by Char Webster
“Think about it Aria. Have you ever run out of magic during a fight?” Damian knew she was a Guardian and that they didn’t fight often, but he knew she was in some fights.
Aria thought about it. “Huh. No. I don’t think I have.”
“When you use a lot of magic, do you get tired?”
Aria shook her head. “No, never.”
Damian arched a brow at her. “You probably never realized you were different.”
“Kallias had figured it out didn’t he?” Aria wrapped her arms around herself.
Damian breathed in deep. “Yes. When he couldn’t pull any magic from you, he became obsessed with finding out why he couldn’t do it. That’s why he watched you so closely.”
“So, I’m safe then, right? No one can steal my magic.” Aria liked the idea that she was protected.
Damian rubbed his face. “Not entirely. If we would have gotten married, and our magic combined, it would have been so much stronger together and more enticing to steal.”
Awareness dawned for Aria. “They would have been able to steal my magic through yours if we bonded.”
“Yes,” Damian forced out.
“Instead of telling me that a crazed lunatic was after our magic and allowing me to stand and fight with you, you chose to leave me thinking you didn’t love me anymore? The whole village turned against me. I had to leave with Markos.”
Damian turned away for a second. He couldn’t stand to see the hurt and accusation she was failing to hide. “I would rather you hated me than for you to be in danger.”
“Why didn’t you tell me after he was arrested?”
Damian leaned back on the bench. “It’s a long story, and I have to explain a few things so you understand.”
“I’m listening.” Aria twisted in her seat to face him fully, her emotions raging.
Damian reached out to rub her shoulder but dropped his hand. “Pravus had become so dangerous he had to be stopped. I ended up joining forces with Derrek, from Legacy. Together, we managed to track Pravus down, but it took us a couple of years to corner him. When we finally did, we were in a nasty battle with magic and weapons, and he managed to seriously wound me. Since he had a blood debt against me, I was unable to fully fight back with my magic.”
“What happened?”
“Pravus managed to hide for decades with only an occasional lifeless supernatural turning up to prove he was still around.” Damian hated thinking about the past.
“How did you know it was Pravus who was killing supernaturals?” Aria wondered why Pravus was such a threat.
“He leaves a magical signature behind in his victims that is not like anyone else’s we’ve seen. I had to keep tracking him until you were safe.”
Aria wanted to scream into the night at how unfair her life turned out, but she knew it wasn’t the time for that. “You kept tracking him?”
“Yes. I had given up finding him after an extended period of time not finding a trace of him, but then he came after me again.” Damian didn’t want to break eye contact with her. He was afraid that if he did, she would run.
“Why did he come after you when he knew you were hunting him?”
“He wanted you. By then, you were at Legacy and had made a name for yourself as a powerful guardian.”
Aria shivered. She couldn’t help herself. “Does he continue to hold the blood debt over you?”
Damian took her hand and she let him. “I told Derrek everything, and we worked with several of the most powerful mystics and supernaturals we could find. They were able to remove most of the blood debt, but there is a trace of that magic left. That’s how Pravus and I can sense each other.”
“You’re not indebted to him?” Aria needed to know. She told herself it was simply to learn if Damian was a danger to their assignment. She refused to believe it was for any other reason.
“No. Pravus was furious.” Damian exhaled loudly. “Wow, this is harder than I thought.” He raked a hand through his hair. “He went after you, and I couldn’t get there before he used his magic to defeat you when you were guarding that young elf princess who was exiled.”
Aria pulled away from him. “He was the reason we lost all those soldiers that day? My brother almost died. I almost died.”
“I know that!” Damian felt so guilty about it. “I never expected him to go after you like that.”
“What do you mean?” Aria wasn’t sure what he was saying.
“He hoped that if he wounded you, he could then drain your magic. When it didn’t work, he threw a fit and killed many before he left.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Aria demanded.
Damian rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought I could keep you safe. After that day, he disappeared again, and it took us about a hundred and fifty years to track him down and capture him.”
Aria needed the whole story from him. “They said it looked like someone had tried to heal me that day. Was that you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. It does to me.”
Damian stood. “Let’s get back. We have a long day ahead of us.”
“Damian, you can’t start telling me what happened and then stop. I need to know all of it.”
“There’s nothing else worth knowing.” He stalked off toward the hotel, leaving her standing by the bench.
Aria had more questions than before. Why did he race to her when he found out that Pravus was after her? What was he hiding from her?
She slowly made her way back to the hotel but knew she would not be getting any sleep.
Chapter Seven
“No amount of coffee is going to make this morning any better,” Aria grumbled when Julie bounced onto her bed.
“What time did you finally go to sleep?” Julie asked her with concern.
“I don’t know, maybe an hour ago.” Aria reached for her purse, but it fell to the floor. “My head is killing me.”
Julie laughed. “Here. Take these.” Julie handed her two pain pills and a glass of water.
Aria took the meds and quickly recited a spell to help keep her alert, but nothing would help her heartache.
“I’ll get you a huge coffee.” Julie drew a portal on the wall.
