Bound by Magic: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Magic Awakened Book 1)

by Sadie Moss

  Panting heavily, I limped over to the edge of the roof and peered down. His still form was sprawled on the manicured ground below.

  My stomach roiled.

  If I hadn’t killed him, he would’ve killed me. I knew that. But remembering what Fen had said about shifters being forced into the service of the Gifted, guilt twinged my heart.

  This is why we’re fighting. To end all this.

  Backing away from the edge, I focused on the pain in my shoulder, letting healing magic flow through me to fill the break in the pattern of my life force. By the time my skin closed, it felt like I was pulling magic from the bottom of a very deep well. I was hanging onto the illusion spell around me by a thread.

  The alarm was still blaring, alerting the entire palace to the break-in. I shifted quickly back to human form. I had a momentary flash of panic that I’d be naked—I’d spent several hours over the past few days practicing shifting, and it was still about fifty-fifty whether I had clothes when I shifted back—but my dress materialized with me, thank the gods.

  No shoes though. And my attempt at an up-do was pretty much destroyed.

  I hardly cared. Barefoot, I staggered toward the rooftop access door, pressing against it with all my weight. I could hear shouts from the fifth story room as I slipped through the door.

  “The guard is dead. I’m heading back to the ballroom. Tell Christine the Resistance’s location is safe,” I muttered into my communication charm as I stepped quickly down the stairs.

  Two stories down, I peered out of the stairwell. A pair of demon guards with dusky red skin ran by, and as soon as they disappeared around a corner, I darted into the hallway. I was nowhere near the route the guard had brought me down originally, but I headed in the direction I thought was north.

  The magically amplified alarm had finally stopped screeching, but tension still hung in the air, filling the silence. Four Blighted men in tuxes rushed by, and I ducked to the side. They couldn’t see me through the illusion, but they’d definitely notice me if they ran into me.

  Their attire encouraged me. They must have come from the ballroom. I slipped down the same hallway they’d turned out of, and almost collapsed with relief when I recognized my surroundings. The ballroom waited at the end of this corridor.

  Allowing my invisibility illusion to drop, I rushed down the hall and pulled the door open.

  The room was in disarray. Women shrieked—although ironically, none as loud as when that waiter had spilled a drink on them—and men’s voices rose angrily as the palace staff tried to calm everyone down. A quick glance at the front of the room revealed the large entrance doors closed off. They must not be letting anyone leave.

  I scanned the space for Corin and Jae. My eyes lit on Jae first, the relief on his normally placid features so stark it was almost funny. I stepped toward him, but I hadn’t made it far when a hand caught my wrist.

  Turning, I looked up into a pair of narrowed brown eyes. The man peering down his nose at me was thin and lanky, with carefully coifed brown hair accented by twin streaks of gray at his temples. He had puffy bags under his eyes, and a scowl deepened the lines on his face.

  “Just where do you think you’re going?” he asked softly. His voice had a raspy quality, like he needed a glass of water.

  “I—I got separated from my date in the chaos.” I lowered my eyes demurely, hoping I didn’t look as beat up as I felt. The blood soaking my fur had disappeared when I shifted from wolf to human form, so at least I wasn’t that obvious.

  “That’s a staff door.” The man’s dark brown eyes narrowed. “And the head of security made it clear no one was to leave until we secured the palace grounds.”

  “I didn’t know. I was—”

  His grip on my wrist tightened, his magic surging. It didn’t feel particularly strong, but his air of authority made me almost certain he was a government official. So he wielded both magical and political power, neither of which I was in a position to fight right now.

  “I haven’t seen you before. Who did you come here with?” he demanded.

  I swallowed. I was tempted to lie to protect Jae, but it wasn’t a deception that would hold up for long, and it would make us both look guilty when the truth came out.

  “Jae. Jae Nocturne. He’s over—”

  I started to point but realized it was completely unnecessary. Jae was already striding over, a muscle in his jaw ticking. Behind him, Corin was edging subtly through the crowd closer to us.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Jae’s voice was sharp and cold as ice. “Please unhand my friend right now.”

