davin's bedroom at the penthouse, dark greens and browns and potted plants that were still growing well despite not having been tended, as far as she knew. There wasn’t any other staff here when they arrived, but maybe Davin released them before the Brownies took over.

  When the door to the room opened, she turned quickly, her shirt over her chest. Davin entered, an exhausted look on his face. When he saw her, though, he smiled in his arrogant way.

  "What are you doing in my room?" she asked.

  Davin prowled toward her in his jungle cat manner, pulling off his own shirt to reveal the mass of ridged muscles that never failed to steal her breath. "Oh no, sweetheart, this has always been my room."

  Instead of answering, Jenira looked around. The furniture looked masculine, and there were two dressers. She'd assumed the doors led to a bathroom and closet, but there was an extra one. When she opened it, she saw rows of clothes, all in the dark colors Davin favored. The other closet held clothes in her style.

  "So..." she said slowly. “The house has decided we should room together?"

  Davin nodded, stepping in front of her and stealing her shirt. He threw it across the room and immediately lowered his head to lick one of her erect nipples.

  "Why do you think that is?" he questioned, alternating words and brisk strokes of his tongue.

  Jenira pressed his head to her breast, wetness pooling between her thighs. Their magic sparked around them, glowing with the bright gold of Davin and the electric blue of her magic. The silver she'd always considered hers; she now realized it belonged to her sister. It was the same color as most of the components her brainiac, techie sibling worked with.

  "Maybe because we need this?" she asked absently as his lips trailed across her chest and up her neck.

  "I think that's exactly why," he growled. With remarkably little effort, he picked her up and tossed her onto the soft bed. Jenira didn't relish being overpowered, but it gave her a thrill every time Davin showed he was in charge. She had ultimate control, though. With a word, Davin would stop, whether he could overpower her or not. She needed that control to trust him.

  Stripping off her pants and leaning over her, Davin grinned. He didn't rush despite his fatigue. His teeth grazed up her inner thighs before rising further, biting her stomach as he worked his way to her mouth. His tight muscles and his weight on top of her never failed to arouse her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer.

  "Did you know that every room in this building is warded so sound doesn't escape unless it’s necessary for safety?”

  "Really?" She didn't understand his point until he thrust his thickness deep inside her and she cried out. She'd always been careful to prepare a barrier to contain their noise at the penthouse. Here, she didn't need to do that and could utilize her magic for other things. She used it to tweak his nipple without hands as her fingernails bit into his firm ass.

  Their lovemaking was fierce and overwhelming, their magic swirling like clouds around them and crying out as loudly as their voices. He held her eyes with his golden gaze as he pounded into her, not stopping until they shuddered and came together. It wasn't difficult to share their orgasms with the help of their magic. After only a short time together, they knew what set the other off and could probably do it without any physical touch. It was a powerful thought. She'd never had a partner so aware of her needs and wants.

  When their shudders had eased, Jenira pulled the covers over her chest and sat back against the headboard. Her pale skin gleamed like a pearl in the low light, a startling contrast against Davin's darker skin tone. Her lover's face was weary but satisfied. His grin made her stomach flutter with something other than passion. Their magic continued to dance and float like a living thing around their bodies, unwilling to separate. She refused to think about how crucial he'd become to her.

  "Nice to know exhaustion doesn't prevent you from satisfying me," Jenira teased. He sat up next to her, not bothering with the blankets. His muscles bunched as he leaned against her. Since she had started allowing him to touch her, among other things, he found every excuse to press his skin against hers. She looked forward to those moments as well but didn't make it as obvious. She didn't need to feed his arrogance any more than it already was.

  "For you, it's easy," he said with a shrug.

  When they'd first met, she hadn't let him touch her. It didn't take long after they defeated Marcus for her to fall into his bed, though. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her, especially once she realized his arrogant asshole shtick was mostly a cover to prevent anyone from getting too close to discovering his secret. He'd accepted that she wouldn't let any man push her around, even if that man could kick her ass with his magic-powered foresight in battle. She was working on the way to circumvent that. It still irritated her that he could beat her in a fair fight.

  "Are you saying there are others who are harder to satisfy?" Her voice hardened for no reason. She knew better. He was rarely away from her. He growled low in his throat and pulled her legs, drawing her underneath him again. A kiss laden with magic made her body quiver. No one had ever satisfied her as well as Davin. It was challenging to be vulnerable around him, though. She had a lifetime of mistrust behind her actions.

  "You know there's not." His deep voice vibrated against her skin. His hand roamed her body as if he couldn't get enough of touching her.

  "We haven't really spoken since we came to Canton. How are you feeling?"

  Davin shrugged, shadows darkening his bright eyes. "I used to think I was the only one. My parents encouraged it. I was open to believing that Eden and the creatures behind the murders were Magitech, but then Eli revealed that two people can make a Magitech. So not only Andrew and Mac but you and Cat as well."

