by S Lawrence
Secret Magic
Chronicles of the Marked Book Two
S Lawrence
Copyright © 2021 by S. Lawrence.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Cover design by Sanja’s Covers
ISBN: 9781950851089
First Edition: 2021
Created with Vellum
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by S Lawrence
Prologue
A week.
Not much time for a life to be completely changed. If I’m honest, it changed the moment I saw him floating in the water, near death.
A pirate.
They come on the tide, and death comes with them.
I didn’t heed the warning. Everyone died. I watched my home burn as he dragged me away into the darkness of the night.
Swept out to sea and a new life. A life with five pirate captains and a destiny that both terrifies and calls to me.
It calls to me like the thing the Pirate King and many others search for.
The question is... Is it a siren luring me to my death or is it a power I was born to wield?
My captains believe the second; they believe I will save them all.
They offer the world with each of them by my side. It is tempting.
Someone watches, guiding and waiting for me to make my decision. A god from the beginning of time, one that fought to save us in the war that almost destroyed the world.
If there is one, there might be more, and I have a feeling not all of them want me to succeed.
I look down at Liam, running my fingers over his velvety ears, and for the millionth time, question if I could be this woman they all think I am.
The King hunts for me, killing and worse to find me. The thought sends fear skating down my spine. I’ve seen the scars he left on my captains’ backs; I heard the screams of those he killed in my village. I don’t want to imagine what he would do to me.
If I’m the one destined to wield the power buried beneath the ice, I know he wouldn’t kill me. I know my fate would be far worse.
It seems pain and heartache will happen no matter my choice.
Liam looks up and whines, and I follow his gaze. There they stand, waiting for me at the edge of the water—Fallon, Cyder, Hagen, Lash, and Wilder.
They don’t seem to realize I’ve made my decision about them. They will be mine, and I will be theirs.
Chapter One
REYNA
“Open it, Reyna.” I’m so caught up in staring that I don’t know which of them speaks but I reach out. My hand is shaking, my heart is pounding, and I’m gulping my breaths.
The top lifts easily, and my eyes widen.
The past can’t be changed.
There, right on top, is a note written in beautiful masculine handwriting on fine paper. My hand shakes as I reach for it, stopping just before I touch it. It’s not fear, not exactly; it’s more like trepidation. Uncertainty that I’m worthy of this title that is being given to me.
I force my hand forward, closing my fingers on the paper gently and bringing it up close to my face. I get a whiff of some exotic scent and I wonder if it is from the person who wrote the words.
I’ve added this without the knowledge of the others. I will be watching, no matter the number of years. The others withdraw, feeling responsible for the destruction, but I will not. It has always been my purpose to help those on, let us call them, trips. You will be on a journey like nothing you can even dream. I saw the seer’s face as she finished her entry and I have a feeling about what it might mean. So I will be near and help if I can.
Nestor, Guide and Protector ~ among other things.
Nestor. An unusual name. Guide. Protector. More? Could he be one of those that had fought in the war? Or did he watch as others unleashed their power on the world.
“What does it say?” Wilder is watching me closely, even as Cyder leans in trying to see.
I hand the note to Wilder and say, “It is from a person named Nestor.”
Fallon looks down into the box. “There’s more inside.”
I look down and see multiple notes folded inside the box. Overwhelmed—that’s the feeling that washes through me. My chest becomes tight as I struggle to breathe.
“I’m taking her to my ship.” Cyder's voice is close to my ear, and I feel muscled arms come around me, lifting me. “Bring the chest. She can look at it when she is ready.”
His tone is that of a captain, and none of the others argue. I don’t fight the hand that holds my head against his chest. I feel his strength as he carries me across the deck and even more strength as he swings us across to the next ship. I can hear at least one of the others following behind us. Cyder’s boots hit the deck of his ship and he carries me to the Captain’s quarters. I don’t look up until he places me on a chair. Blinking, I look around and take in his domain.
It is wholly Cyder. Gorgeous shades of greens and golds. The chair I’m sitting on is overstuffed, the fabric faded but still beautiful, plaid with gold edging, the threads bare, but it practically hugs me.
The whole room is reminiscent of a cool forest. I can picture him standing among the trees, the scent of wood and earth wrapping around us. He stands silent, waiting for my judgement.
“Thank you,” I murmur, looking up at him.
“There is no hurry, no need to rush. This thing has been hidden for hundreds of years, so you don’t need to rush blindly to it today.” He sounds so sure, and I can’t help but feel calmer. “You can hide here for as long as you want.”
