Impulsive Magic: A Snarky Paranormal Romance (Modern Magic Book 4)

by Nicole Hall

  Seth jerked his head up to see Keris sitting serenely on a boulder near the edge of the pool. “Are they ready?”

  “No. You know they’re not early risers. There’s time yet. Might as well come join me.”

  Droplets of mist clung to her dark hair, but she didn’t seem to notice or care. Seth trudged the last bit up the path and slumped onto the rock next to hers. “I came out here to be alone.”

  “An unusual desire for someone newly mated. Tired of your bond already?”

  Seth ran a hand through his hair, flicking the water he gathered back at the falls. He considered lying, but Keris probably already knew everything. Besides, for once he wanted to tell the truth with no games to play or ulterior motives. “No. I’m trying to protect her.”

  Keris raised a brow. “From you?”

  “From the price of judgment. It’s affecting Keely too.”

  She frowned. “They should have limited the spell to you, especially since you’d specifically brought your mate here for the ritual.”

  Seth shrugged. Maybe she didn’t know everything after all. “And yet that doesn’t seem to be the case. It probably doesn’t matter since I can finally prove my innocence. I don’t see things going well for Lexi though.”

  “You still claim Lexi was the real thief?”

  “Yes, and this time, the elders will actually believe me.”

  “I can tell you right now it wasn’t her.”

  Seth stared in disbelief at his aunt. “How can you defend her after all that’s happened? How can you believe I would do this?” He’d spent a long time in Terra purging the constant feeling of inadequacy, only to have Keris resurrect it with a few comments. Would he never be good enough for his clan?

  Keris placed her hand on his arm. “I don’t believe it was you either. Like I told Keely, my actions are bound by the will of the elders, but my mind is my own. Lexi was with me when the theft occurred.”

  “How is that possible? They sensed her magic there, and she never denied it.”

  Keris tilted her head. “How did you get through the doorway?”

  Seth’s brows drew together. He’d used his magic’s similarities to Aiden’s to fool the portal for a short time. Familial magic could often be mistaken one for the other. “Are you suggesting Lexi’s mother came back and stole one of our artifacts?”

  “I’m suggesting nothing. Merely asking questions. Her mother was long gone by that point.”

  Understanding knocked him back a step. “Tamra?”

  Weakness stole his breath, and Seth hunched over. Keris rubbed his back until it passed. He grabbed her arm. “Keely’s in danger.”

  She raised a brow. “So are you. If the elders find no evidence of Lexi stealing the artifact, your current pains will seem small in comparison.”

  “I don’t care. I told Tamra to take Keely through the doorway. They could be together right now.”

  “And yet, they’re not. She was with Oren asking questions the last time I saw her.”

  Seth struggled to straighten, and the effort made him dizzy. “Dammit, Keely. For once, put yourself first.”

  “You need to speak to the elders. Atraxa has a soft spot for you. If you explain your suspicions, they may listen.”

  “You talk to them. I’m done playing by their rules.”

  Keris sighed heavily. “Have you ever played by their rules?”

  Seth searched the bond for Keely, but she’d shut him out as much as she could. She’d really paid attention during the shield lessons. “I tried this time. Look where that got me.”

  He pushed past Keris, intending to head back to the village, but she blocked his way.

  “You mean when you decided the best way back was to find a willing female and pass her off as your mate?”

  Her words dragged his attention away from the muted bond and back to his scheming aunt. “Yes, but it turns out I found my real mate after all. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

  She crossed her arms. “I have my ways, and a real mate works much better for your plan.”

  “Why didn’t you tell them? For that matter, why didn’t you tell them about Lexi before?”

  Keris looked away, into the trees. “I did tell them about Lexi. They claimed my evidence was biased because of my love for you.”

  Seth felt beliefs he’d held for centuries shift inside him. “Was it?”

  She met his eyes with a small smile. “Yes, but that didn’t make it less true.”

