by Ella Summers
“Like bodyguards?”
He nodded.
“That’s not concern,” she told him. “It’s meddling. With a side helping of jealousy. What are these bodyguards supposed to protect me from? From someone taking a picture of me? Finn hasn’t done anything more than that and send creepy stalker messages.”
“Yet,” he said. “I don’t like it. Finn is up to something. The first thing he did after breaking out of prison was start stalking you. And Cutler, whether or not he’s working for Finn, is insane himself.”
“I thought I was supposed to worry about the Games, not Finn or Cutler. Your words. Not mine.”
He nodded. “Precisely. Which is why I’m sending some of my guys to guard you. So you don’t have to worry about those stalkers while you’re busy with the Games. For once, don’t be stubborn. Let someone take care of you.”
“Your security guys should be taking care of Blackbrooke and the Magic Council mages. The vampires are targeting them. No one is targeting me. All I have are two weirdos annoying me with sleazy messages.”
“Sera—”
She plopped down on the sofa beside him. “I’ll be fine.”
“What if you’re wrong? I can’t just leave you unprotected.”
“I’ve been fighting monsters since years before I met you. I assure you I can take care of myself.”
He watched her for a few moments, silent, calculating. Finally, he spoke. “No. I don’t buy it. Finn is up to something. Something big. He wouldn’t be sending you messages for no reason.”
“Kai,” she said calmly, touching his hand. “Finn is a psychopath. Psychopaths do all kinds of things for no reason.”
He frowned. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“I guess not.”
“You need to keep your mind in one piece, no matter what Duncan throws at you in the Games,” he told her.
“I thought you didn’t think I could do it.”
“I didn’t say that. I only said no one ever had.” He clasped her hand. “But you aren’t like anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Kai, I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, that’s a first.”
She punched him in the arm. She didn’t put too much power behind it—hitting dragons gave her bloody knuckles and bruised bones—but she couldn’t leave that comment unanswered.
“You can’t watch your back the whole time, Sera. Not if you want to beat Duncan at his own game.”
He had a point. The more things she had to worry about, the easier it would be for Blackbrooke to break her mind. And the most important thing was to keep the Magic Council in the dark about her forbidden origin. She could stomach a punch to her pride if it meant preserving that secret.
“Fine,” she said, climbing over to sit on his lap, facing him. “You can stay with me. Send your guards to babysit someone else. I want the very best.”
“Hmm.”
Stroking his ego was a dirty trick, but she wasn’t above dirty tricks. If she was going to have a guard on her, she at least wanted someone who wouldn’t fall to pieces in the heat of battle. Kai was someone who made other people fall to pieces. He was the logical choice. And that had nothing to do with the fact that he was nice to look at.
The voice in her head snorted.
“Ok,” Kai said, watching her. Maybe she got glassy-eyed when she was talking to herself. “I’ll talk to Duncan about letting me into the backstage area. You drive a hard bargain.”
“Thanks to my spectacular powers of persuasion.”
He snorted. “Stubborn woman.”
“That’s what you love about me,” she said, kissing him. “That and my uncommon wit. Admit it.”
“I can think of a few other things.” He returned the kiss, his hands stroking her thighs.
Someone tapped out three crisp, professional knocks on the door. Kai cursed.
“Your commandos are here,” Sera said. She could feel their magic humming on the other side of the door.
“Yes.”
Sera slid off his lap and walked toward the door, grabbing her sports bag along the way. When she opened the door, Callum’s brows lifted in surprise. Behind him, Tony grinned and nudged Dal in the arm. Dal winked at her. Great. So much for keeping her and Kai a secret. Sera stood there, trying not to look like she’d just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Apparently, she failed because Dal winked at her again. Kai wasn’t helping matters. He walked up behind her and set his hand on the small of her back, his magical aura growling like an overly protective dragon. The commandos took a collective step back.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! Save it for someone who’s actually a threat, Kai,” Sera said.
