Hidden Magic: A New Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Touched By Magic: Dragon Book 1)

by Ashley Meira

  “The tablet also mentioned staining mountainous earth in the blood of innocents,” Damien said. “And that it would summon ‘their lord.’”

  “What?” Fiona said. “What lord? How do we kill him?”

  Damien shook his head. “That must be on another part of the tablet.”

  “No, no, no.” She buried her face in her hands. “Someone tell me this is a coincidence.”

  “Any chance Snow mentioned what mountain you guys were in?” Adam asked.

  I could barely shake my head. My kidnapper did this. No, Snow did this, but he ordered it. I knew it. He’d caused the death of thousands of people. And for what? A stupid ritual? Only a monster could do something like this.

  I’d killed a lot of monsters, but I wasn’t strong enough to kill this one. Not yet.

  Snow had the chance to out me in that cavern, but she didn’t. It was possible her boss didn’t know we’d met. I couldn’t rely on that, though. I had to assume he knew and would come after me. When he did, I needed to be ready.

  I needed to learn how to use my magic.

  My fingers brushed against Adam’s. He took my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “This isn’t your fault.”

  Yes, it was. I could’ve stopped this. “Yes.”

  He turned to me as the news segment ended. “No, it’s not.”

  “No,” I said. “I mean, yes, I do think it’s my fault. But that’s not what I meant. Yes to your offer. Teach me.” The words felt like lead on my tongue. “I want to learn how to use magic.”

  “You already know how to use magic. Mostly,” he added with a smile. “But I can teach you how to control it.”

  “Enough to defeat whatever the hell this is?” I pointed to Damien’s laptop. “You really think I’m strong enough?”

  “Of course. Even if you aren’t, I’ll be fighting by your side.” He winked. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  Fiona puffed her cheeks out. “Even if she isn’t? Sophia is totally strong enough to kick anyone’s ass. She can do it.”

  They both turned to Damien expectantly.

  He raised a brow. “Um, yeah. Sure. Totally. I…have no freakin’ idea. You’re scary with a sword, though. And if Adam thinks you can do it, you probably can.”

  “That’s actually a compliment coming from him,” Adam said.

  “Thanks,” I said, way beyond overwhelmed. Why couldn’t I just stay a magic-less, sword-wielding brute forever?

  I supposed I could. I could sit this one out, leave the world to fend for itself. Let other capable people fight off the inevitable tide of evil coming our way. I could run away again.

  But I was tired of running. Looking over my shoulder was beyond old. The man behind this had taken me as a child. Then he took my memories, leaving me to wake up in a cold, dark cell — scared, alone, and beaten.

  I thought of the names I’d seen in the armory. Titus, Julian, Diana…. Them, Fiona — he’d hurt me and countless other children like me. And he was planning on hurting even more people. I wasn’t going to let that happen. He had to be stopped. Gulping, I looked at everyone around me.

  They believed in me.

  If only I had their confidence.

  Thank you!

  I really hope you enjoyed Hidden Magic! Word of mouth and reviews are vital for any author to succeed. As an independent author who does it all on their own, these reviews are twice as important. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased it. Even a few lines sharing your thoughts on this story would be extremely helpful for both other readers and the author. Thank you for your support!

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  Author’s Note

  Hi there! I hope you enjoyed reading Hidden Magic — I certainly enjoyed writing it. The story flew by, and I’m currently finishing up the final details of the second book Smoke and Magic. As soon as I’m done, it’s off to the editor while I start book three. This series has been such a great joy to write, because it allows me to get lost in a world like so many I’ve wandered before.

  I’ve been reading since I learned the alphabet. I was the youngest in my class to start reading — all my friends would complain I was too busy reading to play with them! I couldn’t tell you which book truly sparked my love for reading (though I did love Cam Jansen as a little girl), but I can name a few that awoke my love of fantasy.

