Stolen Magic

by Char Webster

  She leaned into his side. “Oh stop. You’re sexier than he is.”

  Damian leaned close to her ear. “Stop checking out another guy.” Damian pulled her up to her feet. He nodded to Braden and the elders. “We’re going back to get some sleep. You can meet us at the other village, and we’ll leave from there tomorrow.” He didn’t give anyone the opportunity to argue; he just led Aria out of the room.

  Damian was now snuggled next to Aria on the silks and in front of a dying fire, and he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes. Morning was going to come very soon.

  ~*~*~

  Aedan woke Julie up before sunrise. Something didn’t feel right, and he needed to follow his gut. When he didn’t, bad things happened. He had already made a coffee run and placed a large cup on the nightstand at her side of the bed. The aroma helped to wake her as well as the kiss he placed on her cheek. As soon as she sat up, he put the cup in her hand.

  She smiled up at him and took a large gulp before closing her eyes again to savor the coffee. Julie was not a morning person, and so she welcomed the caffeine and the quiet. Aedan seemed to know that she needed a few minutes to wake up before dealing with anything.

  “Are you awake enough to talk yet?” Aedan asked tentatively.

  Julie smiled. “Yes, but it’s still too early.”

  “I know, but we need to get going.” She looked so cute in the morning. He wanted to climb into bed and snuggle with her again. That was something he would make sure happened when this was all over.

  She opened her eyes wider. “What’s going on?"

  “Will you think I’m crazy if I said nothing yet? I have this nagging feeling that something bad is about to happen. We need to find Damian, Aria, and Markos.” Aedan looked at her sheepishly then handed her a brown paper bag.

  Julie peeked inside and squealed. “I love their bagel sandwiches.

  Aedan sat on the bed next to her and pulled out three huge bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwiches and a couple of hash browns from his bag.

  Julie grinned at his food, knowing that it was all for him. She pulled out her sandwich and hash brown and laughed. There was another of each in the bag. “How much do you think I’m going to eat?”

  Aedan shrugged. “I’ll finish whatever you don’t.”

  Julie wasn’t thinking and took a huge bite that was anything but lady-like. She glanced up to see Aedan in mid-bite, staring at her. Red spread across her cheeks, and she wanted to hide under the covers.

  “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re a girl after my own heart.” Aedan managed to stuff nearly half of his sandwich into his mouth.

  Julie swallowed her mouthful and laughed. “I guess I should have remembered my manners.”

  Aedan lifted one shoulder. “Why? You were enjoying it, right? There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  They finished their breakfast, and even Aedan couldn’t quite manage the last bacon, egg and cheese. “Something is wrong, Julie. I feel it.”

  Julie jumped up. “Okay. I’m going to get changed.”

  Aedan smiled. “You believe me?”

  “Of course. I’ll be right back.” She hurried off.

  ~*~*~

  Markos didn’t break eye contact with Ember. “Is that why you’re here? To make it easy for this guy who claims to be Damian’s brother to get to us?”

  Ember’s face fell along with her shoulders. She had been holding her breath, waiting for his reaction. Even though she expected him to think the worst, it still hurt. “You have that low of an opinion of me?”

  Markos saw her hurt expression, and he tried to not let it get to him. “What am I supposed to think, Ember? All you do is sweep back into my life, create a huge mess, and leave.”

  “That’s not all that happens between us,” she replied in a small voice. She rested her head on her knees.

  Markos lifted her chin. “Tell me why you came to me tonight?”

  She pulled away from him and stood. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that I came here to warn you and help you catch him. You should know that!”

  “I never know what you’re going to do! How did you know I was here?”

  Ember steadied herself before answering. “I always know where to find you.”

  That surprised Markos. “How?” His heart started pounding in his chest.

  Still staring directly at him, she muttered, “I can feel you.”

  Markos covered the three steps between them in a flash and crushed his lips to hers as his hands cradled her face. His magic reached for hers, and he was helpless to hold it back.

  Ember was so shocked by his actions she didn’t respond right away, but soon she found herself slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him back enthusiastically.

  ~*~*~

  Aria woke up still cuddled in Damian’s arms. She wanted to simply go back to sleep and not think about anything, especially the craziness of the last few days.

  “I didn’t want to wake you yet. We only got a couple hours of sleep.” Damian snuggled closer to her.

  “How long have you been up?” Aria asked with a yawn.

  “A few minutes. I was trying to come up with a plan to find this guy. How did we not know about this? The fairies said it’s been going on for a long time. Wouldn’t someone have warned Legacy?” Something didn’t feel right to Damian.

  “I thought about that too. We need to ask Braden why they never reported anything. This is something we would have stopped a long time ago.” Aria reached around, looking for her boots. She couldn’t wait to get back to her house to take a shower and change clothes. She loved her boots, but she had been in them for far too long.

  Damian sat up abruptly, almost knocking Aria over. “You just can’t wait to talk to Braden, can you? I saw how you were drooling over him last night.” He had also witnessed the large fae’s interest in his girl.

  Aria shifted so she was on his lap, facing him, and ran her hands up his chest and into his hair. “You’re so cute when you’re jealous.” She nipped at his lip with her teeth.