Aria groaned. “If you get me an extra-large Wawa French vanilla, I’ll love you forever.”
Julie laughed. “What do you think I’m getting.”
“Oh, you know you want one too; ever since I introduced you to coffee there, you always portal to get it.”
“Be right back.”
Aria pealed herself from the bed and staggered into the bathroom, leaving the door open halfway. She squinted into the mirror and couldn’t believe the matted mess that was on top of her head. It was going to take forever to tame her hair. Turning the shower to hot, she hoped that it would help wake her up.
She slipped out of her shorts and t-shirt and stepped under the steaming water. It felt so good on her tired body. She viewed the shelf and realized she had forgotten her shampoo, conditioner and body wash in her bag. Stepping out and wrapping a towel loosely around her, she padded into the bedroom, but ran into a hard body.
Stifling a scream, she conjured a magic ball in her hand, but made it dissipate when she saw who she ran into. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?”
“I knocked, and no one answered. I was worried.” Damian’s gaze was glued to her wet towel.
“Get out of here!” Aria clutched the towel to her chest tightly.
“Where’s Julie?” Damian forced himself to turn away. It was too intoxicating to watch the water running down her body from her dripping hair.
“Obviously, not here! Get out right now!
“Ar.” Damian lost the internal battle to be good and openly caressed her body with his eyes.
“Sooooo, what are you two doing?” Julie stepped through the portal with two large coffees and a bag.
“Nothing!” Aria unzipped her bag, pulled out her toiletries, and grabbed her coffee from Julie. “Thanks.” She rus
hed to the bathroom and locked herself inside.
Slumping down on the closed toilet seat, she tried to calm her racing heart. She couldn’t believe Damian saw her in a towel. That was why her heart was racing; because she was angry he barged into their room. It had nothing to do with seeing him stare at her with such longing and intensity that her toes were curling.
“Ugh!” she grumbled out loud and stepped back into the shower. Hopefully the water would wash away the embarrassment.
~*~*~
“It’s not, it’s not what you think.” Damian stammered.
“Really, D? And what is it I think?” Julie watched him squirm.
“I was worried when no one answered.”
“Uh huh. And when you noticed she was in the shower, you just had to make sure she was okay?”
“I’ll meet you two downstairs in a half hour.” Damian stormed out of the room.
Julie grinned as she watched him run from the room. This was going to be an interesting day.
Fifteen minutes later, Aria opened the door a crack. She had rushed into the bathroom without her clothes, and she wasn’t about to go back out into the room in a towel if Damian was still there.
“He’s gone,” Julie called cheerfully.
Aria pushed the door open fully and walked to her bag. “I can’t believe he was in here like that. So much for hotel security.”
“Oh, like you’ve never used a spell to unlock a door?”
Julie hopped up. “My turn in the shower.” She grabbed her bag and closed herself in the bathroom.
Aria took her time combing out her curls to smooth the frizzies and scrunching them with extra leave-in conditioner. The humidity in Louisiana was wreaking havoc on her hair, and she wanted to look her best.
Julie walked out of the bathroom a little while later and perused Aria up and down. “Are you wearing mascara? You never do. You say your lashes are long enough without it.”
“Maybe a little. I was trying not to seem so tired since I didn’t get any sleep.” Aria quickly turned away from her.
“Ohhhh. So, that’s why you curled the ends of your hair, too, right?” Julie was enjoying Aria’s discomfort.
“Whatever. We need to meet the guys.” Aria had her boots on again so she could carry her weapons. She felt better having them with her even though she had her magic.
~*~*~
Lucinda’s house was in the garden district in an old southern mansion with huge towering trees, a wraparound porch, and flowers under every window. She had restored the old mansion to its former perfect condition and was proud to show it off to everyone.
The foyer floor was white creamy marble that looked newly polished. It continued on through the hallway and out of sight, but Aria knew from before that the kitchen had the same marble. The walls were a light beige on the bottom up to the white chair rail, and then it was a lighter color on the top half.
Everything had an expensive feel to it. The tables and benches by the front door were antiques, and Aria knew they could be featured in a museum. The artwork was also something that should be displayed for public viewing.
The old male servant told them that she would receive visitors in her office in the back of the house when Damian, Aria, Aedan and Julie arrived.
Julie and Aedan were shown to the sitting room off the foyer so that they could watch for trouble while Aria and Damian were led to the back.
They were ushered through a doorway that vibrated with magic. The door creaked open as soon as Damian raised his hand to knock on it.
“I thought you would have come by last night when you arrived in my city.” Lucinda pointed to the two chairs in front of her desk.
They both sat down on the edges of their seats. Damian angled his chair so he could see the door and Lucinda at the same time. None of that escaped Lucinda’s notice. She was one of the most powerful and ruthless of the mystics. Nothing was done in the supernatural community without her knowing about it.
Damian regarded the tall, beautiful woman in front of them. She gave off a polished high society air, but raw power oozed out of her. “We didn’t want to barge in on you.”
