Magic Burn: an Urban Fantasy Novel (Shifting Magic Book 2) Read online

  “Abramelin won’t bother with the small clans,” Khalon told us gruffly. “At least, not at first. He knows he’ll need to eliminate the largest shifter clan first, then he can pick off whoever is left. We may not all see eye to eye, but the clans will rally together should one be targeted.”

  “Aren’t you guys the largest clan?” I asked at that, without thinking. Both dragons looked back at me, and Darius shook his head, while his father simply stared like I was a moron.

  “There’s an even larger dragon clan,” he said. “We’re the oldest. They’re the largest. The Brisbane clan—”

  “Near Yellowstone,” I added. “Right. That makes sense. Eliminate the strong and then squash the weak.”

  “What do you need me to do, Father?” Darius asked. “Tell me, and Kaye and I will see that it’s done.”

  “Another time,” Khalon murmured. “This… I’m tired.”

  Sensing it was my time to retreat, I told Darius I had to tell Galen and Quell we needed to change up our clan-visitation route—if only to give the two dragons a few moments of alone time to simply be with one another without anyone else watching. Darius had said, as the next alpha, he had been watched his whole life. Khalon was probably the only figure here who understood that. As I headed for the door to the hall, the alpha said that we were welcome with the Sanctius clan, to which I turned back and offered a bow, a gesture he seemed to appreciate.

  And then I was gone, leaving Darius and his father to their hushed conversation and flickering torchlight, knowing in my heart that Darius had finally started on the path to his own private, personal redemption.

  Chapter Seven

  Just because dragons were deemed the “snobs” of the shifter world, that did not mean they were strangers to bringing the house down with an epic party. After the militia had settled in various halls throughout the mountainside village, we were all invited to a feast to celebrate Darius’s return. Considering all I had witnessed up to that point, I assumed the meal would be held in the alpha’s home, with a high table and fur rugs and bards serenading us, as we observed some ridiculous form of ceremony.

  That was not what I got—at all.

  Sure, there was a bit of speech-making at the beginning of it all, but we weren’t gathered in an archaic setting in the alpha’s home. Instead, we were hosted in a more modern building halfway up the mountain range, with beautiful chandeliers overhead, and speakers embedded in every corner. The seating arrangement was more like a wedding reception than medieval feasting hall—and not a torch was in sight.

  While the speeches made included the militia, welcoming us and thanking us for our assistance, I knew that most of the pomp and ceremony had to do with Darius returning.

  And, why shouldn’t it? He was their soon-to-be alpha. His father had to hobble around leaning heavily on his wife; he wasn’t a man who could lead a clan of warrior shifters into a war against Abramelin. I wasn’t sure what Darius and his father had talked about in my absence, nor had I had time to ask when we met up at the dinner. Quell, Galen, and I sat at one table, along with a handful of other supernaturals, while Darius sat with his family.

  I hadn’t minded, of course. Dinner had been exquisite: roast duck for each table and a myriad of fresh bread and vegetables. Chocolate made up the bulk of the dessert choices. The hall was cool yet cozy, and when mealtime ended, the real partying began. Unfortunately, when the tables were pushed back and the dancing started, I still didn’t have much of a chance to talk with Darius. If his family wasn’t chatting his ear off—totally acceptable, of course—then the rest of the clan was monopolizing him.

  My newfound inner voice huffed and puffed for most of the evening. I hesitated to call her my inner dragon, but she was rather grumpy to be separated from Darius. Still, I did my best to have fun with everyone else. Given the nature of our being there, every day was serious. Lives hung in the balance. A madman wanted to kill all of us. So, just for a night, I didn’t think any of us had a problem letting loose.

  Catriona, least of all. My best friend had dragged a rather sullen looking Quinn onto the dance floor about an hour ago and hadn’t let him leave. He still appeared miserable, but given that he hadn’t stormed off yet, deep down, I suspected he was enjoying the attentions of a beautiful fae way more than he let on.

