Wanted by the Fae: A Fated Mates Romantic Fantasy: Magic Bound Book 2 (Magic Bound Series)

by Allie Santos

  “Because only Fae are stupid and arrogant enough to steal from dragons.”

  I brushed my hair from my face. This was totally out of my element. I couldn’t best a dragon with Roark passed out. On top of that, my weapon was in the backpack currently on my shoulders. “Look, I sincerely apologize for trying to steal. Trust me when I say that’s not how I roll, but we’re desperate.”

  “I’ve heard that once before in the last month,” he said, eyes narrowing. “We upped security when that Fae stole from us.”

  Freaking Conan.

  “There’s a lead to free magic,” I said.

  He stilled and his eyes flickered, pupils expanding diagonally in a reptilian manner. “He said that, too. Lies.”

  Lucian stepped closer, and my shoulders tensed. I got to my feet, not liking how he was trying to intimidate me. “No, not lies. They refused to tell him anything because they wanted to talk to the Fae Queen.”

  “And that’s you?” Rita scoffed. Lucian began laughing. My lips pursed. Assholes.

  “I’m serious,” I snapped. “How did magic being bound affect you? Is it like the werewolves where you can’t turn? How about reaching maturity and settling into immortality?” I looked at Rita and connected her humanity to half-breeds like me. “She looks in her twenties and she doesn’t have that dragon aura you give off. That means she hasn’t reached maturity. She obviously has dragon blood—you look alike. But she will live a human life and procreate more humans with dragon blood, but ultimately, she will die a human death—unless magic is unbound.”

  They stilled, and I realized I’d hit the nail on the head. I wondered how many family members Lucian had lost in these last two hundred and fifty years since magic had been gone. His jaw feathered.

  Roark groaned from the floor, and relief shot through me. I dropped to my knees beside him and pulled out that damn feather.

  “Wait—” Rita started as Roark shot up with a hiss. A dagger manifested in each hand. I gripped Roark’s arm as Lucien spoke.

  “Say I give you what you want.” He paused and glared at Roark. “What if you’re not successful? What can you offer me to sweeten my part in this?”

  My eyes went to the ceiling. “They’re literally your dragon claw clippings.”

  Rita cocked a hip. “And they fetch millions of dollars in the Unnatural market. Not only that, but, duh, he can’t turn dragon. How much do you think he has?”

  “What do you want?” Roark interrupted our squabbling.

  “I want access to Faerie.”

  Roark tensed beside me. “No.”

  “Why not?” I said, eyebrows furrowed. “Deal. If we’re not successful, I will personally bring you over to Faerie.”

  Roark gave me a look, but I ignored him. Rita pulled out her phone and her fingers flew over the screen. Lucian grinned, but it was more like baring his teeth.

  “Why did you need me to bring this?” A girl that resembled Rita rounded the hallway, waving a vial around. Her large, round glasses took up half her face. She froze at the entrance, her eyes roving over me and Roark. “Um, hi,” she said and scurried to her uncle, tripping as she went. “Here, Uncle Lucian,” she said, pressing the thing into his hand.

  “Took you long enough,” Rita muttered.

  “Do you have to be such a di—”

  “Girls,” Lucian snapped, and I pressed my lips together to stop my laughing. He stepped toward me, but Roark got in front of me and held out his hand. His eyebrows went up. “I forgot how possessive Unnaturals can be.” He chuckled and tossed the vial.

  After catching it deftly, Roark shuffled me back toward the window.

  “Bye, it was nice meeting you,” I said over Roark’s shoulder as he shoved me out.

  Rita snorted, but the other girl waved back with a confused smile. Roark swooped me up and sped away from the mansion, fingers gripping me tightly. He finally came to a stop when we were a mile out.

  “I have legs, you know,” I said dryly. He grunted in answer. “I can’t believe I got to meet an actual dragon.” Roark just shook his head. “What’s your problem?”

  “You shouldn’t have offered him that deal.”

  “What’s wrong with it? It’s not like there isn’t tons of space in Faerie,” I snapped. “Anyway, I have a good feeling about the goblins. We’re not going to fail.”

