Game of Lies
Page 4
“Killer, hang on!”
Fenris.
Was Fenris there too? What about Jae? I wanted him to be there. I wanted to imagine them all in my tiny, crappy apartment, the four of them together. A team. A family. If I couldn’t be there with them, they should at least all have each other.
“Jae…” I forced the word out through dry lips as my vision narrowed to a pinprick.
“We’ll get him, killer. He’s on his way.”
The amount of effort it took to hold back the magic was too much. It vibrated like a caged animal inside me, hurling itself over and over again at the walls of its prison.
Then the walls broke.
Magic poured out of me, lighting up the balcony with a bright white flash and a crashing sound.
Relief.
Peace.
And darkness.
Chapter 5
“Lana? Sweet girl, can you hear me?”
A hand patted my cheek gently, and I scrunched up my face and grunted, twisting my head away.
“Oh! She’s waking up! Thank the gods. Are you sure she’s not injured?” Beatrice’s voice was sharper than I’d ever heard it.
“Yes, Representative Lockwood,” a low female voice answered. “There was a small injury to her head, but I healed it. Other than that, I can’t find anything wrong with her. You might want to take her to the reader, just to be sure—”
“No!” The word was meant to be a shout, but it passed my lips as a croak. “No… reader.”
I forced my eyes open, staring up into the broad, serious face of a woman about my age. Beatrice hovered behind her, biting her lip as she gazed down at me.
“No reader,” I repeated, my voice gaining some strength. “I—I don’t need one. I just need to go home.”
I meant home, home—my apartment in the Outskirts, where four pieces of my soul waited for me. But Beatrice misinterpreted my statement and snapped her fingers, summoning one of the palace guards who stood at attention nearby. “Call for my driver. Right away.”
“Yes, Representative Lockwood.” He gave a sharp nod and left the balcony. I turned to watch him go, but my attention was diverted by the sight of my surroundings.
I was still near the marble railing, lying in roughly the same spot where I had fallen. All around me, huge chunks of marble, dirt, and destroyed topiary littered the once pristine surface of the balcony. It looked like a giant had come through with a mallet and unleashed fury on the place.
Even more disturbing than that were the scorch marks that marred the marble floor around me and blackened parts of the palace wall.
I swallowed, my throat and mouth dry. “Shit. I’m sorry, Beatrice. I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t give it a single thought, sweet girl,” she said firmly. “We’ll get you home and take care of you.” She flicked a finger, and another guard darted forward. “Tell the Secretary General I won’t be returning to the meeting. Give him my apologies.”
The guard, a demon with deep purple skin, hustled off.
“You two!” Beatrice called to another pair of guards. “Carry her.”
Jerking upright, I scrambled to my feet so fast my head spun. “No! No, I can walk!”
I hadn’t even let Fenris give me a piggyback down a mountain; there was no way I was letting two palace guards carry me down a few flights of stairs.
The healer grabbed one of my elbows to steady me, and Beatrice took the other, peering up at me with concerned gray eyes. “Lana, you were unconscious just a few moments ago. Please, let them help.” When I shook my head adamantly, she sighed. “Then at least let me levitate you—”
“No!”
Gods, that was worse than the first option. I’d already made a lasting—and probably terrible—impression at the palace with my little magic explosion. I didn’t need to top it off by being floated through the halls like some kind of invalid.
I shook my head adamantly. “I’ll be fine.”
To prove my point, I pushed gently away from the hands supporting me, taking a few wobbly steps on my own. I wasn’t exactly “fine,” but now that magic was no longer roiling inside me, I felt fairly confident I could make it downstairs on my own. I directed my attention inward, feeling for my power. It burned low and steady within me, the little pilot light warming my belly once again. It was almost impossible to believe that just a short while ago it had erupted with the force of a thunderbolt.
Fucking magic.
Before I made it five steps across the balcony, Beatrice was by my side again, holding my arm to support me. She didn’t try to levitate me though, so I gratefully accepted her help. Truthfully, my legs felt as weak as wet noodles.
Our trek down to the main level was slow, and we drew more stares than I would’ve liked from the guards and palace staff we passed. But by the time we reached the huge entry doors, I was able to comfortably walk on my own. Tarik was waiting for us in the black SUV. He smiled when he saw me, and I immediately felt a bit better. Fairies tended to have that effect on people.
As we pulled away from the palace, I looked up, scanning the fifth floor. I couldn’t see the balcony where I’d collapsed.
“No one was hurt, were they?”
I glanced back to find Beatrice watching me intently.
“No, dear girl. No one except you.”
She didn’t take her gaze off me during the entire drive to her estate. I could feel her stare burning a hole in the back of my skull, but I kept my focus firmly on the luxurious estates passing by outside.
It was only after she disabled the wards on her mansion and ushered me inside that she pressed the issue. I tried to slip past her and escape upstairs to my bedroom, but she moved to the side, blocking my path. Her gray eyes were piercing, her lined face serious.
“My dear, I think it’s time you tell me where you’ve been for the past twenty years. And how it is that a mage of your power doesn’t know how to control her magic.”