  I, on the other hand, having drunk my fair share of specialty dragon wine, whatever that meant, had plopped down at our table and slipped out of my shoes, content to just watch at this point. The exuberant vibe rubbed off on me, and I watched the dancers with a smile, my gaze darting over to where Darius sat at a table with a bunch of other shifter men. He held a dark bottle of ale in his hand, his sleeves rolled up, and a grim expression tainted his features. He seemed to be doing more listening than talking. Every so often our eyes would meet, and his expression would lighten for just a moment or two, and that voice would just sing inside of me, thrilled at the connection.

  It was nice.

  I straightened up when someone placed a glass in front of me, then leaned back in my chair when Hayden settled into the seat beside me.

  I pointed to the glass of suspiciously clear liquid. “What’s this?”

  “Water. Iron free, as big brother told us,” he said, smirking. A faint sheen of sweat coated his face, like he’d only just escaped the dance floor himself. “You looked like you might need it.”

  “Thanks,” I said, sarcasm seeping from my tone. “Glad to know I look like shit.”

  “Nah, you’re beautiful,” the dragon stated without missing a beat. “I’m just looking after my brother’s girl. Making sure she’s okay while everyone else talks him into the ground.”

  “You’re sweet.” I grabbed the glass and took one quick sip, then guzzled about half of it down when I realized it was cold and delicious. “But keep in mind, that your brother’s girl is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, whether Darius is here or not.”

  “I kind of figured that,” Hayden told me. He shrugged. “Maybe I wanted an excuse to talk to you.”

  “You never need that with me.”

  “Good to know.”

  As I nursed the rest of my water, we watched the dancers for a few moments. Without looking over, I heard Hayden shuffle closer, his elbows resting on the table beside mine.

  “You know, I’m really happy Darius brought you home.”

  I tried not to look too touched, but his words made my chest tighten. “Thanks. It’s been awesome meeting you guys—”

  “I mean, it kind of clears the path for me,” the young dragon remarked, grinning. “I’ve been dating a mage for the last six months, but I’ve been too scared to bring her ‘round.” He then nudged my arm. “You guys tested the waters and survived. Bodes well for me.”

  When he saw the look on my face, one I probably should have hidden better, he laughed.

  “And, it’s always nice to see someone make my brother happy,” Hayden added with a wink. “Seriously. You’re awesome, Kaye.”

  And with that, he was off, bouncing back to the dance floor and ruffling Quinn’s hair along the way. I smiled, despite myself, and wondered if the whole point of the conversation had been about expressing some guy feelings that just had to be covered up by a joke. Whatever the case may be, I liked Hayden and wanted to get to know him better.

  But for now, I needed more of that sweet, sweet water to combat the dragon wine churning in my stomach.

  “Kaye!”

  I slowed my mildly tipsy amble down the mountainside path at the sound of Darius’s voice carrying across the night air. Gigantic street lamps lit the way, keeping the clan’s village from succumbing to an otherwise pitch-black midnight. For some reason, even the stars were hard to spy out here, but I had a feeling that had something to do with Abramelin’s protection spells he had cast over the village. Outsiders probably couldn’t see the street lights either, but it was a terrible shame not to see the stars. So far from civilization, they must have been breathtaking out here.

&
nbsp; When I spied my dragon jogging toward me, I stopped completely and waited for him to catch up, ignoring the way excitement bubbled in my stomach at his sudden appearance.

  It was either excitement or the wine. I couldn’t be sure yet. I’d been chugging water for the last hour, not wanting to wake tomorrow with a monster hangover, but it might have still been affecting me. Darius’s cheeks looked positively flushed, his eyes a little unfocused as he thundered toward me—and, once he was close enough, he scooped me up with one arm and spun me around. I half giggled, half cried out in protest, hands pressed against his firm shoulders as my feet dangled over the ground.

  “Where are you off to?” he demanded as he set me back down, yet he didn’t remove his arm from around my waist. I cocked my head to one side, scrutinizing him.

  “Are you drunk?”

  “A little.”

  I licked my lips, trying not to laugh. “Well, I’m going to bed. There’s a lot of work to do tomorrow, I’m sure.”

