“There might be hope for the Court of the Dead, then.” Or whatever they’d decide to call themselves in their new incarnation. “So… you’re staying with the Spirit Agents now?”
“I didn’t really have anywhere else to go,” she said. “Since I’m not a lich, and I wasn’t a spirit mage before I died. I have my fire magic back now, but I don’t want to work for the Houses either.”
“Can’t say I blame you for that,” I said. “You got your magic back?”
“No spirit magic anymore, but I always preferred being a fire mage,” she said. “As for the Houses, they’re going through reforms.”
“I heard,” I said. “I also heard they’re sending complaints to the Death King about their escaped prisoners.”
“Speaking of prisoners…” Miles retreated into the living room without finishing his sentence, so I hovered in the doorway with Harper, wondering what future awaited two misfit fire mages like us. I might have considered going to live with the elves, given that they’d doubtless be happy to welcome the person who’d helped save them from the Family, but even with the two realms linked once again, I couldn’t imagine moving there myself. The gulf between us was too big, and in the end, Elysium was my home. It always had been.
I looked for Miles and saw him talking to someone inside the living room. Several mages had gathered around him, presumably ex-prisoners or maybe defectors from the Houses. Or new spirit mages, even. I hadn’t asked if any of them had been among the freed prisoners, though it wouldn’t surprise me if they were
“Did the others from the Houses come here?” I asked Harper.
“Oh, I’m not from the House,” said the man talking to Miles, overhearing me. He was maybe Harper’s age, eyeing me warily from beneath a mop of dark hair. “I was given an enhanced cantrip when I was a kid which gave me… weird abilities. So they locked me up. Not sure I count as a regular mage, so I came here. Hope that’s okay.”
Oh, damn. Someone had experimented on him. Like Tay. Like… the other people the Family had sold their illicit cantrips to.
“He isn’t the only one,” said Miles. “Tons of other victims were among the other prisoners in the Houses’ jails. We didn’t figure it out until after the battle.”
Damn. Of course there were others who’d had their lives ruined by the Family’s magic, who’d been arrested and then abruptly freed. They’d be in desperate need of direction, that was for sure.
“So this is like… a safe house for all kinds of mages now?” I asked.
“You’ve got it.” Miles shot me a smile. “Fair warning, it’s kinda chaotic in here.”
Fair warning… as if he knew I wanted to stay.
And I did. I really did.
“I’m used to it.” My fingers moved to fiddle with the pendant around my neck, except of course I’d left it behind at the castle.
Miles’s gaze went to my neck, then my ears. “You’re not wearing the cantrip anymore. I like it.”
I smiled. “I decided I wanted a change. The rest of my stuff is still at the castle, but if there’s a spare room—”
“You don’t even need to ask.” With a grin, he pulled me one-handedly over the doorstep and into a room swarming with mages, all of whom walked free for the first time in months or years.
It wouldn’t be easy for any of us. I was under no illusions that moving forward would be without its challenges, but now the Family had gone, we were free to carve our own paths.
I’d write my own future.
Thank you for reading!
If you haven’t read the series that runs in parallel to this one (get it?), Liv’s story starts in the Order of the Elements series, beginning with Thief of Souls. Get it here: https://books2read.com/u/mKD7JV
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I hope you enjoyed Tower of Fire. If you have a minute to spare, then I’d really appreciate a short review. For independent authors, reviews help more readers discover our books. I’d love to know what you thought!
About the Author
Emma is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of the Changeling Chronicles urban fantasy series.
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Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy novels. When she's not immersed in her own fictional universes, Emma can be found with her head in a book or wandering around the world in search of adventure.
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Find out more about Emma’s books at www.emmaladams.com.
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