  Jenira hadn't decided whether she believed Eli's claim yet. Cat told her it made sense, though, bringing up the proof of all the times her tech should have failed when she performed powerful spells. No mage should be able to phase with tech on them, but hers rarely failed if her sister modified or created it herself. Parts they ordered were abandoned unless Cat invested considerable brainpower into adjustments. Their partnership wouldn't have worked if they'd been a regular techie and a regular mage, but they'd attributed their success to their mixed parentage. She didn't believe it was the same as Davin or Eden though. Their dual natures worked against each other. She and Cat were individuals - extremely different individuals.

  "There's so much to consider," Davin continued. "I think I've got Mac and Andrew sorted. I'm glad we found her. We were both so worried."

  "You're close to both of them," Jenira pointed out.

  "Yes. Their father was never around when they were growing up. I was like a dad to them, although I was only in my teens at the time."

  Jenira raised a brow. "How old are you?"

  "Older than you, but age isn't important." He grinned and flexed his muscles, causing Jenira to roll her eyes. He didn't look a day over thirty, except for the distinguished streaks of silver in his hair.

  "Do Magitechs age di
fferently?"

  "Not that I know of. I think it's more of a family trait. Even when Mac was twenty, Ilona looked like her sister instead of her mother. We've always looked young. So, there are several Magitechs. I find myself at a loss. I can handle running a business. Fighting this rogue psychopath is a different thing."

  Jenira traced the deep cuts of muscle separating his abs into compact squares. "Leave that to me, Davin. I got it covered. Eli will be an asset, but he might have ulterior motives. Blood mages are tricky. They're not inherently dishonest, but all that cutting can make a man insane."

  "People say that about Magitechs, too," Davin retorted. "That we're all insane."

  "Touché."

  "I don't disagree with you. Something about the man makes me nervous; I can't decide what it is. That he's Eden's brother is a little suspect. I think he's more involved in her past than he's told us. And although I just met her, she's a fairly easy person to read. Unlike you."

  Jenira shrugged at his veiled suggestion. He wanted her to tell him how she honestly felt about him and their relationship. She wanted to enjoy the physical connection they shared and the business relationship they were forming. Anything else could wait as far as she was concerned. She wasn't eager to label anything. What did it matter? Understanding dawned with his next words.

  "Do you think Eden will consider a relationship with both Alec and Alena?"

  "Jealous?" Jenira quipped, curious if her instincts were correct.

  "Not of her. Eden's cute, but she's a kid. Sweet and too innocent for me. I'd break her. I couldn't share like that."

  Jenira threw back her head and laughed.

  "What?" he pouted defensively.

  "I knew your point the minute you mentioned them. You're a possessive man." She'd first encountered his jealousy when they learned they'd be meeting other mages. The idea of multiple partners was driving Davin crazy with worry. She liked his possessiveness, but he'd be unbearable if he knew she liked it. She forced herself to shrug nonchalantly. "Alena and Alec are approaching it the right way. They're both aware of each other's interest and they're not pushing themselves as a couple onto Eden. They're letting her come to them."

  Davin waited and she paused deliberately.

  "You don't need to worry," she finally said, slightly guilty about stringing him along. "My Dad and Moms did a great job of sharing, and I think that Eden, Alec, and Alena might be capable of the same. But I'm not any of them; I don't like sharing either."

  His eyes glimmered with a familiar look, and her insides melted in response to the heat that blazed through the magical aura around them. "Good," he groaned, following his words with another slow, thorough kiss. When he didn't push for more, she realized how tired he really was. Usually, a kiss like that led to more. "What do you think we should do about the Magitech?"

  "Kill him," Jenira replied simply. "He doesn't care about killing innocent people. We can't have an army of mechanical magic beings running around wreaking havoc. They're damn hard to kill, and it will taint everyone’s opinions of Magitechs."

  "Two important points. I can't use my battle foresight when fighting them because they don't think like living beings. Also, we'll never push integration if public sentiment in both territories turns against everything Magitech."

  "So are you thinking about running against Davenport?"

  "I haven't decided yet."

  A silence stretched between them. Jenira took a moment to look around, noticing all the things she'd missed when she entered. Why the house placed them together didn't matter anymore. Davin said this had been his room for as long as he remembered it. It must have morphed from a boy's sanctuary to a man's bedroom over the years. The windows were tall and shaped with points at the top like a real castle's windows. His mellow decorating style in natural colors made her feel at home. It was something she and Cat weren't used to because they'd bounced all over the East after they'd fled the West.

  "What do you think of our makeshift army, if Eli is correct?"

  Jenira shrugged. "I'll need time to think strategy. Nothing is decided. Alena managed her magic well in the battle last night. She has significant elemental power. I don't think she needed Elliott's help to be honest."

