Page 53 of Shattered Magic
“What an enticement.” She smiled.
“Free clothes? Nice place to live since yours was mage-scorched.”
“Ah. Right.” He had moved closer to her, and her breasts now touched his chest. “That had slipped my mind. So, you are already giving me a wardrobe and a place to live.”
He smiled. “I would like to offer you more, but you might take offense to it.”
“For now, I accept the position of consort. Wife would involve a bit of planning, right?”
“A little. Nothing untoward. Prolen is very good at that sort of thing.”
“What would I have to do?”
“Show up and make sure that there are nine other women there. As the consort, you are in charge of upholding the optics of the ritual.”
“Wait, so I have to find nine other women willing to line up and be ogled by the guys at the party?”
“Correct. They will be protected, but they are necessary. Women with power would be preferred.”
Hari blinked. “You are serious.”
“I am. They do not have to be maidens, but they should technically be single.”
“Right. So, an entire bank of strippers.”
He grinned. “If necessary and as long as they have power at their disposal.”
“Why? Serel didn’t have any, nor did half of the ladies with her.”
“Because you have power, a lot of it. The balance would be out.” He stepped to her so they were pressed together. “This one matters, Anhara.”
She smiled and looked at him. “Yeah, it does.”
He kissed her, and she stretched her wings before bringing them in and letting them fade. When she leaned back, she whispered, “It feels weird to be up during daylight hours.”
“I don’t sleep often, so you will be my cue for rest.”
“I will add it to the list of duties you want me to have.” She wrinkled her nose. Mentally, she was counting ladies that she knew that weren’t dancers.
Chapter Ten
Eating breakfast across from Zerul, Hari said, “I think I can think of five. Maybe they know someone.”
“Who are the five?”
She ticked them off on her fingers. “Livia, Vega, Eon, Asta, and Gen. So, I think I could ask them to find four more.”
“Who’s Gen?”
“She’s involved in the mage guides. She’s an eater by designation.” Hari paused. “I don’t think Benny would be able to do it with a straight face.”
“An eater?”
“Yes, generally the kind of mage that compressed Arkus into that icon that Vega found. I think Gen makes orbs out of what she eats.”
He looked up from his tablet. “I think I have a report of three of your friends last night. Some teenagers summoned a north wind, but they got the north wind. A giant rescued the teens, one of the women distracted the wind, and the third jumped at the column of wind and inhaled it. She was reported to have bat wings. Then they delivered the teens, got in their cars, and left.”
Hari spread jam on her toast. “You are right. That does sound like them. Eon should be happy. It’s one of her only chances to stretch her legs.”