Secrets and Alchemy

by Linsey Hall

  “What?” Surprise flashed through me. “Why would you ever do that?”

  “You sure you want to hear this whole thing?”

  “More than ever. Because I’ve no idea why you’d ever give up your magic.”

  “For my sister.”

  “Ah.” Understanding dawned. “The one you couldn’t protect.”

  He nodded. “She’s not dead or anything, thank fates. My story doesn’t take quite that tragic a turn. But when we were teenagers in the Fire Fae Court, it was prophesied that she would be the fated mate of a rival king who would kill her. And she was fated to be the savior of our people, though no one knew how.”

  “Hoo boy, that’s some kind of burden.”

  “No kidding. Especially when you’re basically a kid and your court evicts you to save you. Or so they say.”

  “They really did that?”

  “Yes. As long as she stayed in our court, the King of the Sea Fae could find her. And our own king and queen had the terrible idea to bind her magic so that she could hide in the real world.”

  “But they basically just kicked you guys out.”

  “Just her. They were going to kick her out alone and expect her to hide until the day came when it was time for her to go home and save them all.” He gave a bitter chuckle and dragged his hand through his hair. “They knew her well enough to know that she would do it, too. Claire is nothing if not honorable.”

  “Claire isn’t a very Fae name.” She frowned. “For that matter, Connor isn’t, either.”

  “Not our real names.” A small smile twisted his lips. “After I gave up my wings and ears to hide with her, we took human names. Back home, she’s Caera, though she doesn’t go by that name.”

  “And you?”

  “I was Caspian.”

  “But you don’t go by it anymore.”

  “No. And I never will again.”

  “So what happened to your sister?”

  “She’s fine now. Happily married to the same Sea Fae who was going to kill her.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Sounds like a story.”

  “It is. And she has her wings back. She needed them to fulfill her destiny and save our people.”

  “But the king and queen never gave you your wings back?” Indignation surged through me.

  “They offered, but I didn’t take them up on it.”

  “Why the hell not, if your sister had them back? Was it a loyalty thing? You didn’t want anything from them because they were horrible to your sister?”

  “Playing armchair psychologist?”

  “Maybe. Am I wrong?”

  He shrugged, and I felt there was more he wasn’t saying. “Like I said, I didn’t want them back.” Absently, his hand went to his pocket. “And I created a potion years ago that would give me my wings back if I ever really wanted them.”

  “You did?” Shocked, my gaze moved to his pocket. “You’ve been carrying a cure around all this time and have never taken it?” I couldn’t even imagine. My entire life had been about finding a cure for the curse on my magic, and this guy had one in his pocket all along and wouldn’t even take it. Annoyance spiked. “Hell, Connor. I appreciate your loyalty, but this is too much.”

  His lips twisted. “It’s not just loyalty, Sora. Don’t go thinking I’m some hero that I’m not.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s easy to give up magic. Deadly to try to get it back.” He pulled the tiny vial out of his pocket and held it up. “I carry this because I feel compelled to. But the minute I take it, I start a deadly transition that I may or may not survive.”

  “Then why the hell didn’t you just take your wings when the king and queen offered them?”

  “They don’t actually have the power to give them back, even though I let them think that.” He shoved the vial back in his pocket and rubbed his shoulder absently, as if he were missing his lost appendages. “My wings were more than just wings. They contained rare magic. When I gave them up, I gave up that magic. The king and queen couldn’t give that back because they had no idea it existed.”

  Understanding dawned. “And that’s why it’s so hard to get your wings back.”

  “Precisely.” He dragged a hand over his face. “And I keep having these dreams that once I get my power back, a village will burn.”

  “Which village?”

  He shrugged, his eyes dark and sad. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if it really happens. It’s just a vision I have.”

  “Maybe it doesn’t happen.”

  “Maybe.”

  I wanted to ask him what the magic was, but he looked so tense that I thought he might break. He’d clearly shared as much as he was willing. I sighed and leaned against the wall. “That’s some messed-up shit, dude.”