  He scrubbed his face, incredulous that they were having this conversation now. Keris was a master manipulator, but as far as he knew, she’d never worked against him. His youth since losing his parents had been filled with Keris’ disappointed face scolding him for breaking a rule or testing a boundary. He’d always thought she’d tolerated him for the sake of Aiden, and the rejection had stung. Except it hadn’t been a rejection. Maybe losing his parents—and her mate—had been harder on Keris than he’d given her credit for.

  Seth, it’s— Keely’s words cut off with a pained scream that had Seth clutching his head.

  He didn’t bother saying anything to Keris, just bolted toward the village.

  Keely needed him.

  15

  KEELY

  Keely hated crying. The wetness, the stuffy nose, the inability to think of anything other than the asshole who hurt her. She sniffled and wiped her face on her sleeve. In general, she rated crying about as helpful as howling at the moon to get things done, but every once in a while, the emotions and the sinuses needed to be cleansed. Personally, she preferred a good spicy chili.

  “Seth is gone.” There. She’d said it. The empty living room had no answer, but the statement wasn’t entirely true. The bond anchored inside her made sure a part of him stayed connected. At the moment, he was moving away from her at a fast clip and holding tight to that sense of apathy.

  Keely let her head fall back against the couch where she sat. Why would he need to work so hard to be apathetic? Couldn’t he simply release all the shields and walls and whatever that hid the parts of him he didn’t want her to see?

  An odd tightness inside her forced her to sit upright. The mate bond vibrated with tension for a few moments, and she had trouble taking a full breath. Keely pressed her chest with the heel of her palm, trying to ease the pressure, but all she did was smash the crystal necklace into her sternum.

  A fleeting feeling from the mate bond drew her attention. Seth had expected this. He’d braced for it. As the strain faded, Keely told herself to think with her brain instead of her broken heart.

  What did she know was real?

  Her feelings for Seth. She done the stupid and fallen in love with him. No question there. The mate bond that linked them sure as hell felt real. The emotions, or lack thereof, from the bond this morning had reflected his words, but they’d fallen flat.

  Keely thought back to the intense flow between them last night. He hadn’t held back then, and she’d felt the strength in his claim of her. Something had changed him during the night, and she didn’t think it had to do with being kicked off the couch.

  What else?

  Seth had a history of manipulating people, but she’d never believed he’d manipulated her. Even after his promise this morning, he hadn’t said anything untrue. Only his attitude had changed. The magic from his promise lingered on her skin, so Keely knew he’d meant what he’d said.

  But what if he hadn’t.

  He’d said, I promise I don’t want you here, but he’d never said he didn’t want her. Stupid hope banished most of the pain from his rejection, and Keely blew hair out of her face. Seth’s manipulations always worked toward the well-being of the people around him. Right after the ritual, he’d been worried about his meeting with the elders. Then today he’d told her to go home.

  Adding up those tidbits made it seem like his worry centered on her. My actions and secrets affect you. The strange chest pains popped into her head, and Keely snorted in exasperation.


  Seth knew what caused it. The certainty bounced along the bond and back, rushing through her. The spasms had to do with the meeting with the elders and his magic.

  Well screw that. Keely accepted whatever idiotic magic thing she’d stumbled into, or thrown her shoe at. If she wanted to risk her life to prevent Seth from turning into a magicless husk, that was her decision.

  The best parts of life demanded risk, something Keely should never have forgotten.

  Seth expected no one to fight for him, but Keely fully intended to disabuse him of that notion. And that meant she needed to stop wallowing and get off her ass.

  They’d deal with his utter lack of trust in her later.

  Keely shook her head. Staying in Aecantha on the off-chance that Seth really did love her and had an ulterior motive for his actions this morning marked the pinnacle of wishful thinking, but she hurried out of the house anyway. Keris had said to find the real thief, and Keely had some questions about the details of Seth’s supposed crime. Oren would have the answers she needed.