  Damian pulled her tighter against him and kissed her lightly before sitting back. “I told you that you’d be on my lap with your arms around my neck before we left this realm.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “You’re such an ass,” Aria accused as she tried to get up.

  He tightened his hold on her and laughed loudly. “You love me this way.”

  Aria was saved from responding by a knock on their hut door. They both scrambled up to greet their visitor.

  Damian shot Aria a dirty look when he saw her straighten her clothes and shake out her curls. “Trying to look good for the fae?”

  “Maybe.” Aria could hear Damian’s growl as they opened the door to the fairy warrior they’d been discussing.

  “Hi. We’ll be ready to leave in a minute,” Aria told Braden. He nodded to her with an amused expression on his face.

  “Yeah, so wait out there.” Damian closed the door on him.

  “That was rude. You don’t need to act like that.” Aria finished pulling on her boots and grabbed an apple from the table. “We have to work with him, so be nice.”

  Damian tried to ignore Aria as he gathered his things to get ready to leave. He was happy their weapons and portal knives had been returned. It would have made things extremely difficult without them. “Are you ready?” he asked Aria.

  “Yes,” she huffed.

  He grabbed her hand, pulled her close and kissed her. Just as she was getting into it, he stopped and said, “Let’s go.”

  Aria shook her head at him but left the hut quietly. She would deal with Damian later.

  Braden was waiting for them by a house across the clearing. He was leaning against the side with his arms folded across his massive chest.

  Aria wondered how he had been selected for this mission. He had not been one of the fairy warriors who had captured them.

  “We are going to meet up with my brother in New Orl
eans.” Aria scanned Braden’s appearance. “You might want to get changed and put on a hat. You won’t blend in with humans even in a city like New Orleans.”

  Braden laughed. “I’ve been there before. Don’t you worry. I’ll blend in.”

  Damian brushed by Braden to get to the side of the hut to make a portal. He turned to Aria. “Stay close.”

  Aria rolled her eyes but followed Damian into the swirling doorway and stepped out into the park near Lucinda’s mansion. Both Aria and Damian had cloaked themselves with a spell when they entered the park. Aria turned to see Braden step through the portal, not looking like a fae.

  Braden smirked when he took note of her appraisal. “Do you approve?” He’s thrown up a glamour to change his appearance. He was now wearing faded jeans, a blue T-shirt the same color as his eyes, and hiking boots. His ears were no longer pointed, and his sword was not visible.

  Damian made an annoyed sound and stormed off toward Lucinda’s house, leaving Aria with Braden to follow after him.

  Aria turned to Braden. “Why didn’t the elders contact Legacy about the killings?”

  Braden gave Aria a confused look. “They did. They told a couple of Enforcers who frequent our villages.”

  Aria’s eyes grew large. “Do you know who the Enforcers are?”

  Braden shook his head. “No, I haven’t been in the Fairy Realm in a while.”

  She couldn’t resist asking him another question. “Why did you get this assignment?”

  Braden chuckled. “I blend in better than most. I’m only half fae.” He winked at her. “The other half is mystic.”

  It was very early, but Damian had made arrangements to meet everyone before starting off for the day. He knew that although Lucinda had been surprisingly accommodating with her home, she wouldn’t be happy that they were there early. Damian was disappointed that no one else had arrived. The locked door opened by its self when he tried the handle.

  Once inside the grand home, Damian walked toward the girl who was sitting at the counter, reading a book on her kindle. He knew Lucinda had placed the girl there to babysit the Legacy personnel. “Is Lucinda receiving visitors?”

  The girl was reluctant to put down her novel, so she took her time finishing the page, turned it off, and strolled slowly toward the back of the mansion.

  Aria and Braden had joined Damian, but he was trying not to pay attention to them. Braden was purposely attempting to get to him by standing close to Aria and bending down to speak with her softly. The fae had even given Damian gloating grins over her head. He wanted to knock the smile off Braden’s face. The fairy warrior had strong magic; he could sense it, but Damian had his own magic and a couple hundred years of training.

  The girl dragged her feet along the polished hardwood floor on the way back toward him. She didn’t bother to say anything. She simply motioned for them to follow her and began shuffling her way back.

  Braden put his hand on Damian’s shoulder to stop him from following. Damian swung around quickly, taking a defensive pose, and shrugged off his hand.

  Braden raised his eyebrows in annoyance. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m part fae.”

  Aria stepped in between them, not in the mood to deal with them and the testosterone battle they were waging. “We’re not going to tell anyone that, but Lucinda will probably know.”

  Braden and Damian were locked in a silent standoff, so Aria brushed by them both and hurried after the teen girl. Lucinda was sitting behind her desk, leaning back in her chair. “This better be good. It’s way too early.”

  Damian flopped down in the chair in front of her dark cherry desk.

  “I didn’t invite you to sit.” Lucinda tapped her long nails on the wood top.

  Damian winked at her. “You were going to.”

  “I could toss you and the fae out of my house very easily.” Lucinda turned to Aria. “You may take a seat.” She scowled at Braden. “I don’t like subterfuge in my house.”

