Magic Awakened: A Reverse Harem Romance Complete Series

by Sadie Moss

  The weight of their faith in me made my heart thump desperately in my chest, but I didn’t back away from it this time. I raised my own hands, mirroring their gesture. Then we all brought our hands down together, almost like a salute.

  Noble clapped me on the shoulder, flashing me a smile that would’ve been smug if he hadn’t looked so proud. He turned to address the crowd, his voice magically amplified like mine had been.

  “This is it, everyone. We’re as ready as we can be. We’ve gone over our plans and outfitted ourselves as best we can. We’ve set our course of action. Now there’s only one thing left to do—bring down that bastard, Rain. It’s time to show him that many people working together are stronger than even the most powerful mage in the world.” He raised his fist in the air, his voice rising to match it. “Time to make him pay for his crimes against all of us. To turn the tide of evil in the world. ‘To reap the harvest of perpetual peace, by this one bloody trial of sharp war!’”

  The room exploded into noise as a battle cry went up among the gathered crowd. They stomped their feet and banged their weapons, their voices uniting into a single roar.

  I shot a glance at Noble, my words barely audible above the crowd. “Richard III, huh? You read it?”

  He grinned at me, his eyes flashing. “Well, when The Crow quotes Shakespeare to you, you damn well better quote it back. And besides,” he added, his smile widening to show his teeth. “Richmond wins in the end.”

  Chapter 21

  The scent of pine and earth filled my nostrils, and I lowered my nose to the ground, searching for any sign of Rain or his minions.

  There was none, but I knew we were on the right path. I could pick up the lingering scent of my four, and even myself, from our trek down the mountainside after I escaped Rain’s compound.

  Ugh, I really did smell like I’d spent a week in a dungeon. Why didn’t you tell me?

  Fen sniffed at the trail beside me. I didn’t notice. All I could focus on was that you were alive.

  I snorted internally. That had to be a lie. But there was no hint of anything but truth in the thoughts and feelings coming from him.

  My gaze caught his in the darkness, the amber eyes of his wolf lighter than his usual chocolate brown. Gods, you really must love me.

  The wave of emotion pouring off him nearly bowled me over, and he licked the side of my face. Don’t ever doubt it, killer.

  “No making out on missions,” Corin murmured beside me. His body brushed against mine, keeping in close contact as Fen and I led our small team up the mountain.

  “That’s a terrible rule,” Akio drawled from Fen’s other side.

  “Of course you would say that,” Corin deadpanned, though he didn’t argue Akio’s point.

  The clear night sky was painted with stars, and a half-moon gave us enough light to see by. Ivy’s ghostly form was almost invisible as she walked a few feet away from me. Emil and Foster, the two Gifted men who could break wards, brought up the rear of our party. Once they let us inside Rain’s compound, they’d rejoin the others and give Noble the signal to launch the attack.

  We’d arrived at the base of the mountain through a portal created by another new Gifted recruit. She’d closed it after us to protect those who had remained behind—children and others too old or sick to fight. A small team of able-bodied Resistance members had stayed to protect them, but nearly everyone was joining the fight.

  A few similar portals had been opened a short distance from the People’s Palace. We had a limited supply of transport spells, and it was better to use them as a way out than as a way in.

  The placement of the portal at the mountain’s base was deliberate. We could’ve had it deliver us right to Rain’s doorstep, but hiking in gave us an element of surprise and allowed us to scope out the area first. While the attack on the palace would be blatant and violent, the whole point of our mission was to stay under the radar.

  A new smell hit my nose, and I stopped suddenly, hackles rising as my skin prickled. Do you smell that?

  Rain. Fen’s hatred of the man infused the word. And a few others. I don’t know all the scents, but Jonas Nocturne was here, for sure.

  I smell Nicholas Constantine. Victor Kruger, too. And… Eben Knowles.

  Shit. Fen growled. Rain must’ve brought him in this way.

  Gaze fixed ahead of us on the dark pines and undergrowth, I padded forward slowly. Corin’s hand was buried in my fur as he crept along beside me.