  He rolled his shoulders and went quiet. “Good job in there. You handled yourself well.”

  I preened under his compliment. “I’ve been wondering something. I didn’t connect the dots with the other species until now. How are they able to have children?”

  “From what I’ve observed, animal type Unnaturals that didn’t mature into their immortality were able to have children, passing on the Unnatural gene. It’s the same with your kind. That’s why you exist.” It was as I thought. This world got more complicated by the second.

  I guessed that was some type of consolation for those who hadn’t matured. They’d at least been able to have a human life.

  “So, if we don’t manage to do this, Teagan will live a human life?”

  “Yes.”

  “What happened to the other Fae that hadn’t reached immortality when magic was first bound?”

  “They all decided to relocate to your world.”

  “But don’t you have some abilities even before you reach maturity?”

  “Like I mentioned to you, some do, but what they have access to is not controllable and is too minuscule to do anything with. That’s unimportant, regardless. It can only happened to a child with both Fae parents—like Teagan. If magic isn’t freed and he lives out his life until his death, he will not be able to have children. This is opposite to animal Unnaturals that never reached maturity and lived out their lives until their human deaths. They have been able to pass on the Unnatural gene. I theorize it’s the human blood that’s muddled the animal Unnaturals and half-breeds that allow this.”

  I processed that and absorbed the magnitude of how many peoples’ lives would change if we managed to succeed. Not only have there been Unnaturals with their beast stuck within them, but people who had been living human lives would be changed. Hell, some had no clue what was in store for them, like I had been.

  “The portal is this way.” He gripped my arm and angled me to the side. I couldn’t wait until I was able to sense them. I hated walking around aimlessly. We passed through and were back to Texas in seconds.

  24

  I gazed up at the dark sky. The full moon offered the only light. One moon. Normal stuff. Walking out of the forest, we stepped on the sidewalk. I looked around, vaguely recognizing downtown.

  “We have to find the closest bridge,” Roark said, scratching his chin.

  “I think the closest thing to a bridge other than the causeway is the pier.”

  “Is there water?” he asked. I nodded. “That works.”

  He waved his hand out in front of him, waiting for me to guide us. I trudged in the direction of the old bridge, where homeless people mostly loitered during this time of night. Even though I didn’t feel the cold, I wrung my hands together nervously.

  “Goblins hang under bridges? I thought those were trolls,” I muttered.

  He chuckled. “Trolls are entirely too big for bridges.”

  I swallowed my awe and walked after him. We’d been walking briskly, so it was no surprise when the dark shadow of the pier curved up in the backdrop of the dark sky.

  “It’s right there,” I said, pointing.

  Roark pulled the small glass container from his pocket. “We need to take this first.”

  I eyed the shimmering greyish powder. “As long as I don’t have to snort it.”

  “That would be the easiest way to get it in your system.”

  “So, you’re telling me I’m about to take the cocaine of the Unnatural world?”

  Roark just rolled his eyes as he upturned the vial in his mouth. Pressing his lips together, he handed it to me. I exhaled sharply. Well, here goes nothing. I
poured it into my mouth. The minuscule grains spread on my tongue as I swallowed. It felt like when I ate that last powdered bit at the end of the pouch of pop rocks. I tried not to be skeeved out that it was crushed up dragon claw traveling down my throat.

  “Not so much.” Roark snatched it with a curse. “Any more and you would have been out of your mind.”

  As soon as it went down, a tremble coursed through me. “Whoa, is everything supposed to look so popped out?” I said, blinking.

  The light from the streetlight had turned blood-red, enhancing the surroundings. I lifted my hands. I could see every crease. Waving my hand in front of my face, the motion was lagged and made it so my hand appeared in multiple places. My hearing adjusted and the lapping of the shore infiltrated.

  I blinked, realizing Roark had been talking to me while I waved my hands in front of my face. “What?”