  She was ashamed to admit how long it took her to figure out what was going on. Seth stomping all over her feelings for him had done a great job distracting her, but if she’d trusted her instincts, she would have laughed in his face.

  Keely frowned as she searched the village center for Oren’s hulking form. Trusting her instincts didn’t come naturally to her anymore, but Seth had helped her to start again. Then he’d messed with her emotions in a doomed attempt to protect her. The knowledge didn’t abate her anger any, but it did provide more proof that men were a pox on the Earth.

  Through the crowd, she finally spotted a head of close-cropped dark hair, several inches taller than everyone else, moving away from the center fountain. Keely sprinted to catch up, but his long legs had already carried him past the first row of buildings before she reached him.

  “Oren, wait.”

  He turned and grinned at her, and Keely braced herself for more flirting. With his devilish good looks, his smile alone probably had the panties dropping, but Keely had already chosen her disastrous relationship, thanks very much.

  “Good morning, Keely. I’m surprised Seth let you out of his sight today.”

  “Yeah, yeah. We can’t keep our hands off each other. Good catch. I need to ask you something.”

  His brows winged up. “How can I help?”

  Keely reminded herself that confidence and good looks didn’t always translate to arrogance and narcissism. “Who else was around the artifact when it was stolen?”

  Oren frowned. “I assume you’re talking about the one Seth is accused of stealing. Lexi, of course. No one else that I sensed.”

  There it was. Sensed. He’d sensed the people nearby. That was how Aecanthans operated. “How did you know Lexi was there?”

  “I felt her magic. We all did. She used it to get around the protection wards.”

  Keely nodded. “What about Seth’s magic?”

  Oren stared over her shoulder, his gaze far away as he remembered. “No, now that you mention it, and that’s odd because Seth is a master of wards. Lexi never cared for them. Why wouldn’t he be the one to disable them?”

  “Why, indeed?”

  His gaze returned to her, concerned. “The elders told us Seth had the artifact, and they have no reason to lie to us. I’ve never believed Seth took it though. I always thought it was Lexi’s way of removing Seth from her sphere. She never liked him much because he saw too much of the truth in her.”

  Keely hurt for the younger Seth. “Why didn’t you do something when he was banished?”

  Oren rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “We can’t go against the elders. Aiden and Lexi followed him, then they were lost too. Tamra and I were the last of our generation to remain in the village. They needed us.”

  “That’s not a good enough excuse to abandon him.”

  “I know.” Oren’s terse tone made her refocus. His failings weren’t her problem at the moment.

  “Have you ever felt Tamra’s magic?”

  His brow furrowed. “Of course. Where are you going with this?”

  “How similar are Tamra and Lexi’s magics? Seth’s was close enough to Aiden’s to fool the portal for a little while, and they’re only cousins. How close would sisters be?”

  Understanding slowly dawned on his face. “Very close. Tamra doesn’t use her magic often.”

  “What does she—” Keely cut herself off when a garbled voice spoke into her mind.

  I have information that may help Seth prove his innocence.

  Keely couldn’t tell who it was, not even a gender, but she had a couple of suspicions. Time to work on her rusty telepathy skills. Then you should tell the elders.

  It’s not my place. As his mate, you can present the information though. Meet me in the woods east of the village. There’s a slight path..

  Who are you?

  No answer, and the presence disappeared from her mind. Keely double-checked her shields, still up and going strong. So much for her protection. The voice could have been Keris. It echoed her words yesterday before the ceremony, but this didn’t feel like Keris’ style. Could it be Tamra?

  In the end, the identity didn’t matter. Keely wouldn’t pass on a chance to help Seth.

  “Thanks, Oren.”

  She took off running toward the woods without waiting for his response. Luckily, they were already on the eastern edge of the village. Oren yelled for her to come back, but made no effort to follow.