  “There,” Jae murmured from just behind me.

  Several yards in front of us, a large slab of rock rose tall, creating a sheer cliff face. Tucked away in the crook where the rock met the steep mountainside sat the small, hidden entrance to Rain’s compound. It hadn’t been warded last time I’d seen it, but now a soft purple light pulsed across the surface.

  I shifted back to human form quickly, pleased I didn’t lose a single article of clothing in the transformation. Fen shifted next to me, and we all gathered into a small huddle.

  “This is the door we came through when I escaped,” I whispered softly. “There’s an inner door several yards inside the tunnel that’s warded too. Emil, Foster—can you break both of them?”

  The two men nodded in unison and got to work on the first door.

  Ivy stepped up to my side. “Want me to look inside?”

  “Yeah. Find out if there are any guards at the doors. But don’t let them see you.”

  She smiled happily. “Of course I won’t, silly!”

  Then she stepped into the rock face next to the door, disappearing from view.

  The rest of us fanned out around the entrance as the two men worked, our gazes darting up and down the mountainside. The quiet stillness of the night seemed threatening somehow, and every animal call or rustle of wind through the pines set my teeth on edge.

  After what felt like an eternity, Ivy popped back out of the rock, her wide eyes finding me in the dark. “No guards behind the first door. Three behind the second. A mage, a demon, and a tiger shifter.”

  I nodded, turning to Emil and Foster. “Did you get that?”

  Foster nodded, the sheen of sweat on his brow gleaming in the moonlight. The ward brightened briefly then flickered out of existence, leaving behind a smell like burning hair.

  The door wasn’t locked. Rain believed too strongly in the power of magic to stoop to anything as mundane as a lock to keep intruders out.

  Summoning my magic, I created a small ball of light in the palm of my hand then sent it up to hover above us. I’d asked Jae to teach me the spell this morning and was pleased at how quickly I had picked it up.

  It was useful as fuck on missions like this.

  Jae and I led Emil, Foster, and Ivy through the dimly lit tunnel in silence. When the inner door came into view, I tamped down the glow of my light even more and gestured the two Gifted men ahead of me.

  They got to work silently, trading small pulses of magic that weakened the glowing ward. When it finally flared and died, I braced myself, half expecting the door to burst open and the guards to come charging through.

  But they didn’t.

  “Ivy,” I breathed. “Look inside again. Only this time, do let them see you.”

  Her eyes widened, and she nodded excitedly. She stepped into the rock wall beside us. A moment later, a shout of surprise sounded from the other side of the door.

  With a nod to Jae, I yanked the door open, revealing the three guards on the other side. They were turned away from us as they watched Ivy prance down the corridor. She’d made herself more corporeal, though she was still slightly translucent.

  Not giving them a chance to react, I hurled both daggers in quick succession at the red-skinned demon on the right, hitting him in the back. He gurgled and keeled over. The other two turned toward us just as Jae sent an ice spear through the mage’s chest and I unleashed a ball of flame that engulfed the tiger. A loud, animal cry shredded the silence, and I quickly pulled back on the magic.

  Jae sen
t out a flaming arc that opened up the tiger’s throat. Blood poured from the wound, and the cry died out as the shifter slumped to the ground.

  “Fuck,” I muttered. “That could’ve been quieter.”

  “You did well,” Jae reassured me. “We ended it quickly, at least.”

  Fear chilled my skin, but I didn’t hear any other sounds coming down the hallway. Maybe backup wasn’t close by enough to have heard the noise.

  I turned back to Emil and Foster, who looked slightly shell-shocked. They’d probably never been up close and personal to a fight like this in their lives. I hoped they were fast learners. “Thanks, guys. We’ll take it from here.”

  Emil nodded, tugging a transport spell from his pocket. He dropped it, clapped a hand on Foster’s shoulder, and crushed the glass with his heel.

  As the smoke billowed out, enveloping them in a purple cloud, I activated my communication charm.