  “Father wants us to lead a parlay between the Sanctius clan and the Brisbane dragon clan,” he blurted. I blinked up at him, surprised that he’d share the news with me now, but not entirely shocked at the news overall. I took a step back. Being pressed up against him… it did something to me. Physical contact made my head spin and my inner voice hungry; I found it whispering to caress his cheek, to brush the hair from his eyes—to kiss him.

  “So… Yeah, I guess that means we’ll have a lot to do,” I said slowly, digesting the information.

  “It’s going to be all serious and dangerous,” Darius told me, eyebrows twitching downward, “so you can’t go to bed now. The sooner we sleep, the sooner it’s tomorrow.”

  This time I laughed. “I don’t think that’s the way it works.”

  “One day closer to…” he continued, like he hadn’t heard me, “I have to start… being…”

  I bit the insides of my cheeks. The sooner he’d have to start acting like an alpha. Just because Darius had been raised his whole life to assume a certain role, didn’t mean he’d be ready for it when the time came. His father wasn’t in the ground yet, but there was a strong likelihood Darius would have to take over sooner than that anyway, given the circumstances.

  “Okay.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed, hoping the pressure would keep him from sinking too far into his dark thoughts. “What should we do instead?”

  “Well…” He threaded his fingers through mine. “I know I’ve been a bit preoccupied with everything since we got here, so I think it’s about time I gave you a proper tour of the place.”

  I agreed with a smile that hurt my cheeks, even though some of the clan’s beta dragons had already shown Quell, Galen, Catriona, and me around earlier. They had touched on all the key structures to the clan’s survival—the local school, market, blacksmith, tailor, grocery—but I had a feeling Darius’s tour would have a more sentimental tone to it.

  Or a drunk one. I couldn’t tell; we didn’t know each other well enough yet for me to know when he was piss drunk versus just feeling sorry for himself.

  Hand in hand, we strolled through the village, sauntering down to the bottom-most house and working our way back up to the top. Darius stopped here and there, pointing out snippets of childhood memories to me with an easy smile and a warm tone, the kind that curled around my heart and wouldn’t let go.

  He showed me the clan bakery, where one of the shop girls had a crush on Hayden as a teen and used to sneak them all treacle tarts when the owner wasn’t looking. We stopped at the school, where Darius pointed out the windows that never locked and were primed for mischievous brats to sneak in and out of when they wanted to cut class.

  He showed me where he and his brothers had once played on dangerous cliffs as children, and the ledge his parents had thrown him off when he was first learning to fly in dragon form.

  “It’s like chucking your kids into the deep end of the pool, so they learn how to swim,” he argued when I stared up at him, aghast.

  “Only they won’t plummet to a gruesome death, if they don’t figure it out,” I shot back. He shrugged.

  “No. They’d just drown instead.”

  We toured the gardens on the other side of his family’s hall, a surprising speck of pure, lush greenery, flowers, and herbs amidst all the varying shades of gray. He showed me where Hayden hid his very human motorbike, and the small cavern where Quinn liked to slip off to and sketch when he thought no one was watching.

  By the time we reached the tallest peak of the range, standing side-by-side overlooking the village scattered down the face of the mountain and the valley below, I felt like I had known Darius all my life. As a gentle breeze kissed my cheeks and rustled my hair, I studied him while he peered up at the dark, slightly blurred sky, and it was like he had filled me with remembrance, nostalgia, and love. He made me feel at home with a lifetime of memories shared in just under an hour.

  I’d never experienced anything like it before, and I was suddenly glad I hadn’t gone to bed, as sore as my feet were and as heavy as my eyes felt. There was nothing in the world I’d trade for what we had just shared together—nothing.

  “I see you watching me.” His lips curved into a smirk, yet he didn’t glance my way. “Creep.”

  “Shut up.” I tried to take a good-natured swipe at him, but he caught my hand before impact and dragged me to him, capturing my lips in a white-hot kiss that I felt shoot straight down to my core. I inhaled sharply, rising onto my toes, as his arm snaked around my lower back and pulled me flush against him. I melted into him, my eyes fluttered shut, our lips parting to deepen the kiss.