“I don’t want to hide,” I start to argue, but he shakes his head.
“Maybe that was the wrong word. I meant take your time. Read through the notes, digest the information. You might be this chosen one, but that doesn’t mean you have no say in how any of this works.”
I stare up at the most quiet of the five, the one who has watched me since the moment he saw me on the rocks with Fallon. Cyder is the one who pushed, who was unconvinced I was some mythical creature sent to save the world. The one who is maybe even still unconvinced.
“Do you believe I’m the person everyone thinks I am?” I ask, not in judgement but more wishing he would convince me.
“I didn’t.” He kneels in front of me, staring into my eyes. “But maybe I do now. If all of this is real, why can’t you be the one to lead us from this darkness? Why can’t we be the ones
to help you?”
“I might not be strong enough.”
He takes my hands in his, and I like the roughness of them, like he pulls the ropes that raise his sails.
“That’s why you have us.” He squeezes. “We are your strength when you don’t have enough.”
I feel something shift in me, something settles. He hasn’t really spoken to me before, and I like the sound of his voice and the golden ring around the hazel of his eyes. He reminds me of the dragons I’ve seen in my books hidden in the woods.
I look and see he had closed the door behind us. We have never been alone. His eyes look back over his shoulder, then he turns them back to me.
“Do you want me to leave?” He studies my face, his eyes watching for my reaction, watching for any hint of rejection.
He finds none.
“I want to know you.”
He is the quiet one, not like Hagen, who is watching and learning. Quiet as in he doesn’t see the need for many words. I relish that he has spent so many on me. It makes me feel special in a way I can’t explain.
“I am an open book.”
I want to laugh but smirk instead. An open book, he is not. “Do you like books?”
“Not much use for them, but there are a few that I’ve enjoyed.” His head tilts slightly, a bemused look on his face.
“What did you like about them?”
“The pictures.” He returns my smirk as I roll my eyes.
“Can I see?”
His eyes shutter for a moment, guarding what he holds dear. I understand not wanting to get hurt. He understands it’s a test. He gets up and walks over to a shelf built into the wall of the ship. I hear a low growl and smile. Someone has brought Liam to me. Fallon must have. I stand and cross to the door, opening it. He bounds in, passing me by, only stopping when he is near Cyder. I watch as he sits near the chair I had just been in, his head turned toward the man at the bookshelf.
Liam has never steered me wrong when it comes to people. He wouldn’t have accepted these men if they weren’t good. But I can tell he has questions when it comes to Cyder, just like I do. Not questions about what kind of man he is, just more about how much he wants from me.
I think about Fallon’s words, of how we must learn to trust each other, but how do we do that when we don’t know each other? These questions, the answers are how it happens, but I’d be a fool to think it will happen quickly. I know we will move forward and then have moments of uncertainty for a very long time. Maybe forever.
Generations of distrust are bred into my blood, and they have been demonized their entire life by people just like me.
That thought stops me, makes every part of my body freeze for a heartbeat.
When I blink, he is in front of me, a worn book clutched in his hands and a look of curiosity in his eyes.
“Where were you?” His voice is low and rumbles through me, shaking the thoughts and loosening my muscles.
“Just thinking of how we could change the world.”
He frowns, confused. “Isn’t that the point, you changing the world?”
“Not me...we,” I whisper as I reach my hand out and cover his on his book.
I can tell he doesn’t understand and honestly, I don’t know how to explain it completely. I just know that at the end of this, the world will be a better place.
“Show me your book.”
He doesn't move for a moment, but slowly under my hand, I can feel his fingers loosening. My heart beats slowly as I stare up into his eyes. He turns the book and places it in my hand.
“Wilder found it in a museum when we found the ships.” He smiles but it looks more like a grimace as he glances down at the book. “He gave it to me after we all picked places we thought we might have come from.”
“You chose this place?” I look down at the cover and its beautiful golden designs.
“I chose these people—the Celts, Druids, the Irish and Scottish. I saw myself in images of them. When I read stories of them, I felt them in my soul.” His vehemence raises the hairs on my arms and neck.
I picture a story I had read of a highland warrior, some story of love, and I can imagine him in the role. I notice for the first time the tiny thin braids that start at his temples and are pulled back in the longer hair he has tied back. I hadn’t paid attention to my Celtic warrior, for he had quietly stood in the background as the others circled me. Watching. Waiting for his moment. Like a warrior from the old times, he took his moment when he knew it was right, swooping me up and away. Saving me from myself.