  “Noble? We’re in. We’re sending Emil and Foster back to you. Good luck.”

  His voice sounded in my ear immediately. “You too. Keep your communication charm on. We’ll be in touch.”

  The earrings enchanted with a communication charm dangled from my ears, at odds with the rest of my tactical outfit. I was dressed in black, with my dagger sheaths strapped to my thighs and thick, heavy boots on my feet.

  Ivy had drifted back out of the tunnel to collect the rest of my four, and they joined us after a moment. Going from memory, I retraced the path I’d taken during my escape, passing by the hallway where I’d found my men. Jae’s hand brushed my arm as we walked by it, and he smiled lightly.

  After a few more twists and turns, the tunnel opened up into the large room where Rain stored the concentrated ball of magic from his first pull—the one that had caused the Great Death.

  I slowed as we entered the room, worry twisting like a snake in my gut.

  Wall sconces glowing with magic illuminated the large space, but they were the only source of light left.

  The ball of magic that had burned as brightly and powerfully as a star was gone. So was the large metal platform with the six huge prongs that had held the magic like a gem. The large space was barren, the emptiness all the more striking because of what the room had once contained.

  “It’s gone,” I breathed, a chill skittering down my spine.

  “What’s gone?” Corin glanced back at me before continuing his perusal of the huge space.

  “The magic.” Lingering traces of the power that had once been kept here remained, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. But I couldn’t feel anything more than that. “This was where Rain kept the magic he stole. What the hell did he do with it? He told me he couldn’t access it. Shit. Do you think he found a way?”

  “If he did, the Resistance attack will be over before it begins,” Jae said, his voice hard. “He could make himself so powerful we’d never be able to defeat him. He’d be able to wipe us out with a flick of his finger.”

  I swallowed. “Maybe that’s why there are so few guards down here. He doesn’t think he needs them.”

  “Well, no matter how much power he has, there’s only one way to stop him from getting more.” Fen bared his teeth, the expression wolf-like even in his human form. “Find that fucking machine and destroy it.”

  Ivy was already walking up the stairs at the perimeter of the room to the second level. We hustled after her, careful to keep our footsteps quiet. I’d expected this place to be crawling with guards, and the eerie emptiness was making me nervous. Maybe our plan really was working, and Rain had called in all the manpower he could spare to help defend the palace.

  We turned into a hallway leading away from the second floor of the large room. I stepped to the front of the group, my hands raised and at the ready. I’d passed through the protection spells on these tunnels before, so I knew better than the others what to expect.

  Two yards in, the tunnel shook slightly as a piece of rock pulled itself away from the wall, forming a roughly human shape.

  “Shit. Here we go.”

  I threw a strong gust of wind at the stone figure, driving it back down the tunnel. It hurled a piece of itself at me, a large chunk of rock the size of my head. I blasted the flying boulder with a shot of flame, and it exploded. I winced at the noise—I hadn’t learned yet how to fight quietly with magic. Jae stepped up beside me, raising a hand toward the creature.

  It thundered down the tunnel toward us, but as it ran, its body seemed to vibrate. When its next heavy footfall hit the earth, cracks streaked up its leg, and before it took two more steps, its entire body crumbled into a pile of rocks.

  Scrambling over the chunks of stone, I shot a glance back at Jae. “I like your way better than mine.”

  “I’ll teach you how to do it someday. Earth is a difficult element to master, but I know you’re up to the challenge.”

  Everyone else clambered over the rock pile obstructing the hallway—except Ivy, who walked right through it. I kept my eyes on the walls, searching for the telltale vibration that would signal the arrival of another rock creature.

  The sconces on the walls cast a yellow light through the tunnel, fading almost to black in the space between the magical lights. I turned left. We were close to the dungeon where I’d been kept, if my memory was accurate.

  I glanced back over my shoulder to tell the men that, but the words died in my throat. From several yards away, a fireball hurtled through the tunnel toward us.

  Chapter 22

  “Lana!”

  Corin’s shout drew my attention, and I whirled around.