  His body, hard and familiar, had its own gravitational pull, pinning me to him. My inner voice sang at the contact, like the clouds had parted and the angel choir celebrated our union, and a sharp tingle of pleasure surged from the crest of my thighs when he bucked against me. Our eyes met again when we broke apart, breaths coming hard and fast, and I knew if I let myself, I could get lost in those storm clouds forever. Every inch of me burned at the slightest touch—yet the heat excited me, enticed me, had me desperate for more. More kissing. More touching. More skin to skin—right here, right now, beneath a muddled sky and atop a range hidden from the world.

  But I couldn’t do it. Not like this. Not with both of us buzzed on dragon wine.

  “Wait…” I angled my face away when he tried to claim my lips once more. His pressed to my cheek instead.

  “Why?” he breathed, his grip around my waist as firm as ever. I shook my head and untangled my body from his, stumbling over the uneven surface as I put some distance between us. Darius’s features darkened, and he crossed his arms, rejection hardening him. “You were all for this back at your apartment. Remember? What’s changed now?”

  “You mean back when you were an overprotective, annoyingly involved stranger?” I asked, eyebrows up. He stared at me, his cold demeanor fracturing within seconds, and we both chuckled. I shook my head and looked away. “Back when you were just a hot guy who seemed a bit intense and crazy, but could be a fun, little fling? Yeah. Of course, I was game then.”

  I could see him considering me for a moment in my peripheral, his expression softening. “Kaye…” He repeated my name gently until I looked at him, and he smirked. “Do you have a crush on me?”

  I flipped him off, and he grabbed me before I could stalk away too far. Something about the way he held me felt different this time—no less electric, no less thrilling, but more comfortable.

  “Feelings ruin everything,” he muttered, then kissed my forehead. “But I get it. I’ve got a crush on you too.”

  “I just want it to be perfect,” I told him, instantly regretting it. That made me sound like a virgin who was telling her high school beau they couldn’t have sex at make-out point, or something. Darius didn’t seem to notice. He just held me tighter, lips ghosting down my cheek and along my jaw.

  “I understand.” He exhaled sharply when I poked his stomach, then stole one last peck with a
sigh. “Shall I escort you home then, milady?”

  “Only if you stay,” I told him. When he shot me a curious look, a suggestive smile tugging at his mouth, I added, “I sleep better beside you.”

  He snorted. “That’s embarrassing.”

  “Oh, my god—”

  “But I’m embarrassing, too,” he insisted, holding me tight before I could slip away, “because I’ve never slept better in my life, than when I sleep next to you.”

  We shared one last kiss on the mountain peak, just as thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance. The summer storm hit by the time we reached his family’s hall. We snuck into his childhood bedroom together, soaked to the bone, but happy, and fell asleep in one another’s arms, eager for one night of peace before the real storm could sweep us away.

  Chapter Eight

  “Today you’ll be meeting with the clan blacksmith, Hogar—”

  “Hogar?” I snorted, despite the sour expression Quinn made at being talked over. “Are you serious?” A quick glance at Darius told me that, yes, his middle brother was very serious. “That’s literally the most blacksmith-y name, I’ve ever heard in all my life. Did he apply to work here because of the village aesthetic, or—”

  “Hogar is a highly regarded professional,” Quinn said curtly. “He is the best at what he does, and is a master at forging dragon-specific armor and weaponry. He is critical to our survival, and should be treated with respect.”

  “Okay, okay,” Darius muttered, clapping a large hand down on Quinn’s shoulder and ducking down to add, “she was joking. Lighten up, little brother.”

  He then stepped around Quinn, who stood there with flushed cheeks and a pinched look on his face, and made his way toward the hall that doubled as both a blacksmith’s workshop and, deeper into the heart of the mountain, the clan’s armory. Catriona giggled beside me, as if amused by the whole ordeal. I hurried after Darius with my best friend at my heels.