Her voice was quiet but firm, and for the first time since I’d met her, I could truly see her as a Representative, one of the seven most powerful people in the country. I fisted my hands, fight-or-flight instinct kicking into high gear.
Was this it? The moment the other shoe dropped?
Beatrice had always seemed too nice, too sweet to be believed. It hadn’t squared with the world I knew she was a part of—hell, not just a part of, a leader of.
My heart pounded dully in my chest, and my magic responded to my heightened emotion, flaring up inside me again. “I—”
I put out a hand, leaning against the wall for support.
Do not destroy your grandmother’s house. Do not destroy your grandmother’s house.
Trying to get my jaw to unclench, I breathed deeply through my nose, pushing down hard on the magic that ached to rise within me.
“Oh, sweet girl.” Beatrice clucked her tongue, the hard expression on her face softening as she bustled toward me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you. Not after what just happened. Come here.”
She latched onto my elbow again and tugged me toward the couch in her sitting room. Bright late morning sunlight fell across the cream and cherry wood furnishings, giving the place a pleasant glow. She sat me on the plush cushions, tipping me over gently and slipping a pillow under my head as I lay down. Her cool hand stroked my hair away from my face, and the magic fizzing in my blood settled a bit.
“That’s… nice,” I murmured.
“Yes? Good. It’s a calming spell. You need rest.”
I closed my eyes, inhaling the sweet lilac scent that always seemed to surround Beatrice.
“I didn’t know I was Gifted,” I said softly.
“What?” My grandmother’s hand paused on my fevered forehead, but she kept the contact between us, the cool sensation continuing to flow through my body.
“Until about a month ago, I thought I was one of the Blighted. I grew up in Wyoming, in a Blighted encampment on the plains.”
My head was foggy, and I wa
But I knew she wouldn’t have accepted my brush-offs much longer, and I couldn’t think of a convincing lie. Plus, a little part of me wanted to hurt her, to let her feel the pain of knowing that her beloved “miracle” granddaughter had been forced to beg, steal, and go hungry as a child. I wanted her to know how the world she’d helped create had treated me.
So I told her about my childhood, how I’d grown up in a Blighted encampment, left to fend for myself with no parents or guardian to speak of until I met Margie. I told her about life in the settlement, and how Father Elias had skimmed so much off our government rations that there was barely enough left over for us to survive on. How we hunted buffalo and rabbit on the plains to get by.
When I got to the part in my history where I came to Denver, I kept things deliberately vague, and I made no mention of the Resistance at all.
Beatrice stayed silent as I spoke, but her breathing picked up as she listened to my story. Her hand moved from my forehead to stroke my hair gently, the soothing magic of her calming spell continuing to flow into me.
“I had a ring,” I said, peering up at her out of the corner of my eye. “It was copper and tungsten, engraved with numbers on the inside.”
“That was your father’s.” She looked down at me, her eyes wide and sad. “He had it made when you were born.”
Images from my dream flashed through my mind. The pain and fear on my father’s face. His large hand pressing the ring into mine.
“Well, it was imbued with a magic suppression spell. It kept my powers repressed until I turned twenty-five.”
Beatrice’s brow furrowed. “My gods. Magic as strong as yours? How…?”
I lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe it was easier to suppress because I didn’t know about it. I never tried to access my magic because, as far as I knew, I had none.”
“Yes…” Beatrice’s hand on my head stilled, the calming magic fading away as she stared unblinking into the distance. “This is extraordinary. You must share your story with the other Representatives.” She looked back down at me suddenly. “What if there are other magical people out there, living amongst the Blighted, with no idea of their true power? We cannot allow that to continue.”
My heart dropped. That was her takeaway from my story? That the hardships I’d faced were a tragedy only because it turned out I was Gifted in the end?
I sat up, pushing her hand away. “Yeah. Wouldn’t want any of the Gifted to miss out on their birthright.”
The bitterness in my voice was clear, and Beatrice had the decency to look a little chagrined.
“I’m sure it must all be a great shock to you, sweet girl. But this is your birthright. We wield a power that very few possess, and with that power come many responsibilities… and privileges.”
I hugged the pillow to my stomach, wishing it were armor instead of silky fabric and plush stuffing. Didn’t she hear how she sounded?
“So if I had never found out I was Gifted, would I still be welcome here? If the ring was still suppressing my powers, would we even be having this conversation?”
The words sounded more childish and petulant than I meant them to, but I had to know. Grandmotherly love practically radiated from Beatrice every time she looked at me, but I couldn’t help the sickening feeling that if the flame of magic inside me winked out, so would the love in her eyes.
Cool fingers touched my chin, forcing me to look toward Beatrice. Her gray eyes were steely with resolve when she spoke.
“Child, you will always be welcome here. Magic or no. You are my granddaughter, and all the family I have left. I would not give you up for the world.”
Relief flooded my body, though why I should be relieved that this woman I hardly knew, whose beliefs were diametrically opposed to mine, cared about me unconditionally, I didn’t know.