  He shrugged. “Not that bad. All my choice.”

  “That makes it weirder.” I shot him a look. “Ever consider getting a therapist? I think you’ve got some stuff to work through.”

  He chuckled. “It’s not the worst idea.” His laughter faded. “But I’ve got a feeling that your damage wasn’t your choice, was it?”

  “So that’s how it’s going to be? Just going to change the subject to me, now?”

  “I showed you mine.”

  He had. “And you know my problem is like yours. That I’ve got damage—except I didn’t choose it.”

  “You wouldn’t be called Sora the Broken otherwise.”

  I hissed, not liking the nickname.

  “Sorry,” he said. “If it helps, I don’t think you’re broken.”

  “I am.” I shot him a guilty look. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to pay you for your help like I said I would. That promise to void your opponents’ weapons in battle? Yeah, not going to happen. Not unless you want to risk me voiding your side’s weapons and also knocking you unconscious.”

  “Your void magic is screwed up.”

  I nodded. “I was cursed when I was a teenager. It was part of an ancient prophecy”—I scoffed bitterly—“something from a wizard who had a bone to pick with one of my ancestors, which is a load of bullshit, as far as I’m concerned. I’m a totally different person, but he cursed me anyway to fulfill the prophecy.”

  Connor glanced around, as if inspecting Guild City. “That kind of thing is normal here?”

  I shrugged. “It’s been an all-magical city for centuries. And I know that Magic’s Bend is all magical, but it’s a newer place. This city has been here more than five hundred years. That’s a long time. There’s a ton of history here, and not all of it good. The fairy tales weren’t wrong when they told stories of ancient grudges carried down through generations.”

  “Do you know what your ancestor did to incur the wrath of this wizard?”

  “No, and it doesn’t matter. She didn’t deserve it. And neither do I.”

  “I can definitely agree that you don’t deserve it.”

  “Thank you.” I nodded, getting pissed now, the way I did anytime I thought of my situation. “I used to have control, but after the wizard found me and cursed me…boom! Now I’m a disaster.”

  “And you’ve been trying to steal a cure.”

  “Nailed it in one go.” My mind flicked back over my many attempts. “The sorcerers used to have it, but they wouldn’t share.”

  “They don’t have it anymore?”

  “That’s what I heard. They got rid of it to keep me from trying to break in. Not that it would have really worked, I found out. Stealing one of their spells is tricky because all of their spells must be performed by someone from their guild. They’re not like the witches, who will sell you a potion to take on your merry way. They want more control.”

  “Because their spells are more dangerous?”

  “Partly. And it’s just how they work. Adds value to their services. Which I could never afford.”

  “What was the curse that the wizard placed on you?”

  “The Curse of the Pereplet, from the distant reaches of Siberia.”r />
  “Sounds like a tough one to break.”

  “You’re telling me.” I clunked my head back against the stone wall. “But I’ll get it one day.” From my tilted-back position, I shot him a wry look. “I almost had it, too. That’s why I was robbing the Devil. I found another wizard to break the curse, if I would bring him an Expulsio potion. In exchange, he’d do a spell to fix me.”

  “And now that’s a moot point, because the Devil wants his potion back.”

  “Exactly. But I voided it into nowhere. And now I have to choose. I can either get evicted from Guild City or get my magic back. I choose home.” I gestured at our surroundings.

  He looked around, skeptical. “It’s nice, but it’s not home.”

  “It is.”

  “Do you have any friends or family here?”

  “Well…” Shame burned me. Even though it shouldn’t. It wasn’t my fault that my magic had been broken by a bastard wizard, making me such a threat to all around me that they avoided me like the plague.

  “That’s what I thought.” Connor gripped my shoulder. “Home has friends and family.”