Liam bumps into me and I glance down. He is pushing his head against the man in front of me. Claiming him. It makes me smile. How appropriate of my gentle giant of a wolfhound, picking the warrior for his own.
Cyder looks down then drops to his knees, his hands cupping Liam’s big head and fingers scratching at his floppy ears. He leans close and whispers low in one of those ears and then moves back slightly to look into another set of eyes ringed in gold.
Liam woofs and then licks up his cheek, and a giggle breaks from my throat. “He likes you.”
“He respects me. I don’t think this beast likes anyone but you.” Cyder gives him one last scratch before he pushes up in front of me once more.
I don’t disagree but I know Liam, and he has chosen. He might trust the others to keep me safe and he might love me the most but he is choosing to let this man into his life. It makes my chest tighten, and a rush of jealousy hits me. I feel shame in the next moment. Liam needs a family just as I do.
I look down at my protector and smile when he turns his eyes up to mine. I see understanding; I see hope for us both and I grab it with both hands.
I step forward, pressing my body against Cyder’s, and raise up, kissing him gently. He remains stiff but kisses me back softly, surprising me. Slowly, his hands come around me, and I feel him relax a little.
His kiss changes, becomes deeper, and the taste of him hits me like a shot of the alcohol my dad had hidden behind barrels at the pub. He had found it hidden deep in the forest in the ruin of an old home. Dark amber and smoky, it had conjured thoughts of far away lands and music I had never heard. It is fitting for my captain.
He breaks away, leaving me wanting to sip more, and I lick over my lower lip. A noise breaks from him, half growl and half moan, and my body clenches. Once again, I’m surprised by my desire for each of them.
Did the old gods have a hand in this need that is building in me?
I don’t know if I should be angry or thankful at the thought of them meddling with us all.
“Does it bother you?” I murmur, still clutching at his shirt even though I don’t remember grabbing the fabric with my hand.
The book is still in my other hand but it’s now pressed into his chest.
“What?” His breath is warm on my face.
“That we may have no say in any of this. That someone might have designed all of this.” I move my hand between us.
“I’d be a liar if I said I was okay with anyone being in control of me. So, yes, it bothers me, but I have to believe if you are destined for greatness, destined to save the entire world, they have to mean you well. They have to want you to be happy. I love my brothers and I would do anything to make sure they find peace. You could be the keeper of their peace.”
He looks surprised by the amount of words that have left his mouth, and I grin before letting it fade away.
“What about your peace?”
“I don’t know if there is peace for me.” He’s honest, and it hurts my heart for him.
“We could try,” I offer, and it’s slightly selfish since I’m hoping to find my own peace with them.
Dark dreams have been plaguing my sleep, dreams filled with screams, my own and others. I always wake to sweat coating my body and images of me beneath a pirate racing through my head. I haven’t told them about the dreams but I know Wilder and Fallon have watched me as I struggle to calm my mind and body.
Violence like what
happened that night had never come to my home before then, so I had never understood the fear people had whispered about until the night was filled with it. I know even now that I don’t truly understand it because I was not taken. I was saved, protected by Fallon, by one of my captains.
“You’re thinking again.” His smile is barely a curve, and I realize other than his outburst of laughter I had heard the first day, I haven’t seen him smile or joke.
“I was thinking, how can I be outraged over not having a say when they sent you all to me? Fallon saved me. Hagen saved me. You are saving me. Wilder and Lash are saving me. They knew what I would need and sent me five men that could provide it all. It seems selfish and childish to complain about it. I know that we will struggle to find our way but I have to be grateful that I wasn’t taken, or worse, that night.”
It seems like a lifetime ago and yet fresh, but fading with each encounter with those protecting me, helping me, and loving me.
“I don’t know if we saved you or you saved us but I’m glad that Fallon washed up on your rocks.” He smiles slightly once more. We both hear footsteps near the door, and he steps back from me. “Read some of the stories, relax for a bit, and then if you want, I will help you look through the chest, or we can wait for the others.” He moves to go around me but pauses long enough to bend slightly and kiss me on the cheek quickly before walking quickly to the door. He can’t see the huge smile on my face.
A warrior with a sweet side.
Sighing, I move to the chair and sit, tucking the book at my side as I lean over Liam’s head. “We are going to be okay here, aren’t we?” He nuzzles into my neck, and I feel the last of my apprehension leaving me. “You want to learn about the Celts?”
