Risa opened her mouth, but her throat didn’t work. She couldn’t move.
The angel froze us all. Axel, Sutton and I can fight it, but the others can’t, Linc said in her head.
I was talking earlier. So much was happening, Risa couldn’t keep track of it all.
Because he wanted you to.
This is crazy. Ginny’s father is an angel?
So it would seem.
“You dare much,” Vigilance said to Wing Slayer.
Thunder boiled below the ground. “Eli Stone is mine. Release him, and I will lift my mark from your daughter.”
“This is not finished, Wing Slayer.” The angel shot up into the sky and vanished.
The god stepped around Ginny, Ram and Eli.
Axel, Darcy, Sutton and Carla all knelt. Darcy’s necklace and Carla’s armband glowed, but the god passed by them.
Risa started to kneel when the god reached out his hand. “Come.”
But what about Ginny, Eli and Ram? Risa couldn’t get her head around all that had happened once Vigilance, and then Wing Slayer, had arrived. She glanced over to see that Eli, Ginny and Ram were still frozen in place.
“I have done all I can for them this night,” Wing Slayer said.
Startled, she returned her gaze to the god, realizing he’d heard her thoughts. Or maybe saw her looking at Ginny and the two hunters and guessed her question.
“They will be released from the freeze in a moment, and as safe as I can arrange for now,” he added. “No more questions.”
She glanced up at Linc. Did he think her an idiot for silently challenging his god?
He gripped her fingers. No. We both care about our friends, love. We’ll be there for them when they need us, just as they’ve been for us. It’s all we can do.
Reassured, she held Kendall tighter. Together, she and Linc placed their hands in the god’s outstretched one. In seconds, they knelt on the roof of the L.C. Family Recover Center. But Risa’s arms were empty, sparking her panic. “Kendall!”
“Peace, witch, she’s here.”
Risa looked up to see the powerful, scary god holding Kendall. The baby lay in one enormous arm, watching the god’s wings with rapt fascination.
“Hunter, your knife.” He held out his other hand.
Linc slid his knife free and handed it to the god.
Kendall reached for the shiny blade.
Risa reacted instinctively, catching the baby’s arm. “Would you like me to hold her?”
Wing Slayer raised his eyebrows, his wings twitching. “Do you think I’d allow harm to come to this child?” As he spoke, the knife moved from the god’s hand to rest on the air well out of Kendall’s reach.
Embarrassment heated her face. Wasn’t it bad enough that in her concern about Ram, Ginny and Eli, she’d hesitated when Wing Slayer held out his hand to them? Now she questioned his care of Kendall? “No. It was automatic. I… She’s a baby and fast. She’ll grab anything.” Risa squeezed her eyes shut. He was a god. He could easily keep Kendall from getting the knife.
Easy, love, he’s not angry, Linc said gently in her head. When he’s pissed, his demon side shows. Two horn things protrude in his forehead, and the red in his wings pulses. Fucking scary to see.
“I can hear you,” the god sighed. “Risa, you have no reason to fear my demon side. Nor that I will allow harm to befall Kendall.” Wing Slayer gazed down at the baby, his harsh face softening and his wings brightened.
All her earlier confusion and worries slid away at the sight. Wing Slayer wasn’t just a god, but half demon as well. He’d protected Kendall, even knowing she was the child of his enemy. “I don’t fear your demon side,” she whispered, her throat going tight. “Having met you, felt your protection, is an honor. Seeing Kendall in your arms is… I have no words. People may say that Kendall is marked by demon blood, but I look at you with your demon blood and see hope for our daughter. She is part demon, and I won’t ever deny that. Instead I will point to you to show her the standard of what her demon side should represent.”
A wave of fierce pride flooded into her from Linc, and he squeezed her hand. But Risa hadn’t said those things to impress anyone. They were the truth.
The god smiled at Kendall. “You’ve chosen your mothers well, little one. Both your birth mother and your adoptive one.” When he returned his attention to Risa and Linc, he grew solemn. “Lincoln Dillinger, Risa Faden, you have proved yourself worthy. Raise your joined hands.”
Once they obeyed, Wing Slayer’s hand settled over theirs. “Look around you, Risa, your Ancestors are here.”
Her breath caught at the stunning sight. Each Ancestor looked like a unique and dazzling star in a velvety night.
I see them. Linc’s voice echoed in her head. You’re showing me through our link. They’re magical.
Risa couldn’t think of a better word to describe them.
With their minds joined, the touch of the god seared through them right down to their cells. Risa clung to Linc’s hand as their life forces twined together, weaving and reshaping. Winds blew and time spun. Through it all, she hung on to Linc mentally, emotionally and with their laced fingers. The full scope of the moment settled over her.