Then she resettled her bag on her shoulder and squeezed out of the doorway. As she passed Tony, he handed her a new phone. It was identical to her old one. She blinked. Twice. Even the case was the same: pink plastic engraved with flowers and bees. She swiped past a few screens. All her contacts were there. So were her messages and photos. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. It was magic. Black magic.
“Should I be concerned that your people were able to break into my account so easily?” she asked Kai as they walked down the hall.
“No. My people are competent.”
Behind him, Callum was smirking at her. So he was the tech wizard.
“Besides,” Kai added. “It’s not hard to guess a girly password like ‘PinkLily’.”
Lily was the name of Sera’s scooter, and she was pink. She also sparkled.
“Girly?” Sera coughed.
“You are very feminine,” Kai said calmly.
“I’ll just go get my sword and you can repeat that, dragon breath.”
Kai chuckled, and the commandos joined in. Sera glared at them, but that only seemed to amuse them more.
A few minutes later, they were walking across the hotel lobby. Naomi was standing at the reception desk, flirting with the staff. When she saw Sera, she swiped a cookie from the plate on the counter and hurried over.
“For you,” she said, handing Sera the cookie. It was chocolate chip and the size of at least three regular cookies.
Sera took a bite. “Thanks,” she replied, and she meant it. The cookie was soft and fresh. The chocolate chips were still gooey. There was enough sugar in there to kill most mortals, but Sera didn’t care. She would die happy.
Naomi grinned as she watched her take another bite. “Come on.” She linked her arm in Sera’s and walked faster, putting some distance between them and the guys.
“Where’s Riley?” Sera asked.
“He’ll be along soon. He slept in this morning. Last night’s field trip to Trove was a little too much excitement for him.”
Sera stopped in her tracks. “Don’t tell me monsters attacked.”
“No.” She pulled Sera along. “But he did have a few too many of those magic cocktails.”
“I still can’t believe you brought him to Trove,” Sera said. “Do you know what goes on there? Did you have a look at what those mages were doing on the dance floor?”
“Oh, we saw that all right. It was really hard to miss.” Naomi’s eyes twinkled—then shifted green. “I blame the cocktails they serve there.”
“Those same cocktails that Riley had?” She sighed. “You got my brother drunk!”
“Of course not. He is perfectly capable of getting drunk all by himself.”
“Did you at least find him a date? A nice girl preferably. Who doesn’t do unseemly things on the dance floor.”
An impish smile tugged at Naomi’s glossy pink lips. “I’ve heard about a few unseemly things you yourself were doing on that dance floor.”
Sera blushed. “How?”
“Talked to the bartender. Apparently, he knows your dragon. I heard you two practically set the sprinklers off with your magic.”
“I…” She cleared the frog from her throat. “That’s not even true.”
Naomi squeezed her arm. “Good for you.
You deserve to let your hair down once in a while.”
“Riley,” Sera reminded her.
“Oh, right.” Naomi smirked at her. “He danced with a few women, but his heart wasn’t really in it. It was disappointing actually. He loosened up after a few drinks, and later the two of us danced a bit together. And then there was more drinking and…” She tapped her cheek thoughtfully. “Then we sat at the bar and made fun of all the weirdos in the club.”
“Not to their faces, I hope.”
“No, but they wouldn’t have noticed anyway. They were all too wasted.”
“So, basically, you got my brother drunk and then flirted with him,” Sera teased.
“Sera, I flirt with everyone.”
“Yeah, I know. Just go easy on Riley, ok? He can’t handle a woman like you.”
Naomi sighed. “None of them can, honey.” Her wistful look flipped to devious. “But enough about me,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she stole a glance back at Kai. He and the commandos were far back enough that they couldn’t hear. Probably. “You didn’t come back to our suite last night, young lady.” She wiggled her finger sternly at Sera, but the amused twinkle in her eyes ruined the effect.
“Vampires attacked,” Sera said.
“Oh, did they now? The whole night?”
“They attacked Duncan Blackbrooke.”
“The Game Architect?”