  Panting, Keely emerged into a tiny cleared space among the trees. A stone arch, like the one they’d originally come through, stood in the center. The gleam of the portal told her she wasn’t alone, and she belatedly realized she should have dragged Oren along. Or at least told him what she’d heard before bolting. The hair suddenly stood up on Keely’s arms as the pressure in the clearing changed.

  Keely glanced behind her to see…nothing. The forest looked the same. She felt magic just past the clearing though, and if she squinted, she could barely make out a shimmer through the trees.

  Could those be wards? From the back of her mind, she remembered Seth talking about wards during one of their late-night conversations. At the time, she might have been a tad distracted by him playing with her hair, but Oren had just mentioned protection wards in conjunction with the theft.

  What had Seth said? Something, something, specialized skill, something, a barrier that prevented passage. Keely shook her head when nothing else helpful popped up.

  A magic wall. Awesome.

  Keely spun when she heard leaves rustle in the clearing behind her. Tamra came out from between the trees on the opposite side, trailing her fingers over the smooth bark. She’d abandoned the girl-child guise and gone full urban fantasy. Black leather pants, top, and coat that had to be hot in the warm forest. Her face looked different too. Dark liner and smoky shadow made her blue eyes look huge.

  “Don’t bother running. I’ve set the wards in a circle around us.”

  “I knew they were wards,” Keely muttered under her breath.

  Not quietly enough to keep Tamra from hearing as she approached the stone arch. “So Seth did teach you something. I wondered, when I couldn’t get you to take my suggestion in the bathhouse. They never did work on him.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Didn’t Keris tell you? It’s my little claim to fame.” Tamra leaned forward and lowered her voice. “If I twist my magic just right, I can plant a suggestion in people’s minds. Not mind control. No, that would be too useful. More like a push in the direction I want you to go.” She crooked her finger to Keely, beckoning her forward.

  Something shoved Keely from behind, like a gust of wind but more solid. She stumbled a few steps into the open space. The conversation set off all kinds of alarm bells, but she wasn’t particularly surprised given the costume change.

  Tamra smiled. “That’s better. I have a few other abilities too, but most are weaker than the rest of t
he clan. A real pain, but it is what it is. At least that’s what they tell me.”

  Keely straightened and tried to adopt an attitude of nonchalance, as if she were at the questionable mercy of a demi-god every day. “Your ward game seems on point.”

  Tamra chuckled, circling Keely in a way that felt distinctly predatory. “True. Like Seth, I have an affinity for wards. We have a lot in common actually. Too bad he went and got himself banished.”

  She laughed like she’d told a joke, and maybe she had. If Tamra stole the artifact, and it seemed pretty obvious now that she did, then she’d framed Seth for the theft. Keely wished she knew enough magic to do something about it, or that she could get close enough to punch the bitch. Her hands clenched into fists, but caution held her back.

  Tamra slowed to a stop. “I could kill you, but I don’t feel like that’s necessary at this juncture. I have nothing against you, really. You seem nice enough for a human. Seth may be too selfish to see your value, but as his mate, you’re quite useful to me.”

  Keely pressed her lips together as anger stirred amid the caution. Anger at Tamra’s characterization of Seth, and anger at herself for stupidly following the person she suspected to be the bad guy into the woods, alone. This was how dumb heroines got killed.

  “Aren’t you curious?” Tamra tilted her head. “I can’t tell. Your shields are rather strong. They remind me of Seth, actually. Did he teach you that too?”

  Tamra shrugged, and magic gathered around her. Keely tried to dart out of the way of whatever Tamra launched at her, but she wasn’t fast enough. Another shove, this time from the front, knocked her off her feet.

  Keely screamed and reached for her mate. Seth, it’s Tamra!

  The force threw her backward, and Keely landed hard on her ass in a different forest, staring at yet another stone arch. She scrambled to her feet, but the shimmer disappeared before she reached the portal.

  Seth? No answer, and the mate bond felt muddled. She couldn’t connect with him other than a very basic sense that he was alive somewhere. Keely whimpered and sank to her knees.