Lifting his hand, Wing Slayer said, “You bear the mark of immortality.”
“How?” She gazed at the healed white rings circling the base of their thumbs. “You didn’t have the knife in your hand. I didn’t feel a cut.”
Linc laughed. “He sliced it, but he moved so fast you couldn’t track it. I felt the cut for both of us before he healed it.”
“Exactly as he should,” Wing Slayer said. He laid the baby in Risa’s arms, spread his wings and lifted off into the night. “Care for them well, hunter.”
Linc sat back on his butt, pulling Risa and Kendall into his arms. “You’re mine now.”
Worry edged into her happiness. Everything had happened so quickly. “Are you sure this is what you want? Being a dad? And a mate? Forever?” She closed her eyes, holding Kendall close. Love for Linc swamped her. This man was special, extraordinary, and she desperately wanted him to be hers.
But he’d been caged too long and in too many ways. And she loved him enough to put his happiness first. “Linc, you’re finally free. Truly. No captors, no bloodlust. You don’t have to do this. If you aren’t really ready to be a mate or father, or you ever feel trapped, I won’t hold you back. I’ll never hold you back,” she said fiercely, her love nearly choking her.
His eyes glinted in the moonlight. “Risa, baby, don’t you know?”
“What?”
He cupped her cheek in the palm. “I escaped my cage years ago, but since then I’ve been searching. I’ve won millions. I’ve bought houses, cars, built schools. I became a Wing Slayer Hunter and saved countless lives, fought the evil of demon witches and rogues, but nothing I did ever eased the gaping, aching hole that left me hurting and wanting.”
Her heart swelled with hope as bright as any angel and as powerful as any god. “Linc.” The word was torn from her heart.
He leaned his forehead against hers. “Until you, my warrior witch. You are my happiness, Risa. I love you and our baby girl.”
Tears filled her eyes. She’d never been anyone’s happiness. “I love you too. It feels like I’ve been alone all my life, until you rescued me and showed me that love is the real magic.”
The End
Dear Readers,
Thank you for reading Caged Magic! I hope you enjoyed Linc and Risa’s story, and catching up with all the characters from the series.
I wanted to take a second to express my heartfelt thanks to all the Wing Slayer Hunter fans for being so patient and never losing faith in me, or in the characters. For various reasons, it took a long time to write this book, but I know one thing for sure—it would never have happened without you. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My future plans consist of at least two more books—Primal Magic which will be Eli’s story, and then Fallen Magic which will be Ram
and Ginny’s story. And I always have more stories brewing as I love the Wing Slayer Hunter world!
In the meantime, if you haven’t checked out my sexy contemporary series, The Plus One Chronicles, you can get the first book, The Proposition for free in digital format.
Happy Reading!
~Jen
Other Books by Jennifer Lyon
The Wing Slayer Hunter Series
Blood Magic (Book #1)
Soul Magic (Book #2)
Night Magic (Book #3)
Sinful Magic (Book #4)
Forbidden Magic (Book #4.5 a novella)
Caged Magic (Book #5)
The Plus One Chronicles Trilogy
The Proposition (Book #1)
Possession (Book #2)
Obsession (Book #3)
The Plus One Chronicles Boxed Set
Anthology
The Beast Within Anthology
with Erin McCarthy and Bianca D’Arc
Writing As Jennifer Apodaca
Once A Marine Series
The Baby Bargain (Book #1)
Her Temporary Hero (Book #2)
Exposing The Heiress (Book #3)
The Samantha Shaw Mystery Series
Dating Can Be Murder (Book #1)
Dying To Meet You (Book #2)
Ninja Soccer Moms (Book #3)
Batteries Required (Book #4)
Thrilled To Death (Book #5)
Single Title Novels
The Sex On The Beach Book Club
Extremely Hot
Anthologies
Wicked Women Whodunit Anthology
with Mary Janice Davidson, Amy Garvey & Nancy J. Cohen
Sun, Sand, Sex Anthology
with Linda Lael Miller and Shelly Laurenstron
About the Author
Bestselling author Jennifer Lyon lives in Southern California where she continually plots ways to convince her husband that they should get a dog. So far, she has failed in her doggy endeavor. She consoles herself by pouring her passion into writing books. To date, Jen has published more than fifteen books, including a fun and sexy mystery series and a variety of contemporary romances under the name Jennifer Apodaca, and a dark, sizzling paranormal series as Jennifer Lyon. She’s won awards and had her books translated into multiple languages, but she still hasn’t come up with a way to persuade her husband that they need a dog.
Jen loves connecting with fans. Visit her website at www.jenniferlyonbooks.com or follow her at https://www.facebook.com/jenniferlyonbooks.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Dear Readers
Other Books by Jennifer Lyon
About the Author
Caged Magic Page 35