“Yes. And he’s completely worthless in a fight. Kai and I had to fight off all the vampires ourselves. And there were dozens of them.”
“How did you defeat them?” Naomi asked.
“I blew them up.”
Naomi blinked, then cleared her throat. “All of them?”
“Not all. We burned a few before that. Then they were swarming Kai. I freaked out and set them all on fire and then…pop. The vampires exploded.”
Naomi chewed on her lip. She looked like she didn’t know what to say. She finally settled on, “Wow.”
“Kai got torn up pretty badly, so I brought him back to his suite.”
A wicked grin spread across Naomi’s face, displacing the shock. “You sure must be a good nurse.”
“Huh?”
Naomi wiggled her eyebrows. “I’ve never seen the dragon in such a good mood before. He actually looks…” She winked at her. “…relaxed.”
Sera turned her gaze forward. The tunnel vision defense worked against mischievous, teasing fairy friends too.
Naomi dropped her voice further and whispered. “I can’t believe you slept with Kai Drachenburg. Ok, I can believe it but, wow. Just wow.” Her hand tightened on Sera’s shoulder, squeezing her closer. “And?”
“And?”
“And spill the beans. I want to hear details.”
“He’s right behind us,” Sera hissed through gritted teeth.
“Ok, you don’t need to say anything. From the way you’re glowing, it must have been good. Your eyes just had an orgasm. Eye-orgasm.”
“There’s no such thing.”
Naomi smirked at her. “Oh, sure there is. And your eyes just had one.”
There was no point in arguing with fairies about things like these. And Sera had bigger problems to worry about. They’d reached Madison Square Garden.
As they entered the lobby, Naomi released Sera’s shoulder and fell back to flirt with the commandos. Kai moved forward to walk beside Sera. He didn’t say anything to indicate that he’d heard her conversation with Naomi, but he wasn’t a very expressive person. Sera studied his face, trying to see this relaxed look Naomi had mentioned, but he just looked serious. No, not just serious. Vexed. Magic cracked and sizzled across his body, snapping in tight, agitated coils. And Sera had just seen why: Blackbrooke was walking straight for them, a contingent of security guards at his back.
“He looks upset,” Sera commented to Kai.
“What happened last night after the vampire attack?” Kai asked the commandos.
They closed around him as one smooth, coordinated unit.
“We brought him back to his hotel,” Tony told him.
“He was still too much in shock to heal himself, so I did it,” said Dal.
“Then we stayed with him until his extra security came,” added Callum.
In other words, they’d acted professional and competent. Blackbrooke had no reason to be pissed off with Kai. Except the look on his face said he was exactly that. He stepped into their path and marched up to Kai.
“We need to talk,” he said to Kai but looked at Sera.
They followed him to the side. He led them to a large potted plant, then spun around and glared at them, his eyes screaming murder.
“What game are you playing at?” he demanded, fuming and red-faced.
Kai stared back at him, his face unreadable. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said calmly.
“This woman,” he growled, pushing his finger in Sera’s face. “She is not what she seems to be.”
19
Fighting Magic with Magic
The first thought that rushed through Sera’s head was that Blackbrooke had figured out she was Dragon Born and had come to sentence her to death. The second thing that hit her wasn’t so much a thought as it was a feeling of complete panic coupled with the intense urge to flee. Before she could succumb to this urge, he spoke again.
“I saw the magic she did to those vampires last night.” He was talking to Kai, like she didn’t even matter here. “She’s a Magic Breaker, a Sniffer, an Elemental, and a few dozen other things. That’s not magic you can just hide under the rug, Kai. Mages aren’t born like that every day, especially not mages from an unknown dynasty. What family are you from and why are you hiding it?” he demanded of Sera. Oh, so apparently she existed after all. “Did they kick you out? Disown you?” His eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Are you a criminal?”
Kai stepped forward, cutting him off. Even though he’d probably done it to protect Blackbrooke from getting a well-deserved thump on the head, there was something incredibly romantic about the way he put himself between them.