  An arc of blue flame bore down on us from the other direction, boxing us in.

  I didn’t think. I just summoned the biggest tornado of air I could. It sprang to life around me and my four, tearing at the walls and ceiling of the crude rock tunnel. The twin orange and blue flames collided with it, whipping around us in a funnel of heat and smoke. The wind pressed in on us, forced closer by the flames even as it extinguished them.

  Finally, the fireballs died out. I let the wind fall away, my ears still ringing from its loud howl.

  Our attackers had been invisible, but now that they no longer had the element of surprise, they slowly faded into view. Advancing on us from each end of the long hallway were two groups of guards—Gifted and Touched, it looked like. The front lines were packed tightly together in the tunnel, and I could see their backup close behind them.

  “Shit.”

  The word had barely escaped my mouth when both groups attacked us again. A fireball hurtled through the tunnel from one direction, while several ice spears flew from the other side.

  “Watch out!” Fire met fire as I hurled an orange ball of flame toward the incoming attack.

  Jae threw up a wall of ice on our other side, blocking the spears. Another blast of fire from our attackers hit his ice blockade. Water poured off it as it cracked and began to melt, pooling on the uneven floor and making the ground slippery.

  A moment later, a gray-skinned demon slammed into it like a battering ram. The ice wall disintegrated, and he didn’t hesitate. He sprang toward Corin, moving at lightning speed. His hands landed around Corin’s neck, but Akio leapt on the demon from behind, cutting his throat cleanly.

  Corin dodged the spray of blood then looked up at the incubus. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.” Akio grinned.

  Another ball of fire flew toward us from the opposite end of the tunnel. This time, I forced an enormous gust of wind through the tunnel, turning the fire back on itself and making the guards at the end of hallway stumble back. Baring my teeth, I pushed the magic harder; the wind picked up speed and screamed through the small space as it drove our attackers backward.

  “Ivy!” I called over the shrieking of the wind. “Go ahead of us! See if you can find Rain’s magic pulling machine. It’s the device he uses to run his spell. We need to destroy it!”

  “On it!” she cried, her musical voice fierce. She plunged through the wall to my right.
>
  Behind me, grunts and cries echoed as my four dealt with the attackers from that end of the tunnel. I heard them calling warnings and instructions as they fought, and I was suddenly grateful they’d been a team for so long. They functioned as a cohesive unit, moving in tandem and always looking out for each other.

  “We’ve got an opening!” Fen shouted. “Lana!”

  My hands shook from the effort of sustaining the wind. Abruptly, I pulled back on the magic then unleashed a large ball of fire down the hallway before the guards could recover.

  I turned to my four, chest heaving. “Go!”

  We raced down the hallway, Akio in the lead. The guards behind us weren’t all dead, but it would take them a moment to recover from the wind and fire. That was enough for us to solidify our lead.

  When we rounded a corner, I caught a flash of someone disappearing through an archway at the end of the hall. Dark hair whipped around her head as she glanced back at me.

  Kate.

  “Rain’s disciple! She’ll know where the magic pull is.” I pointed. “We need to catch her!”

  “You two go.” Jae jerked his head toward Akio and me. “We’ll hold off the guards.”

  Akio’s gaze caught mine, and we sprinted forward. The room at the end of the hall was familiar. I’d spent days staring out at the large open space surrounded by cells when I’d been locked in one of them myself.

  By the time we burst through the archway, Kate had nearly reached the other tunnel that connected to this room on the opposite side.

  With an inarticulate shout, I reached out with my magic and plucked her from the ground, lifting her several feet in the air. She twisted, throwing a hand over her shoulder to shoot a bolt of lightning at me. Akio and I dove to the side, avoiding the strike.

  Borrowing a page from Jonas’s playbook, I slammed Kate against the ground before raising her high again. It was a dirty fucking move, but I wanted to win this fight. I’d worry about playing fair later.

  She moved to throw another bolt of electricity at us, but I dropped her against the rough stone floor again. I left her there this time, diving on top of her and pinning her body down with my own.