  I opened my mouth to argue that I wasn’t so pathetic that I didn’t realize that—I had some buddies! Not that close, but I had them. But a figure appeared at the end of the alley, walking toward us. There was no threat from the person. Even from this distance, I could tell they weren’t one of the Devil’s people, but they were going to interrupt the conversation.

  “Come on. Let’s go.” I left the alley and headed onto the main road. Connor joined me, and we walked quickly down the street. “The Sorcerers’ Guild isn’t far from here. We can get the growing spell and have those seeds turned into plants in no time.”

  Connor was silent as he walked alongside me, as if he were chewing over everything that I’d told him. Unease streaked through me—what did he think of me now?

  Normally, I liked to carefully control how people saw me. But this…

  I’d just laid it all out there, like a naked sunbather.

  Only in this case, there were no boobs to distract him. Just the cold, hard truth of my screwed-up magic. And the fact that I couldn’t pay him back for his help in the way that I’d promised. I shot him a glance out of the corner of my eye, grateful to see that he hadn’t turned around and ditched me.

  He was still going to help me.

  Since he was silent as the dead, I had no idea why he was going to do it. But I wouldn’t push my luck and ask. Not until the Devil was off my back.

  Finally, we reached the clearing in front of the sorcerers’ tower. It was a monstrosity of stone, looming out of the thick city wall that stretched on either side of it, wrapping around all the other buildings in town. The tower itself rose four stories over most of the other buildings. There were few windows breaking up the expanse of gray stone that made the façade, and the entire place radiated with threat.

  Connor whistled low under this breath. “These guys have something to prove, don’t they?”

  I chuckled. “They take themselves seriously.” That was one thing I liked about the witches. They were bitches, but they didn’t take themselves seriously. And I’d had my good times with Beth, Coraline, and Mary, but they’d always been after my obsidian dagger. Maybe because they wanted it, maybe to fuck with me.

  But it didn’t matter.

  I patted my pocket. I had it back.

  The main door of the Sorcerers’ Guild was a huge black thing with an arched top. Steel studs decorated it, making it look as ominous as I knew the inside of the building to be.

  “Is there another entrance?” Connor asked, turning to inspect the buildings on the other side of the green that faced the sorcerers’ tower. “Some of these bars and restaurants are open. If we try to break in the front door, people will notice.”

  He was right. This was one of the nicer parts of town, with chic restaurants and bars that filled up with the brunch crowd. It was now early afternoon, and the businesses were hopping.

  “There’s a door on the far side, kind of hidden.” I pointed toward the narrow space against the city wall where I knew the door was nestled. There were big, shady trees there, concealing a door that was set back against the exterior wall of the city.

  “That’ll do.” Connor started toward it, but I grabbed his arm.

  “Hang on.” I pulled him back, and he turned to look down at me. “Thank you.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. ’Course.”

  He said it like it was obvious he’d help me. But it really wasn’t obvious. We barely knew each other. The attraction was off the charts, but that didn’t change things. We barely knew each other.

  I wasn’t going to point that out. I needed his help too much, and he was willing to give it.

  Together, we cut across the square toward the far side of the building. Connor grabbed my hand and pulled me close, leaning down to talk. “Pretend we’re into each other and we’re looking for a place to make out. In case anyone in the bars is looking.”

  “No problem.” I could fake that easy, since I’d be a big fan of finding a place to make out with him. I leaned against him, stumbling slightly, as if I’d had too many mimosas. It’d be easier to sell this charade if it were eleven p.m., but with any luck, this would do the job.

  Together, we stumbled to the side wall of the tower, and Connor pressed me against it, his form warm and hard against mine. He dipped his head to my neck as if he were kissing me, but his lips barely brushed my skin as he whispered near my ear. “Any tips on how to get through the door?”

  A shiver raced over me at the feel of his words against my skin. “No. I used to use my lock picks, but they got rid of the lock after my second attempt.”

  “Okay. We’ll figure something out.”

