Seacursed: The Mage Circle Trilogy: 1

by L. A. McGinnis

  “I’ll get with Tate and see what we can come up with,” she said. “Even losing a few…would cripple him in the short term.”

  “It would certainly add up. There would be plenty of finger pointing.” Kieran smiled.

  “Backstabbing,” Lucas added.

  “How many sorcerers sit on the Circle?” Kieran wondered aloud. “Twelve total—so eleven Mages, right, plus Devlin? Undercutting the Mages seems like a good place to start. What if the Mages discovered Devlin lost his magic and wasn’t as powerful as they thought? Perhaps received a picture? From one of the security feeds, outside of the Obsidian Hall? Or from Hyde Park?”

  Lucas grinned as anticipation surged through him like a knife. “Let’s get to work.”

  34

  It took several hours to come up with a couple of solid strategies to worm their way inside the Circle’s impenetrable walls. Even with the book, with that slim advantage, the Mages would be formidable adversaries.

  But Tate showed up just before nightfall, in a rusted-out pickup he kept in the city. For emergencies only, he specified. Victoria was surprised the truck had made the trip.

  And while it was true that Tate didn’t have what one would technically call friends, he did have “contacts.” And they’d come up with a third way in. Dangerous and possibly unhealthy, but it was solid enough that Lucas deemed the evening a success.

  They might have continued planning, or possibly explored leads on the Trackers, but Luc took one look at Victoria’s drooping eyelids and pointed her toward the back of the sprawling cabin. “We’re taking my old room. There’re three others, and the couch isn’t even that bad. In a pinch,” he told Tate, his hand catching Victoria as she swayed when she stood.

  “Naw, I’m going to get the lay of the land,” Tate muttered, his eyes fixed on the black, dense forest beyond the tall windows. “It smells wild out there.”

  Kieran skimmed a hand over the book. “I’m staying up for a while. See what I can discover about this damn thing. Maybe even unlock a secret or two of Devlin’s.”

  “We’ll leave you both to it, then,” Luc said, winding his fingers through Victoria’s. “See you in the morning.” Without another word, he led her down the long hall. His room was as he’d left it months ago. Messy, disheveled.

  “Wow.” She looked around. “Not one for order, are you?”

  “Not with this kind of stuff.” He kicked the door closed, then a pile of clothes out of the way. “Weapons, strategy. That stuff’s important. What my room looks like? If my bed’s made? Not so much.”

  Luc grinned at her frown and swept his hand up the arch of her back then cupped the nape of her neck, pausing, stroking the fine bones of her delicate neck with his thumb. He moved in to kiss her, but she stopped him with a sigh, then two fingers against his lips.

  “We need to talk, Luc. About Alexis.”

  His mouth went dry. Resignation and apprehension cooled his blood, every bit as much as that pressure against his lips. Pulling her hand away, he kissed the tips of those fingers. “Yeah, we do.” What she thought of him, what she’d overheard, he couldn’t imagine. Moving away, he picked a spot by the window, sat on the ledge and watched as she roved about the room, too restless to settle. “What would you like to know, Victoria?”

  Silence stretched out between them before she finally said, “I guess, to start, how long were you two together?”

  “About three years.” After a beat, he added, “But I’ve known her for about fifty.”

  “Years?” Victoria stumbled over the word, her voice cracking as she calculated, her eyes on him the entire time. “But she looks barely thirty years old, so is she a—”

  “Alexis is almost eighty. And because she’s part demon, she’ll look like this for two hundred more. She joined up with us, or rather Rhiannon brought her to us, in the sixties. Half beaten to death, burned and tortured, she’d been captured by a group of religious zealots. Apparently, they thought killing a Nephilim would buy them everlasting life.” Lucas quelled the rumble of rage he still felt at the memory. “That’s not exactly how things worked out for them.”

  Victoria’s face softened. “I’m glad Rhiannon found her. And I’m glad you took care of the men who hurt her.” She glanced away before adding, “Damn it, Luc. Three years is a long time, especially if you had no intention of being serious.” She crossed her arms. “I can’t blame her for hating you right now. Or hating me, for that matter.”

  “Neither of us…” His breath seemed to be frozen in his lungs as her face hardened. “I thought neither of us would ever get serious. I thought neither of us wanted to get serious. Until these last few months, anyway. But we’d fallen into a comfortable rut, you know? And I didn’t know how to break out of that.”

  Victoria’s eyes flashed.

  “Not without hurting Lexi,” he quickly clarified. “Not without breaking her heart. And she’s been through so much already…so I just…let it go on.” He spread his hands helplessly. “Comfort was better than causing her any pain. Or so I told myself. And then you came along, and everything changed. I didn’t plan for this. I wasn’t looking for it. I wasn’t looking for you. It just happened. And I didn’t have any control over it. Not how I felt, not how I feel now.”