I nodded, pulling my chin out of her grasp when the intensity of her gaze became too much to bear. “You know, the people I grew up with in Wyoming, they were all someone’s granddaughter or grandson too. Same as the people living in the Outskirts. Someone, somewhere loved each one of them. Just like you love me. Magic or no.”
My grandmother’s stormy gray eyes widened, and she opened her mouth then shut it. She pursed her lips and patted my knee gently. “Sweet girl.”
I wasn’t sure if she actually meant that or was just calling me by her favorite pet name, but this conversation felt like walking through an emotional minefield. If I got too worked up, my magic could go haywire again, and the last thing I wanted to do was destroy my grandmother’s mansion. At least, no more than I already had.
As if she’d read my thoughts, Beatrice shook her head. “Don’t worry about what happened at the palace. Once people learn that you only recently discovered your powers, they’ll forgive your loss of control. Has this sort of thing happened before?”
I dug a toe into the finely woven rug. “A few times. The only other incident this bad was the day my magic surfaced for the first time. My control has been improving since then, but now that the bond is straining—”
My mouth snapped shut. Shit. How was I supposed to explain my power flares without mentioning the four men who each carried a piece of my magic?
She leaned forward. “Bond? What bond?”
Before I could formulate an answer, a heavy knocking sound made me jump.
We both looked up as Retta bustled down the stairs, crossing through the foyer as she moved to open the large front door.
“Where is she? Killer? Are you here?”
Chapter 6
My mouth dropped open as Fenris rushed into the house, past the startled housekeeper. Her head swiveled back and forth as she watched Corin, Akio, and Jae storm in behind him.
Fen glanced around quickly, and the moment his gaze settled on me, his whole body froze. Mine did too.
He was here.
They were all here.
The wolf shifter’s chocolate brown eyes lit with fire, and his chest rose and fell powerfully. His dark hair was as messy as ever, but the scruff on his jaw was thicker than usual. It made him look wilder, more dangerous, and impossibly more beautiful.
His full lips parted, revealing a line of even white teeth. Then he released a sound almost like a growl and strode purposefully toward me. I met him halfway, my legs lifting me from the couch before I even registered what I was doing.
As if trying to become one, our bodies collided, the force of it nearly knocking us off balance. His strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me close as his mouth captured mine. The woodsy pine scent that was all Fenris filled my nostrils as his warm, soft lips pressed against my own. My body curved to the shape of his, and my hands roamed the defined muscles of his back as if trying to confirm that every part of him was truly here. I could feel the heat of his skin through his dark T-shirt, and it stoked an answering warmth low in my belly. My hands slipped into his hair, mussing it up even more.
His tongue flicked out, tracing the seam of my lips, tasting me. My lips parted, but instead of taking the kiss deeper, he dropped a gentle kiss on my upper lip, then my bottom one, before pulling back slightly. We stayed like that, bodies still pressed together, noses touching, breath mingling in the small space between us, until a throat cleared nearby.
Reality came rushing back in like a charging bull.
I blinked, face burning as I took a step back. Fen clamped his hands on my waist, not letting me escape too far.
My grandmother had risen from the couch when I did, and now her clear gray eyes shifted from one man to the next. I followed her gaze. Jae looked slightly embarrassed, Akio wore an amused smirk, and a muscle in Corin’s jaw twitched as he watched me and Fen.
Fenris shot a smug grin at the three of them. “What? Don’t get mad at me just because none of you are ready to admit the bond is real.”
“Oh, we’re well aware it���s real,” Akio murmured, so low I almost didn’t hear him. The incubus’s dark eyes swirled with an emotion I couldn’t name.
“Yeah,” Corin muttered. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, then ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. Seeming to come to some conclusion, he reached for my hand, tugging me toward him. Fenris released his on grip my hips reluctantly, and Corin pulled me into his arms. He didn’t try to kiss me, but I could feel his heart thudding rapidly against my chest, matching the pace of my own. “Gods, we missed you,” he breathed.
The feeling of sharing the same space, breathing the same air as the four of them, was nearly overwhelming. Electricity seemed to buzz within me, tingling all the way to the tips of my fingers, lighting me up with energy at the same time a powerful sense of calm fell over me.
I was whole again.
Corin’s large, calloused hands swept my hair back, cradling the sides of my face as he looked at me, blue eyes shining. Finally, he pressed a kiss to my forehead, his lips lingering there and flooding my entire body with warmth.
“Lana, dear. Who are your… friends?”
Beatrice’s voice was as gentle as ever, but I tensed as I turned around, unconsciously placing my body between her and Corin and adopting a defensive stance. I wasn’t sure what her response would be to having four men barge into her house and lay claim to me like this, but I was especially worried about her reaction when she realized one of them was Blighted.
“These are… they’re the men who were with me when my magic surged the first time. It was too powerful for me to control. It bonded with each of them to stabilize itself, or it would’ve torn me apart.”
Beatrice’s eyes widened, and her hand flew to her chest. The gesture was so old-fashioned, so posh that I would’ve laughed if I hadn’t been so anxious. I wished she had some actual pearls to clutch.
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