  The man scoffed. “Ah, Jonas’s boy. She’s your date? Well, son, I’m afraid I can’t let her go until she explains what she was doing behind a private staff door after there was an attack on the palace.”

  “I told you, I got lost! I—”

  “Really? And how exactly does one manage to lose their way in a single room? You were told to stay in the ballroom, which should have made getting lost quite impossible.” The man’s voice rose in volume as he spoke, drawing the attention of the people around us.

  “I was frightened,” I murmured, trying to sound contrite instead of angry. Who the fuck was this guy?

  “I’m sorry, Rain.” Jae’s voice was low but firm. “We were separated in the confusion when the alarm sounded. She was probably looking for me. My friend is new to Denver and has never attended a palace function before. She didn’t know the protocol. I would hate for her to think this is how the Representatives treat a powerful Gifted visitor.”

  The man—Rain—pushed me through the milling crowd toward the front of the room where Jae’s father stood talking to a palace guard, keeping my wrist torqued uncomfortably behind my back. I could probably break his hold, but then what? We were surrounded by too much magical firepower to survive a fight.

  Jae kept pace with us as I staggered along in front of Rain, his worried green eyes meeting mine.

  “Chief Advisor Blackshear, I really must insist—” he tried again, but Rain cut him off.

  “Don’t imagine you can throw your father’s rank around and get what you want, son,” he hissed. “That would only work if I believed he’d back you up, and you and I both know that’s not going to happen.”

  We were making enough of a spectacle to call attention, and Jonas Nocturne looked up as we approached, his cool, surprised eyes meeting mine. Shit. This was about to get so bad—not just for me, but for Jae. My chest rose and fell rapidly, and I dug my heels in, bare feet sliding on the marble as I pushed back against Rain, slowing our progress.

  Suddenly, a clear, feminine voice cut through the noise of the room.

  “Stop!”

  Chapter 26

  Rain pulled up short behind me, and I almost slipped as my leverage against him was suddenly met with no resistance. Regaining my balance, I glanced around the ballroom, searching for the source of the voice.

  By now, we had the attention of the entire ballroom, and the crowd parted to make way for a small woman with a shock of short, white hair. Her lined face was kind, and her delicate features made me think she must have been stunning when she was young. She wore a deep blue dress in a conservative style, the fabric so luxurious it made her look like a queen.

  And her eyes were locked on me.

  The man holding me sighed, keeping his grip tight even as he turned in the old woman’s direction. “What is it, Beatrice?”

  Beatrice stopped a few feet away from me, her gray eyes regarding me intensely. Now that she was this close, I realized how petite she truly was. She couldn’t have been taller than five feet.

  Her wrinkled hands twisted together as she studied me.

  “Child, where are you from?”

  Shit. We’d never worked out any kind of back-story for me—for “Lana the Gifted,” the high society member I was pretending to be. I shot a glance at Jae, and he nodded slightly. Which meant… what, exactly? I wished I had the ability to communicate with him telepathical
ly, like I could with Fen when we were both in wolf form.

  “I’m from Wyoming. I haven’t been in Denver long,” I answered finally, keeping my answer truthful but deliberately vague.

  “Wyoming?” The woman’s brow furrowed, and she clucked her tongue. “No. That doesn’t….”

  She stepped closer, lifting her hand to tilt my chin down. The backs of her knuckles swept down the curve of my cheek, and her light gray gaze flickered over my features as if she was searching for something in my face.

  Rain shifted impatiently. “Beatrice, there’s been a break-in, and we need to get to the bottom of it. We really don’t have time to—”

  “Lana?”

  Beatrice’s voice was little more than a whisper, but it was enough to shut Rain up and stop my heart.

  How did she know my name?

  I’d never seen her before in my life, and I could count on the fingers of a single hand the number of people in Denver who had known me by name before I fell in with the Resistance. And one of those people was a ghost.

  This woman wasn’t connected with the Resistance somehow, was she? Judging by the shocked looks on Jae and Corin’s faces, no.