  The door was still a good twenty feet farther back, closer to the wall that surrounded the city. We needed to get back there, and I wanted to make it believable. So I raised my head until our faces were lined up with each other’s, then pressed my lips to his.

  Warmth rushed through me at the press of his mouth, and his scent wrapped around me like a hug. I wanted to breathe him in for hours, kissing him against this wall until we both melted into a puddle.

  But we had to keep moving.

  With a shove, I maneuvered him so that his back was against the wall, closer to the door. Ravenous, I clutched his shoulders and kissed him like I was starving.

  He groaned low in his throat, and his strong hands gripped my waist.

  “I know this is a charade to get me toward the door,” he muttered against my mouth. “But I’d keep it going all night.”

  Heat flared, and I pulled him toward me, kissing him like I couldn’t get enough. And it was the truth—I couldn’t. I could kiss him for hours. Skillfully, he flipped me around so that I was pressed against the wall deeper in the shadows of the tree. By now, no one could see us, and I kissed him for all I was worth.

  7

  Connor

  Sora’s mouth moved on mine like she was ravenous for me, and the heat streaked through my veins like fire. I wanted to devour her, spending hours kissing every inch of her.

  But now was not the time.

  With a regretful groan, I pulled away from Sora. “We need to make our move before the sorcerers notice we’re out here.”

  Panting, she leaned her head against the stone wall. “Good point. Let’s get to it.”

  I moved toward the corner where the tower met the city wall. There was nothing but stone. “There’s no door.”

  “Hidden.” She pointed to the ground.

  Everything looked normal except for the fact that the grass was a little more trampled. “I don’t see it.”

  “Do you have a potion to reveal hidden things? I used to bring one when I’d come to break in.”

  “Yeah.” This was one that I kept in a wrist cuff, and I pulled it free.

  “Nice,” Sora said. “That’s how you froze the witches without us noticing?”

  “Yeah. Subtlety
can be useful.” I unscrewed the tiny cap and poured a minuscule drop on the ground.

  Immediately, the grass and earth disappeared, revealing stone steps leading down about ten feet to a small, sturdy wooden door.

  “The sorcerers live underground,” Sora said. “The tower is where they store their goodies.”

  I grimaced, not liking the idea of living underground. “Weirdos.”

  “Seriously.”

  She walked down to the door. I stashed the remainder of my potion back in my cuff and joined her on the lowest step. She pointed to the spot where a door handle should be. There was nothing but flat wooden door. “See? They got rid of the lock and handle. Thanks to me.”

  “You can break into anything, huh?”

  “Anything that has a lock.” She scowled. “Bastards.”

  “I’ve got this.” I dug into my potions sack and withdrew a disintegration bomb.

  “That will unlock the door?” she asked.

  “No. I’m going to destroy it.”

  She grinned. “My kind of guy.”

  I found that I wouldn’t mind being her guy. Hell, who was I kidding? I aggressively wanted to be her guy.

  “Do I need to back up?” she asked.

  “No, this one doesn’t explode.” I uncorked it and poured the potion all over the door. It hissed and sizzled, eating away at the wood and magic that kept us out of the tower. Within seconds, the door was gone.

  Sora ginned. “Nice.”

  “I’ve got an invisibility potion, too. Let’s take it.”

  She nodded. “You’re prepared.”

  “Always.” I drew two small vials from my bag and handed her one. “Once we’ve each drunk one, we’ll be able to see each other, but no one will be able to see us.”

  I tossed mine back, ignoring the disgusting flavor. I was used to it by now.

  She took hers and uncorked it, then swigged it back. A grimace twisted her features. “Gross. You ever think of adding some flavoring?”

  “Like strawberry or something?”

  “Like whiskey. Or rum.” She shuddered. “That needs something powerful.”

  I grinned. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

  “Now or never.” She stepped through the door into a long, gleaming corridor. The walls, floor, and ceiling seemed to be made of shining black glass that gleamed with an impossible light, illuminating the hall in a way that made me feel like I was in outer space.