  Roark pursed his lips and tugged my arm. Where he touched me was sensitized, the sensation of skin against skin addicting. I reached up with my free hand and trailed my fingertips across my face. Biting my lip to hold in my giggle, I palmed my face and shuddered at the tingling of my flesh.

  He sighed, looking back at me, but a grin played on his mouth. I reached up and pressed my finger into his cheek wanting him to feel the delicious prickling of contact. “Do not look into its eyes. They make you feel nothing but fear.”

  He paused at the edge of the pier. Instead of going up, we went around toward the bottom where the bridge blocked the water. I couldn’t make anything out in the darkness.

  Roark’s hand went to squeeze mine. “Do not scream.”

  The shadows undulated, seeming to come together and apart before settling solidly. A tall, skinny form stepped out of the shadows, and I understood why Roark told me not to scream. The arms and legs were long, and the torso was thin and lengthened, making it as tall as a human. But that’s where any resemblance ended. Its gaunt, grey face elongated. Its slim proportion was similar to the rest of its body. My mouth went dry, and I averted my gaze before I looked into its many eyes. Not thinking twice, I clutched Roark’s hand.

  “We were told you have information?” Roark asked tightly. I was glad Roark was with me since I was positive I wasn’t able to speak.

  “In return, her blood I demand,” the goblin hissed.

  My shoulders tensed, and I clutched Roark’s hand harder. Fear spread through me as the darkness seemed to undulate. He stepped in front of me, fully blocking the thing from me. My gaze traced over Roark’s stiff shoulders. I knew if I didn’t intervene, this could destroy our chances of finding out how to free magic. I released a deep breath.

  “Okay.” I stepped beside Roark, gripping the straps of the backpack so I wouldn’t tremble. He tensed to argue, but I stopped him before he could. “It’s okay.”

  “Is struck the deal,” it hissed, its elongated head dipping in a nod. I quickly evaded its eyes before it captured my gaze. “To the unbinding the answer holds the human realm born. A sad Queen’s curse will the Fae no longer be restricted by. Will bring forth the unbinding the ultimate sacrifice causing the tie the answer lies. Once more magic will reign.”

  I didn’t know if it was just because I was high, but everything sounded backward.

  He said nothing more, just held out its long fingers. This was the prophecy everyone was in a tizzy about?

  “That’s it? We get a damn riddle with poor grammar?”

  “Blood I want.” It waved its grotesquely long arm out insistently.

  Roark took a step forward and hissed. It hissed right back. Before they tried to kill each other, I held my arm out and took a step forward, holding Roark’s hand with the other.

  It mirrored my step, and the long arm seemed to grow. Its three finger-like appendages hovered over my wrist until they slowly attached to my skin like leeches. Fear fused me as I felt blood leaving my body, and my trembles got more insistent.

  I heard Roark growl and say, “That’s enough,” from afar, but the sucking didn’t stop. “I said, that’s enough.” Roark tugged me back. A sword manifested in his hand.

  “Good sssso.” The thing sounded like it moaned as it scuttled back and receded into the darkness.

  I felt a little woozy. Roark picked me up, and we flashed away from the dark underside of the bridge. I shook my head as Roark set me down on a nearby bench.

  “Thanks,” I muttered, rubbing my heavy eyes. The odd floating sensation from the powder was wearing off.

  He brushed my hair out of my face and grabbed my arm. The punctures weren’t bleeding, but the flesh was swollen where it had taken the blood.

  Roark swayed in front of my eyes, and I grabbed his arm before he toppled over. “Are you okay?”

  His lips pressed together as he looked over me, fierce. “I used too much magic. When I healed from whatever those dragons injected me with and now manifesting.”

  “You should have been careful.” I didn’t regret sounding pissed. Even though I had the strength now, I didn’t want to tote his unconsciousness ass around again.

  “Do not mistake this fact,” Roark rasped harshly, grasping my face in his large hand and making me look at him. “I will always use every last bit of my strength to do anything and everything for you.”

  Flutters erupted in my stomach. His words should have angered me, or at the very least scared me with their intensity, but instead, I found myself… exhilarated. Even though he held my face, I looked over his shoulder, not wanting to meet his gaze.

