Page 10 of Magic Forsaken
“Maybe a better question is,whatare you? And why are you here?”
I could barely breathe with those amber flames flickering in my head, let alone answer his questions. Thankfully, he couldn’t quite compel me, but the pressure of remaining that close, that defiant, was like having an elephant sit on my chest.
“Callum, for heaven’s sake, back off.” Kira sounded utterly exasperated. “That’s Raine, and she works here. She was just bringing food, and you cretins startled her.”
“All we did wasstand up,” the auburn-haired giant replied, his gaze still fierce as he glared at me. “And she could have stabbed you with that shard of glass.”
The accusation—and Kira’s defense of me—was enough to break through whatever compulsion demanded I meet him stare for stare.
“Actually, that was foryou,” I retorted, dropping my eyes and wincing as I glanced at my bleeding hand. “And him.” I jerked my head towards the man standing beside him—a tall, dark, and dangerous type with the slightly pointed ears of a part-fae. “I actuallylikeKira, so she was never in any danger.”
I heard a quick snort of laughter from the third man, who was still standing next to Kira. He was watching me curiously, but showed no sign of fear—only a hint of amusement from the smile tugging at his lips. His hair was a slightly darker shade of auburn than hers, and his smile looked oddly familiar…
Not important. I’d done enough damage, and now it was time to remove myself before I opened my mouth and said anything stupid.
Well, stupid-er.
So I lifted my chin again, took a deep breath and tried out a chagrined smile. “I apologize. It looked like you were about to attack me, so I thought…”
Well, no, I hadn’tthought. That was the problem. I’d spent so much of my captivity being tested, over and over again. Attacked without warning to test my reflexes. Pressed to the limit to calculate the changes to my body. To determine whether their experiments had worked. Trying to scare, startle, or stress my magic into making an appearance. I’d believed I was getting better, but something about the enclosed room and the sense of danger emanating from these men had triggered my instincts, and the instincts won.
“You did not, in fact,think,” the massive shapeshifter—apparently named Callum—growled at me, echoing my own thoughts as he grasped my wrist and pulled it towards him to gaze down at my bleeding hand. We might be in agreement, buthis words sounded more like an accusation. Or a threat. “That was a conditioned reaction, but we can figure out why after you stop bleeding all over the floor. First aid kit?”
That last was said over his shoulder, while he continued to grip my wrist as if holding me in place, that slightly unshaven jaw clenched in irritation. Yes, he was still stupidly gorgeous, and even more so up close, but now I really wanted to punch him right in that perfect jawline.
“Yes, we have one.” Kira informed him, her expression still mild and relaxed. “But you need to stop threatening the staff, Callum. This isn’t your court, so if you think there’s a problem with security, talk to me or Faris first.”
The two of them obviously had a somewhat close relationship, because Callum’s frown suddenly softened.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his free hand swiping down his face in a gesture of profound weariness. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have snapped.”
Well, color me shocked. The big guy knew how toapologize?
“But if you haven’t noticed,” he added grimly, “there is definitely a problem.”
What hecouldn’tdo was let go of a subject before he’d talked it to death.
“I already told Faris we’ve had no success figuring out where our leaks are coming from. We clearly have security issues, and yet here we are, on the eve of the Symposium, and Faris has gone and hired a new employee. One with combat training, who smells like…” Those amber eyes glowed brighter for a moment as he regarded me. “I don’t know what she is,” he muttered, “and I don’t like not knowing.”
Drat shapeshifters anyway. My life would be a lot easier without their innate ability to identify magical races by smell.
“Sorry, but you can’t pick on Raine just because she’s new,” Kira pointed out. “Faris didn’t see any reason not to hire her, and you know he’s almost as paranoid as you are.”
My captor remained unconvinced.
“We promised the delegates a secure location,” he countered, eyes narrowed on me in an expression of disgruntled scrutiny. “And we barely got them to agree to this as it is. None of us can afford to lose this opportunity because of an unknown variable.”
Whowasthis guy? Clearly he had some sort of relationship with my new employer, along with a strong connection to the same mysterious “Symposium” they’d mentioned on the human news report.
Powerful, gorgeous, and paranoid. A lethal combination, and right now he was paying me way too much attention. He might look like a walking cologne ad, but I couldn’t afford for him to identify exactly what it was about me that raised his hackles.
His grip on my wrist was beginning to feel like a cage, so I yanked my hand back—more than ready to put some space between me and his evident frustration. To my surprise, he let go. Watched me step back, but didn’t make any further moves.
“I’ll get the kit,” the dark-haired male murmured, sharing a quick glance with Kira that suggested this must be Draven, the fiancé she’d mentioned earlier.
She gave him a brief nod before moving towards me, stepping between me and Callum with no fear in her eyes.
“Come sit down and we’ll take a look at that hand,” she said calmly, in a soothing tone that probably worked wonders on small children and nervous dogs.