“That hasn’t stopped you in the past.” Lucinda pulled a bottle of Voss Sparkling Water out of thin air, twisted the top off and drank deeply.
Aria sat straighter in her seat, bouncing her knees. “Lucinda, it’s so nice to see you. It’s been too long.”
“I’m a little surprised to see you two together.” Lucinda regarded them over the top of her water bottle.
Aria scrunched up her nose. “It wasn’t by choice.”
“So much for our truce,” mumbled Damian.
“You two are lucky I was in town. I’ve been spending most of my time at my, uh, vacation home,” Lucinda remarked slyly.
Damian knew her vacation house well. It was hidden in its own realm pocket and was the meeting place for all types of supernaturals from both light and dark. “Your parties are legendary.”
“My guests need some kind of entertainment when they are waiting for an audience with me. My bartenders keep the drinks flowing, and my DJ keeps everyone happy. It makes things easier.”
Aria shot Damian a look. She had never been to Lucinda’s vacation home, but she had heard quite a bit about it. “I’m sure you already know, but we came here to warn you about a dark mystic who escaped from a Legacy prison cell that is targeting powerful magic users to steal their powers.”
“I’ve heard about Pravus.” Lucinda leaned back in her soft black leather chair.
Damian wondered how much she knew. “This guy is powerful and dangerous. No one in the supernatural world will be safe from him.”
Aria felt tension filling the room. “Lucinda, please tell us what you know. We need to find this dark mystic before more people are killed. He has already drained a young woman. We don’t know if she’s going to make it.”
Damian cleared his throat. “Do you know where Pravus is or how we can find him?”
Lucinda ignore his rudeness and addressed Aria. “You won’t need to find him. He’ll find you. You only have to make yourselves available.”
Aria bounced her foot on the floor, shaking her knee up and down. “We need to hang out in public and wait for him to find us? That’s not much of a plan.”
Lucinda arched a brow. “How you execute that is up to you. I’m simply saying that he will find you when the time is right.”
Damian leaned closer to the desk. “How do you know that?”
Lucinda exhaled a big breath. “Watch yourself.”
Damian stood from his seat. “My apologies.” He didn’t trust Lucinda, but Damian knew that her information was always correct.
She leveled him a scathing look. “I’m not helping you. I have my own reasons for wanting him found.”
Aria stood next to Damian. “Whatever your reason, we still appreciate your information.”
Lucinda held Aria’s gaze. “You two need to work together, or you will fail.”
Aria frowned at her. “We are working together. We’re here aren’t we?”
“Occupying the same space and working together are two very different things.” Lucinda leaned the chair back. “There will come a time when trusting your partner could mean everything.”
Aria opened her mouth to argue, but Damian shook his head at her to keep quiet. They didn’t need to anger the most powerful mystic in the region.
Damian turned toward the door. “It’s always a pleasure, Lucinda.” He bowed slightly in respect.
“Thank you.” Aria murmured.
Damian grabbed her fingers and led her out of the office. He knew she was too caught up in her thoughts to notice he was holding her hand. He dropped it as soon as they were in the foyer next to the sitting room where Julie and Aedan were waiting.
Aedan was busy flipping through a book on gem stones, and Julie was inspecting some of the art on the walls. They both hurried to join Aria and Damian.
Julie opened her mouth to ask Aria wh
at was wrong, but the glare she got from Damian, stopped her.
“Let’s go back to the hotel. We have some planning to do.” Damian led them out of the shop.
~*~*~
“What happened in there?” Julie whispered to Aria as they walked back toward Jackson Square. Aedan and Damian had fallen behind, and Julie used that to her advantage so she could question Aria.
Aria had been frowning since she walked back through the beads. “She told us that we needed to work together or we’d fail and that Pravus would find us.”
“Sounds like it went well.” Julie knew Aria wouldn’t appreciate her sarcasm, but she couldn’t help herself.
Aedan walked up between them and put his arms around the girls. “What are you two whispering about?”
“We were both just saying that we find you irresistibly hot.” Aria gave him a mocking smile.
“I knew you had a thing for me.” Aedan winked at her and pulled her closer to his side.
Damian grabbed the back of Aedan’s neck and pulled him away from the girls. “Don’t make me zap you with magic.”
Aedan leaned closer to Aria. “Oooo. He’s crabby today.” Aedan turned around and walked backwards so he could taunt Damian. “I know you love me D, but you don’t have to be jealous of the girls. There’s enough of me to go around.”
Damian’s grey eyes darkened, and Aedan started to jog backwards faster. “You better run.”
Aria bumped Damian’s shoulder. “He’s just fooling around although you do seem a little jealous.” She flashed him an angelic smile.
He stopped walking, and so did Aria, while Julie and Aedan continued on.
Damian’s dark look turned smoldering when he gazed directly at her.
Nerves hit her hard, and she tried to swallow her fear. “Come on. We need to figure out what to do next.”
“Lucinda told us what we needed to do.” He stepped closer to her.
“She didn’t tell us much.” Aria took a half-step in reverse.
“She said we need to work together.”
A nervous laugh escaped. “We are. All of us are.”