  Braden placed his hand across his chest and bowed. “My apologies. I like to keep my privacy and meant no offense.”

  Lucinda narrowed her eyes. “Why has the Fairy Queen sent one of her favorite warriors into my home?”

  Braden clasped his hands behind his back. “The Fae Queen expects justice.”

  Lucinda laughed. “Don’t we all.”

  Aria watched the exchange, amused. “Lucinda, the fae have been attacked and a village wiped out. We think it’s the same killer.”

  Lucinda sat back in her seat. “That explains the cryptic message. My people paid a visit to a very old supernatural. She sent back a piece of parchment with a note. ‘That which you thought was gone has returned. You must revisit the past to create a future. Whatever that means.” Lucinda waved her hand and pulled a mug of steaming coffee out of thin air.

  Aria hated getting clues that she had to try to decipher. “How is that supposed to help us?”

  Lucinda shrugged. “That’s something you’ll have to discover for yourself.”

  Aria groaned in frustration but chose not to say anything more in front of Damian and Braden.

  Braden winked at Aria as he leaned against the wall, earning a scowl from Damian.

  Lucinda seemed to find the situation amusing. “Aria, it’s nice to see you again. It seems you are continuing to cause trouble though. One of these days, you are going to have to put that guy out of his misery.”

  Aria frowned at her. “Oh, uh...”

  Lucinda waved her hand in dismissal and addressed Braden. “You were in my city looking for something two months ago. I believe you were able to obtain the object.” Lucinda watched Braden closely, waiting for his response.

  His only reaction was to clench his jaw slightly.

  “You must tell Queen Calanthe that she still owes me a favor, and I won’t forget.”

  He narrowed his eyes at Lucinda. “What kind of favor?”

  “She’ll know.” Lucinda smirked then gave Damian her attention. “You’re going to have a difficult time ahead if what my sources say is true.”

  Damian crossed his arms over his chest. He was used to Lucinda only giving pieces of information. She would always hold something back that could benefit her. “When do I ever have it easy? I’m always ready for anything.”

  Lucinda began filing her nails, obviously finished speaking with them.

  Damian, Braden, and Aria ventured back through the house and into the ballroom that they were using as a command center.

  Aedan and Julie rushed into the room with the teen girl trailing behind, complaining about them not waiting for her to announce their arrival. The girl gave Aedan a dirty look and stormed off, probably going back to read her novel.

  Julie approached to Aria and gave her a hug. “What happened to you two last night? We got a message that you were on a small assignment.”

  Aria was about to explain when Julie caught sight of Braden.

  “Oh my hotness! Who is Mr. Muscles?” Julie tried to whisper her questions to Aria, but in her excitement, she forgot about supernatural hearing. Both Damian and Aedan glared at the girls while Braden smirked.

  Aria tried to hide her smile. “I’ll fill you in later.”

  A few more Legacy personnel entered the room, and everyone began to mark off areas of the city they had searched and places that would need to be revisited.

  Aria pulled Julie to the side of the room. “I need to run back to my place real quick.”

  Julie gave her an inquiring look. “Everything all right?”

  “Yes. I just want to go home and get changed. I slept in these clothes.”

  Julie’s eyes got big. “You spent the night with Damian?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  “Where did you stay last night, Juls?” Aria asked knowingly.

  “We need to share stories! Hurry back.” Julie gave her a hug and whispered as quietly as she could. “I’ll keep Mr. Muscles entertained while you’re gone.”

  “Someone else won’t like that!” Aria t
eased back.

  Aria went into the hallway and made a portal to her house. Just as she was stepping through, Damian, grabbed her hand and went with her. She hadn’t known he was behind her, but she really wasn’t surprised he’d followed.

  “I’m not letting you out of my sight. Lucinda mentioned trouble was coming for us.” Damian didn’t release her hand. “Grab some clothes, and we’ll go to my place to get cleaned up.”

  At first, Aria was annoyed with his domineering commands, but she knew that neither one of them should be alone until they found the killer. “You’re not always going to get away with giving orders.”

  Damian tugged on her hand as they made their way up to her bedroom. “Oh, I know that. I’m taking full advantage while I can.”

  ~*~*~

  Markos couldn’t believe he had kissed Ember just a few hours before. He had been so angry with her, and then he was backing her up against the wall and devouring her mouth. That was the way things always were between them. One minute they would be arguing and, the next, making out.

  She had told him the rest of the story and then had fallen asleep in his bed. Markos had stayed awake for a long time, wondering what to do. He was exhausted, but he had work to do. Even now, he didn’t know if he should wake her or let her sleep. She had a way of confusing him so thoroughly that he questioned even the simplest of decisions.

  Markos had gone to sleep on the uncomfortable couch in the room to keep an eye on Ember and to also maintain a little distance. It would be too easy to fall into an old pattern with her.

  He sat down hard on the couch again, leaning his forearms on his knees. He hung his head, trying to get himself under control. No woman had ever gotten under his skin like she did.

  “You didn’t have to sleep all the way over there. I wouldn’t have bitten you. Well, not too hard anyway,” Ember said, sashaying over to him. Clearly, her confidence was back.