  "Probably not," Davin agreed. "That's a good thing because I'd rather the boy not be involved. I don't trust him. I'm going to give him some research to occupy him - nothing of any consequence, but it will help him feel useful. I'll warn Cat and Andrew to be careful about what they reveal when he's around."

  Jenira nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. She didn't trust the guy either. "Eli's idea of Eden working through Alena is interesting. Eden's dreamwalk powers are significant. She shouldn't have been able to pull that memory out of Mac without considerable pain. She didn't even pass out afterward. There's no way Gideon is her familiar." Jenira snorted and pushed her heavy blonde curls out of her face.

  "You mentioned something like that at the safehouse. What's a spirit guide?"

  Jenira appreciated that Davin didn't act as if he knew all about the mage world, like many other mages. She'd grown up in the Western Territory and had been exposed to nearly everything. The other mages in the house didn't have the same experience, not even Alena.

  "Spirit guides are loaned to nearly all powerful mages to guide them on the right path. Gideon will help her when she needs answers and prevent her from using her magic for evil. When a spirit guide appears, it's said that the mage is destined for greatness in some way. They're practically unheard of. Although Eden is Magitech, she'd still be welcomed in the Western Territory because of it."

  "Hmmm," Davin hummed, considering her words. "Well, we'll tell her after this mess is sorted. I doubt the Magitech is operating out of the West if he's using large machinery. He couldn't get the mechanical parts transported over the border, and they wouldn't work as well in the West. Where he gets his parts might be a good place to start researching. He might have allies among the techie Elite."

  His eyes started to glaze over like Cat's did when she was considering a mechanical puzzle, and Jenira rubbed a hand over his whiskered cheek. A spark of magic zapped against his skin as she recaptured his attention. "One more question before you start turning into a techie on me, big boy. Mac's magic - what do you know about it?"

  Davin inhaled deeply. "MacKenzie has always been a mystery to both her mother and me. Ilona was a strong elemental mage and the man that fathered the twins was a techie." His tone twisted with displeasure. "Mac didn't show much magical aptitude until Andrew's technical abilities grew. We were worried that Andrew might prove high-tech and Mac a mundane, which would have been difficult for all of us. Twins are naturally close. If one of them is a dud, it's damaging and demoralizing. Once her magic blossomed, though, it became clear Mac wasn't weak.

  “Ilona believed it might be a rare kind of fire elemental magic, but I knew what it was - electrical energy. It made sense to me because of Andrew's techie abilities and her father, but I'd never seen anything like it before. She took that hit from the robot, Jenira. I felt it enter her body and it shocked me where our skin touched. I had to drop her or run the risk of being shocked into unconsciousness. Their magic blasts are almost exactly like hers, and her magic seems to be the most effective against them."

  "If she can be protected from hits, she'll be an effective weapon."

  "Jenira." Davin's tone held a warning, and her gaze snapped to him.

  "What? She's a grown woman, Davin. If she wants to fight and avenge her mother, you can't stop her." Her voice softened. "And just because I refer to her as a weapon doesn't mean I'll forget she's your niece - or a person. It's actually a high form of praise coming from me. Not many people rank that highly in my estimation." She grinned, and his shoulders relaxed.

  "I want her safe."

  "No one on our side will get hurt if I can help it, Davin. You're not the only one that protects his friends and family."

  "I know, babe. Now that we know what we're fighting, Cat and Andrew can pro
vide assistance with the weapons."

  Jenira nodded. She'd been plotting something similar since their battle with the automatons. Her mind had been focused on defeating the bastards. "You knew the twins' father?"

  "Unfortunately yes. I was very close to Ilona. The bastard was definitely the twins' father. He might have been a dick, but he wasn't Mather."

  Jenira loved how Davin seemed to be able to follow her train of thought. "He was?" she clarified, catching the past tense.

  "He died when the twins were ten. I wished it were earlier, to be honest. Ilona was too nice to him. He didn't live with them or see them often or I would've stepped in sooner. He drank way too much and was mugged by a mundane one night. The stab wound shouldn't have killed him, but the sheer volume of alcohol in his blood sped up his death. He bled out before anyone found him. The mundane was arrested and sentenced to the death penalty because the twins' grandparents had money and the bastard was a high-level techie himself. I considered it a good thing that the twins' dad was dead."

  A yawn ended Davin's story.

  "You need to sleep," Jenira commanded. He considered sleeping a weakness, but continuing to operate in his current state would be dangerous. "I'm not as tired as you. I slept most of the way here while you drove."

  He ran a hand across his face. "I can't believe you slept with all that yammering. I shouldn't have agreed to travel with teenage girls. I'm glad we have a nanny for the younger ones, even if she is a Brownie."

  Jenira poked his hard chest playfully. "Don't offend the Brownies; they'll hear everything you say because this is their house now. Besides, I love house Brownies. I met several growing up. They're the most loyal creatures in the history of mankind. You never need to worry about their loyalty as long as you're not threatening anyone in their house."