  Harry Potter filled my mind with ideas about dragons, magic, and a plethora of magical creatures. More than that, it made me believe any one can be a hero if they try hard enough — though being the Chosen One does help!

  After Harry Potter, I began searching for any fantasy books I could get my hands on. Most of them were high fantasy series so old I can’t remember their names, but I always had one thought while reading them:

  Why doesn’t this happen now?

  Looking back on it, I guess it’s a good thing we don’t have vampires running around after werewolves while fairies throw magic around. Maybe. But I couldn’t help wondering what things would be like if fantasy came to the modern world — and how would I react to them? Not well, considering I can’t climb stairs without whining.

  But what if I had magic? What if I could turn into a dragon or summon a tornado? High school certainly would’ve been a lot more interesting. That was the problem: my life was normal. Well, relatively normal. There were no missing parents or secret ninja assassin training missions in my household. So, I started making up people who did have those things.

  Now, I get to share those people with you. I’m not looking to win a literary prize or write a book that changes the way everyone sees the world. My writing is more escapist. I love a good adventure, but more than that I want to engage with the characters. I want characters that stay with me months, even years, after I finish a book. Characters that inspire me and give me strength when times are tough. The characters I write aren’t just my friends, they’re extensions of myself — stretched to heroic proportions.

  I want to see characters in situations that make me excited, giddy, and even worried. I’m not a fan of dragged out drama or deaths — the challenges faced by the protagonists don’t have to be life threatening. It could be someone learning to trust others after a life of never being able to. Pulse pounding action is what drives the story forward, but I’ll never finish that story if I don’t care about the characters. Even one character is enough to keep me reading a book whose plot I don’t particularly enjoy. If I feel connected to a character, I’ll turn the page, and buy the next book just to see what happens with them. Like I said, they’re my friends — I care what happens to my friends.

  If you’ve read my previous series, you may have noticed I have a trend of female protagonists with trust issues. Part of this does stem from my own insecurities, but it’s also to illustrate how lonely it can be in a world like the ones they’re in. Monsters run rampant and higher powers — known or otherwise — threaten to disrupt the fragile peace. Everyone wants to survive, but not everyone does it by playing nice. The Touched by Magic series has a lighter feel than The Spire Chronicles, but relationships are just as hard to foster when you’re Fireborn — public enemy number one — than if the world is just filled with self-indulgent jerks.

  More than the characters themselves, I read for the relationships between them. I love reading how characters interact with each other — the banter and growing closeness, a romance that everyone sees is there but doesn’t come to fruition right away. I’m too impatient for a true slow burn, but I do like to have the “courting stage” last a little while.

  Th
at’s why I’m excited for you all to see how Sophia and Adam come together. Despite all the snark and leather, my heroines are very fragile. Life has beaten them down, and they’re too afraid to find happiness lest it be ripped away from them. Sophia is the same, but Adam really cares about her — and he’s not giving up until she trusts him. He has his own demons, but he’ll set them aside for her. It’s not purely selfless — no one likes to face bad memories, even someone as strong as Adam. Helping her helps him. But when Sophia learns more about what haunts him, she’ll be damned if she leaves him to face everything alone. It’s a case of “guy saves girl” but also “girl saves guy.” He needs her as much as she needs him. I hope I can do their relationship justice with these books.

  Being an author has allowed me to introduce you to the worlds I grew up in — with my own personal touch. The characters may not be real, but the lessons and feelings they invoke certainly are. Stories help me escape the stresses of my life, and I hope my stories can help you do the same!

  Also by Ashley Meira

  The Spire Chronicles

  Hunter, Hunted

  Ties That Bind

  King’s Gambit

  Shadowlands

  Lay Me Down (Coming soon)

  My Soul To Keep (Coming soon)

  Touched By Magic: Dragon

  Hidden Magic

  Smoke and Magic (Coming soon)

  Magic Lost (Coming soon)

  Magic Unbound (Coming soon)

  Magic Rising (Coming soon)

  Touched By Magic: Fae

  Coming soon