  Instead of answering her, I just gaped wordlessly, mind churning. Beatrice frowned, pulling her hand back. She seemed to suddenly doubt herself and shook her head with a small laugh. “I’m sorry, child. I thought—”

  “How do you know my name?” I finally found my voice, and Beatrice’s gaze snapped up.

  “I knew it! It is you!” A delighted smile spread across her face.

  “How do you know me?” I insisted.

  The woman’s smile quavered as a tear slipped down her cheek.

  “Child, I’m your grandmother.”

  “What?”

  That outburst came from Rain, who scoffed skeptically while I struggled to find words. Or breathe. The woman’s gray eyes shimmered with tears, but their similarity to my own was striking. My emotions ricocheted from joy to panic to anger, finally settling on disbelief. I hated to agree with that asshole Rain on anything, but how the hell could this woman know she was my grandmother? I’d never seen her before in my life.

  Or maybe you just don’t remember, a voice my mind interjected.

  All my earliest memories were of the Blighted settlement I’d grown up in on the plains of Wyoming, but that still left a good five or six years of my childhood unaccounted for. And thanks to the camp’s old-timers, whose memories stretched back further than mine, I knew I hadn’t been born at the Blighted settlement. I’d arrived there at some point as a small child.

  “Beatrice, really.” Rain stepped closer to her, lowering his voice. Oh, now he wanted to keep from making a spectacle? “We all lost loved ones to the Great Death. I’m aware that you miss your family, but you cannot bring them back to life with wishful thinking.”

  “I wouldn’t dare to wish. I hadn’t even dared to hope,” Beatrice murmured, her voice shaking. “But it’s her. Don’t you see the resemblance?”

  “What’s going on here?” Jonas stepped into our small circle, glancing from Beatrice to Rain to me.

  Rain’s irritation was palpable as he fixed a burning glare on me. “Beatrice thinks this young woman is her long-lost granddaughter.”

  I expected Jae’s father to have a similar reaction to Rain at this news, so his response startled me. Rather than scoffing, he seemed intrigued. His cool gaze flicked between me and Beatrice, more assessing this time.

  “I do see the resemblance. And it would explain Ms. Crow’s great power. Beatrice, do you have any proof of this?”

  “No, just a… feeling,” she admitted. “But a reader can tell us quickly enough.”

  “Before we get too deeply entrenched in this little family reunion, there’s another issue that must be resolved.” Rain scowled at me, his magic roiling. “I caught this woman slipping through a staff-only door mere minutes after the alarm went off.”

  Jonas hesitated, his intelligent green eyes gleaming.

  “It was just a mix-up. I got lost!” I repeated my excuse, though it sounded more desperate and false every time I said it.

  Rain snorted, but before he could say anything, a palace guard pushed open the door and hustled over to Jonas, speaking quickly and quietly in his ear. The Minister of Justice listened intently, then nodded.

  “Clean it up,” Jonas told the guard. “And interrogate the rest of the guards. Make sure he didn’t have any accomplices.” He shifted his attention to Rain. “Let her go.”

  “What? But I—”

  “They’ve identified the perpetrator. A panther shifter posing as a palace guard. He broke into a room on the fifth floor and died attempting to escape. Perhaps you should worry more about properly vetting your staff than leveling accusations against relatives of our most distinguished Representatives.” Jonas’s voice was cold and measured.

  This woman was a Representative?

  My blood chilled, and I shot her a glance.

  She didn’t look anything like how I’d imagined the Gifted government leaders. She was too old and… nice looking. Her sweet face twisted with worry as she watched me.

  With a huff, Rain finally released his grip on my wrist. I shook my hand out lightly, stepping away from him. I had the uncomfortable feeling I was being used as part of a power play between these two men, but fuck if I could figure out what game they were playing.

  Jae stepped up next to me, resting a hand lightly on my waist, and the contact instantly soothed me. I had an impulse to lean into his touch, to shrink back into the protective shield of his embrace. It was a strange feeling. I’d never been the type to shy away from confrontation. Usually, I met it with open arms—and a dagger in each hand.