“Say nothing,” he whispered to her, then turned his icy glare on Blackbrooke. “As stated by Article 1, Section 22 of the Supernatural Decree of 1993, a mage may at any time sever ties with his or her dynasty without fear of persecution from said dynasty or the Magic Council. Also,” he added, a growl buzzing on his lips. “It’s really poor taste for the mage representing the esteemed position of Game Architect to engage in idle gossip. Enough with the baseless accusations, Duncan. If she were a criminal, we’d know about it. Leave the gossiping to your sister. She, at least, doesn’t muck it up.”
Blackbrooke let out an indignant huff. He looked like he’d just swallowed a swarm of his magic wasps.
“Sera is here, going through the Games as ordered,” Kai continued, ignoring Blackbrooke’s huffing and puffing. “She isn’t doing anything wrong. And she saved your life, Duncan,” Kai cut in quickly, before Blackbrooke could even open his mouth.
Blackbrooke pressed his lips together, even more sour-faced than before.
“Now,” Kai said. “Let us pass. Sera needs to prepare for her first match of the day. It starts in half an hour.”
Like oil over asphalt, a sick grin slid across Blackbrooke’s face. “There’s been a change of plans. Her match starts in ten minutes.” He turned that oily smile on Sera. “Congratulations, you’ve been upgraded.”
The front pouch of Sera’s bag buzzed. She tried to ignore it.
“Aren’t you going to check that?” Blackbrooke asked.
“I’d rather not. I haven’t had the best luck with SMSs lately.”
His eyes hardened. “Ms. Dering, check your phone.”
With a heavy sigh, she dug into her bag and pulled out her phone. “It’s from the ‘Magic Games’. Sounds like a pleasant fellow,” she added with a smirk she didn’t feel.
“You really should be taking this more seriously, Ms. Dering. The Magic Games are a long and glorious tradition.”
When she didn’t respond, he frowned. Maybe he’d been expecting a few oohhs and aahhs. Or a parade of elves to march through the lobby, their voices raised in song.
“In other words,” he said, standing poised and pretentious. “More magic, less sarcasm. Your smart mouth won’t help you in the pit. Especially not now.” He didn’t cackle maniacally, but he sure looked like he wanted to. Maybe maniacal cackling wasn’t posh enough for him.
“Kai,” she said, showing him her new fight schedule. “It’s completely different. My opponents aren’t even the same as before.”
Kai glanced across the screen, his magic crackling like shifting ice. “What’s the meaning of this, Duncan?”
“Honestly, Kai, I don’t see why you’re surprised,” Blackbrooke said. “After the magic she demonstrated last night, surely you don’t expect us to let her just waltz through the lower tiers of the Magic Games.” His delighted gaze shifted to Sera. “She’s special. And special mages need special challenges. To figure out her magic, we need to push her. We need to crack her,” he added with a wistful smile. He looked like his birthday had come early. And Christmas. And a few dozen other holidays too.
“This isn’t a challenge,” Kai said, scanning the timetable. His head snapped up. “It’s a full-scale assault. These are some of the top-rated mages in the world.”
“Not all. You are missing from the lineup, Kai,” replied Blackbrooke, looking like he’d love nothing better than to remedy that.
Sera hid her hands behind her back, squeezing them together. If Blackbrooke found some way to make Kai fight her in the Games, she’d be screwed. It took everything she had—every shred of magic, every punch, every trick—just to hold her own against him. She couldn’t fight him and protect her mind from Blackbrooke too.
Kai glanced at her, then back to Blackbrooke. “I cannot fight Sera. It is against the rules of the Games.”
When he reached over and took her hand behind her back, she squeezed it in appreciation. If her heart hadn’t already stopped at the beginning of this conversation, it would have stuttered in relief.
“Yes, yes. You’re right.” Blackbrooke’s face crinkled, the lines writing out the story of his displeasure. “As her coach and sponsor, you cannot be compelled to fight her. However, if you truly care about her, you will agree to do it of your own volition.”