  Lucas clenched the edge of the window ledge. “I know there’s no going back. And the way I feel about you…” He breathed the final part out, as if it were a wish he was making. “It’s what I’ve been looking for. You’re what I’ve been looking for. Waiting for, Victoria.”

  Her eyes glittered with tears. “I’ve been waiting for you, Luc. I just never thought…I never knew I’d have this chance at a life. But you still have to tell her, you need to try to explain. Everything you just told me, you have to tell her.” She attempted a smile and failed. “Even though she’ll probably hate me anyway.”

  “I did. I tried, anyway.” His shoulders sagged. “We’re all pretty tight at the Warehouse. Not in each other’s business, exactly, but there’s only about sixty of us, maybe a hundred, including the ones, like Tate, who float through every so often. Us breaking up will affect everyone.”

  “The big guy sure seemed to have her back,” Victoria said softly, and Lucas nodded in agreement.

  “There’s another thing,” he murmured, his heart now racing a million miles a minute, as if he were sixteen years old and this was his first date. “Obviously, you can’t go back to London. Not with Devlin and the Circle hunting for you. Have you given any thought about what you’re going to do? Where you’ll go next?”

  “Sure, I’ve been thinking about it. A lot. Europe’s probably out of the question. But America…” She dodged his eyes. “I’m just not sure what to do.” She huffed out a bitter laugh. “For someone who never quite belonged, freedom, it seems, isn’t quite the gilded cage I once thought it would be.”

  She sighed. “But that’s not fair. I just need to get my feet under me again. Once I figure out how to find other Trackers—once I free them—then the rest won’t matter, right?”

  Luc pushed himself up and was across the room in a heartbeat. “I want you to stay with me. I love you, you love me, and since we’re both fighting the same war, it might make perfect sense.” He tucked her against him, feeling her fold herself into his embrace.

  “I…I do love you, Lucas, but are you sure about this?”

  “Surer than I’ve ever been of anything. Just the thought of not knowing where you are… I’ll sleep much better knowing you’re safe with me.” He nuzzled into her hair. “And before you get all claustrophobic, the Warehouse is a big place. Lots of rooms. You’d have your own space, time to sort through everything.”

  “Knowing I have somewhere to go…I feel better already,” Victoria said, running a finger down his face. “And I know you’ll give me my space, whenever I need it. Plus, New York is close to the ocean. I have to have water nearby.” She pulled them closer to the disheveled bed. “We fight this war together. We figure this out between us, together.”
Victoria pulled back, searching his face. “But the minute we get back to New York, you make things right with Alexis. You owe it to her. And remember, if Devlin comes after us—if he finds us—we’ll all be on the same side, fighting the same war, and there won’t be room for jealousy.”

  “I know you’re right. Still,” Lucas said, lowering his head until their foreheads touched. “This whole situation’s bound to be complicated.”

  “Life is complicated. At least, a life with choices is complicated. For too long, I’ve lived without the ability to choose. It’s a nice thing to be able to make your own calls. No matter where they may lead.”

  “I’m sorry,” Luc said. “I never had to look at it like that.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” she told him. “Just make it right. For both of you.” Victoria shook her head. “No, that’s not it. For all of us. For you and me and Alexis and the others. If we mean to do this, then let’s do it and keep your family intact. It’s got to be possible, somehow.”

  For a moment, Lucas just pulled back and looked at the woman he loved. Her own future was unsure, but damn, her main priority was keeping them all together.

  His heart swelled, and he kissed her slowly, sweetly, her lips tasting faintly of salt. “I love you.” This was what he’d always yearned for, and now he finally had it. “You, my princess, are truly something else.”

  “Stop with the mushy stuff and come to bed.” Victoria tangled her arms around his neck, and before he knew it, they tumbled onto the mattress, the whole bed bouncing on impact. “That’s better,” she said, straddling him and peeling off her shirt. She was a long and lean spire above him, and he sucked, tasted, nipped until her breath came in little pants and she was pushing his shirt over his head.

  “So much better,” she murmured, running her hands over him, leaving little aftershocks of pleasure in their wake. He kissed her, harder this time, drowning in those sea-blue eyes. She was the undercurrent, and he was getting dragged down. When her teeth scraped along his neck, he growled in pleasure, his cock jumping with every nip. “I want to lose myself in you,” Victoria said against his skin, greedily nibbling away.

  Her hands skimming his body, her lips feasting, Lucas tightened his grip on her thighs, digging his fingers in as he lost control, the heady sensation of lust and desire taking over. He wanted her, all of her, and he wouldn’t settle for anything less.

  He flipped her over and brushed her hair from her face as she stared up at him. Then he trailed kisses down her throat, over her collarbones, and sucked a nipple into his mouth, satisfied when he heard her quick intake of breath.