  I changed the subject, clearing my throat. “I see where aliens get their looks from.”

  “Aliens?” Roark sounded out the word as if it were foreign to him as he released me and stood.

  “You know, extraterrestrials, out of this world. Never mind,” I said when he continued to look confused. “What the heck did that mean, anyway? It sounded like a whole lot of run-on sentences to me.” A light bulb went off over my head. “And what was with the way he talked? It was all backward.” I snapped my fingers and stood, pulling my hand away from Roark. Now that my brain fog was lifting, I was capable of working through what it said. “The first part was the part you all based sacrificing us human-born Fae.” I shot him a droll look.

  He narrowed his gaze at me. “The human realm born holds the answer to the unbinding.”

  “He said it something like, ‘To the unbinding the answer holds the human realm born.’ It’s all jumbled. Recite what it said verbatim.”

  He did as I asked, and my mind raced. I rubbed my forehead. “That hurt to hear.” Repeating the words in my head, I flipped the phrases around. “The human realm born holds the answer to the unbinding. The Fae will no longer be restricted by a sad Queen’s curse. The answer lies the ultimate sacrifice causing the tie and will bring forth the unbinding. And magic will reign once more… I think.”

  Roark’s eyes brightened. “The tie,” Roark muttered. “The bind on magic happened with the Queen’s mate being murdered.”

  I stared up at him as my mind raced to connect the dots. “So, we bring him back to life?” I was for sure grasping at straws.

  “No, we sacrifice.”

  What, though? Roark’s gaze leveled on me as I tried to work it out, but the expression on his face told me he already knew the missing piece.

  Roark’s smile was bitter. “Queen.”

  My mouth dried. Shocked tingled through me at what he was insinuating. Queen… I was the Queen. And Roark… Roark was my mate.

  Roark had to die.

  I recoiled, shocked. Before we could argue about how that was not going to happen, growls broke out around us. Four large bodies stepped out of the darkness, each one ten feet from the other, successfully surrounding us.

  “Werewolves,” Roark said disgustedly.

  “It’s this one,” one of them said, his voice guttural as he looked right at me. A different hulking shape stepped forward, and a growl built at the base of his throat. It inhaled sharply and brought some material to its nose. My eyes widened wh
en I recognized the torn, green, long-sleeved top. The last time I’d seen it, it had been on the floor in Roark’s room at the dark fortress.

  “Get behind me,” Roark gritted out.

  “No, I’ve had enough of these assholes.” My fingers curled, but I didn’t reach for my dagger like I itched to.

  “You’re lucky your kind have made it impossible for mine to shift,” the same one who had spoken said. “You won’t get away this time.”

  I squinted. It was the werewolf that had followed me when I was with Annie! The one that had stepped forward threateningly. We seriously did not need this, especially since Roark was already incredibly weak.

  I could tell Roark thought the same, but before we took off, one of the werewolves lunged at the same time as the other one. It was surreal watching a full-grown man charge at me, snarling. So surreal that I completely froze.

  I heard a crashing thud and was thrown to the side as Roark tried to block me. All it succeeded in doing was bowling both of us over. Roark’s sword went flying feet away from him. I scurried to get on my feet, heart hammering in my chest.

  Roark hissed and said weakly, “Run.”

  I scuttled to the side and watched another one charge Roark and throw him to the ground.

  “Roark,” I gasped.

  Before I could go to him, another werewolf approached me slowly. I tapped into my Fae speed and ran as hard as I could to the asshole pummeling Roark. Roark continued to fight him off, even though I could see from his slow reactions that he was about to putter out. That werewolf was lucky Roark had drained his energy away, else Roark would have already torn out its heart.

  I launched myself at the one attacking Roark, and my momentum knocked us to the ground. Protective instincts pulsed through me, and without thinking, I let my fist fly right at his face. His head snapped back at the impact. Before I could lay another on him, a familiar scent surrounded me, and I was swooped up. The world flashed around me as I hung awkwardly in Roark’s hold.