  But though danger hung heavy in the air around us, I couldn’t figure out exactly where the threat came from. No one brandished weapons or hurled fireballs. This was a battle of politics, and it was completely foreign to me. I caught Corin’s eye. He stood in the crowd gathered around us, his face reflecting the confusion I felt.

  “Are you all right, my dear?” Beatrice brushed past Rain, catching my hand.

  “I’m fine.” I forced a smile.

  She shot a glare at Rain, and he wilted a bit under her ire. Drawing himself back up, he faced me, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at me intently. “I apologize, Ms. Crow. It was my mistake. You are, of course, most welcome in our palace.”

  “Crow?” Beatrice squeezed my hand. “No, darling. If I’m right—and I grow more certain with every passing moment that I am—you’re not a Crow. You’re a Lockwood.”

  The reader was a plump, middle-aged woman with soft fingers. They felt like little balls of dough between my fingers as she held one of my hands in hers, her other hand grasping Beatrice’s.

  We sat in a small chamber one floor above the ballroom. After Rain’s apology, he’d hustled us swiftly out of the room, apparently no longer so keen to have this scene play out in front of an audience now that it involved his humiliation. Jonas had stepped away to consult with the palace guards. It didn’t escape my notice that he hadn’t once acknowledged Jae during the exchange in the ballroom.

  As we trekked up the stairs, I tried to think of a subtle way to tell Akio and Fen what was happening, but I couldn’t risk revealing the communication charm I was wearing, and talking to myself aloud would definitely look suspicious. Hopefully they’d picked up enough of the conversation to understand the gist of this new development.

  Beatrice insisted Jae be allowed to come with me, but Corin had been left behind, maintaining his cover as one of the Blighted staff. I prayed he’d be able to slip out through the kitchens the same way he came in.

  Small noises fell from the reader’s parted lips, and her eyelids fluttered. The heat of Rain’s stare tickled the back of my neck as we all waited for the woman to hand down her verdict.

  Finally, the white film over her eyes faded, and she blinked.

  “Well, your pattern of magic is very similar. I would say you�
��re almost certainly blood relatives.”

  “Ah. Praise the gods,” Beatrice breathed.

  “Although,” the reader added, turning to me, “yours is quite a bit stronger, and a bit… strange.” Her gaze flicked to Jae, and I wondered if she could sense the connection between us like Asprix had. Could she also tell my magic was attached to three other people?

  I’d been nervous about sitting down with the Representatives’ reader, afraid she’d somehow be able to see right down into my soul and find out all the truths I was trying to keep hidden. But of course, that was beyond her power. Readers could interpret the shape and feel of magic, but they couldn’t decipher thoughts.

  “Well.” Rain cleared his throat. “That answers that. Welcome to Denver, Ms. Lockwood.” His voice twisted on the last word, as if it pained him to say it.

  Beatrice turned in her seat, her gray eyes bright as she regarded me. “You said you’re new to Denver?”

  I nodded, keeping my gaze steady.

  Guess that’s the story we’re going with.

  “Then you must come live with me! Goodness, I have a house that’s too big for an army, let alone one person. And there’s so much I need to know. Where did you…? How did you…?” She stopped and patted at her flushed cheeks, tears glistening in her eyes again. “Darling Lana. We’ve lost so much time. I don’t know what happened to you, but I want to find out everything. Sweet girl, I’ve missed you so much.”

  A lump rose in my throat, and I had the strangest urge to reach over and hug her. Although I’d made my own family in the Wyoming encampment—Margie and Corin had been all I needed—here was a woman who was my actual flesh and blood.

  But she was Gifted.

  A Representative.

  I swallowed, the lump in my throat turning to shards of glass. I didn’t know this woman at all. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

  “Killer?” Fenris murmured softly in my ear, his tone tender. “We updated Christine on what’s happening. She wants you to accept your grandmother’s offer. We have a chance to infiltrate the highest levels of government, and we have to take it.”