  “Damn, that feels good. And don’t even think of stopping.”

  Lucas stripped off his pants, then hers, then licked his way up her legs, until he tasted salt and her hands were wound in his hair. She quivered beneath him by the time he nudged her thighs apart, then slowly sank into her, until his cock was firmly seated and her eyes fluttered.

  He rode her slowly, watching her face as it transformed from delight to ecstasy, then back to half-aware desire, her eyes glazing over more and more with every long, slow slide in and out, her legs wrapping around him, her ankles crossed at the base of his spine.

  He was in love with her.

  And if things went right, he’d spend the rest of his life discovering what pleased her, every subtle preference she had, until she had no secrets from him—at least, not the kind of secrets that mattered.

  A final thrust and he shuddered, the dark wave of an orgasm causing his entire body to freeze up and his mind to go entirely blank as the sensation swept through him, Victoria’s embrace the only thing grounding him.

  “I love you,” she said softly, and he opened his eyes to find her staring up at him. “I know I haven’t said it enough, but I’m saying it now. Once this business with Devlin’s book is over, I’d like to… Well, I have a lot of time to make up for.”

  She skimmed a finger down his cheek, landing in the dent on his chin.

  “I’d like to make it up with you, Luc.”

  35

  They’d taken a huge risk coming back here.

  But mere moments on British soil wouldn’t give Devlin much of an opportunity to catch them, and Kieran had blanketed the book with a heavy damper of his magic before they’d stepped through the portal into Turnbell Sound, where she’d grown up. He’d gotten the damn thing through the gate.

  This next part was up to her.

  Victoria stood fifty feet away on the edge of the cliff, her toes overhanging the broken ledge, the waves below her roaring as they crashed against the rocks. For anyone else, the surf probably sounded dangerous, but for Victoria, the sound was a siren’s call.

  Shuddering, she released her magic, transforming as it surged through her. With every tremor of power, her skin changed. She changed.

  Iridescent scales glittered down over her arms. Sleek and smooth, they locked into place as her eyes grew wider, even the dim sunshine causing them to water until she blinked her third eyelid into place, the one that allowed her to see beneath the waves. Long black claws curved out from the ends of her fingers, and with a flex of her thighs she shot through the air in a graceful arc, disappearing into the sea spray between the rocks.

  Relishing the cold press of the deep sea, Victoria kicked toward her father’s fortress, the book taped securely to her stomach. Even down here, even with her enhanced strength, its weight dragged her down, an anchor without a chain.

  Cruising through the series of archways, she slowed, surprised by the myriad faces peering out from between openings, out of coral-encrusted windows. As before, Manannan floated in the center of his hall.

  This time, he was not alone.

  “Daughter,” he greeted her.

  Victoria, claws elongating into daggers, inclined her head to her father, to the strange people gathered about him. The crowd bowed back as one.

  “My court,” her father said, with a wide sweep of his arm. “And yours.”

  A court. As if she were some sort of…

  “You are my daughter,” her father reminded her pointedly. “And a goddess, in your own right.” A flick of his tail and he drifted closer and offered her a wry smile. “The idea may take some getting used to, I’ll admit.” He reached out a hand, from which dangled a long silver-green chain, the same metal as the talisman. From the chain dangled a pendant of ivory bone. “They are sworn to protect you. And serve. Should you ever need them, you have but to summon them, and they will come to your aid.”

  Victoria ripped the tape from her middle and offered her father the book with a smile. “Since we’re exchanging gifts, I brought you a little something as well.”

  Her father’s eyes flared in surprise. “Devlin’s book.”

  She nodded. “I hope you will help us. We needed a safe place to hide it.” Her grin grew every bit as evil as her sire’s. “While we destroy him.”

  Hours later, still dripping seawater, Kieran beside her, Victoria reappeared in Central Park, beneath the bridge. She stepped into Luc’s waiting arms the second she was through.

  He wrapped her up in his coat and pressed a kiss against her forehead as she snuggled against him.

  “It’s done,” she told Lucas. “And now, we can begin.”

  Thank you so much for reading!

  If you enjoyed Seacursed, please consider

  leaving a short review,

  I would thank you from the bottom of my heart! -L.A.

  Keep reading! The next book in this series is Bloodcursed

  This series is a spin off

  from The Banished Gods Series

  If you enjoy sexy immortals, tenacious heroines

  and bad guys you love to hate, check it out!

  Also By L.A. Mcginnis:

  The Banished Gods series:

  Queen of Swords

  The Moon

  The Priestess

  Death’s Daughter

  The Lovers

  The Tower

  The World


  The Mage Circle Trilogy:

  Seacursed

  Bloodcursed

  Demoncursed

  Holy City Vampires:

  Shadows of Ghosts

  Unrequited Heart

  Echoes of Time (tba)