Authors: Ella Summers

Fairy Magic (32 page)

“The fairy has bite,” he said, licking the blood from his lips as he pushed away from the wall. “Spirit magic suits you. Just like it did Amelia. Don’t you think, Makani?

Makani surged forward. Darksire tried to evade, but Makani slammed him into the ground. Flames shot out of Firestorm’s hands, right at her brother. He countered with a wall of ice that froze the fire solid.

“You are a fool for coming here. I am stronger than you,” Firestorm told him, a bubble of lightning erupting from her body.

He threw up his hands and the bubble shattered like it was made of glass. He stepped over the shards of broken magic and said, “Not anymore.”

“I will drain your magic and rise stronger,” she said, lashing out at him with a ribbon of wind.

Naomi shot a stream of Fairy Dust at her, and Makani ignited it with fire. The magical mashup blew up in her face. Firestorm fell.

“Now, Naomi,” Makani said. “Send them away. As deep into hell as you can.”

Darksire was back on his feet, mist forming around his ankles, slithering upward. Makani pushed out his hands, breaking the magic binding the mist together. He and Darksire clashed in a storm of kicks and blows.

Naomi focused on the spirit realm, allowing the magic to flow through her, guided by Makani and their connection through the Priming Bangles. She felt the magic of the spirit realm singing to her like a chorus of songbirds. She embraced it, slipping her magic through the realms to create an opening between them. A hot, dark realm of fire appeared.

Darksire’s eyes widened as Makani pushed him toward that opening. Darksire spun around, trying to push Makani inside. Dark Dust flowed down Darksire’s arms like blood. The vile magic hissed when it touched Makani’s skin. Makani shook, his strength fading. Naomi reached out, shifting the opening between realms, molding it. Like a glob of gel, it reshaped and moved.

Naomi shot it toward Darksire. It hit him, covering his head, oozing down his body. Makani broke away, pushing back. The spirit magic opened its shimmering jaws and swallowed Darksire whole.

Firestorm stumbled to her feet, running for him. She reached out, but before her hand could close around his, the opening snapped shut.

Firestorm screamed out, her cry of pure anguish shaking the walls of the building. “I will free you, my love. I promise.” A tear slid down her cheek.

Naomi almost felt sorry for her—but only almost. She and Darksire had killed far too many people. They had helped to exterminate the Dragon Born.

“You,” Firestorm snarled, spinning around to glare at them.

Naomi slumped against the wall, drained. Sending Darksire so deep into the spirit realm had scraped her reserves dry. She tried to spin the magic for another opening, but the magic wouldn’t come.

Firestorm reached out, touching the spot where Darksire had disappeared. “I will make them pay,” she said, as though she were still speaking to her lover.

Then, she blasted a hole in the ceiling and escaped the palace on wings of wind magic.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Respite

IT WASN’T LONG before Magic Council agents arrived on the scene. Apparently, a group of nosy teenagers had posted videos on the internet of the mayhem at Nymphenburg Palace. That’s how the Magic Council’s agents had found out about this, not from an emergency call for help. Death was a spectator sport. This was the world they were all living in.

Upon arrival, the Magic Council agents, all dressed in designer suits and carrying very important-looking bags, found a graveyard of fresh corpses, the bodies of criminals who had been sentenced to the underworld long ago. They were still sorting through the bodies when two agents cornered Naomi’s team, demanding to know what the hell had happened here. What the hell indeed.

Naomi summarized the situation with Darksire and Firestorm, the kidnapped supernaturals, and the tears between the realms. She left out the bit about killing Cyrus. They wouldn’t appreciate that Makani had killed one of their own. She wasn’t telling them that he was Dragon Born either.

The friendly silver-haired agent who interviewed her listened in silence. He just set his hand to his forehead and slowly shook his head like he wished he’d retired sooner.

“So let me get this straight,” he said when she was finished. “There is a tear between earth and the spirit realm, which anyone banished to the first circle can use? And it’s in the basement of this building?”

“Not anymore,” Naomi said. “We sealed it.” With Makani’s help, she’d managed to scrimp together enough magic to do that.

“Which of you?”

Naomi didn’t answer. Both Makani and Kai had warned her about what the Magic Council would do if they found out she was a Spirit Warrior. Yes, she was going back into the spirit realm to seal the other tears, but she was doing it on her own terms. Not theirs.

But this seasoned agent wasn’t stupid. He looked her in the eye and said, “It’s you.”

Naomi stared back at him.

His partner, who looked like a younger version of him, said, “We haven’t had a Spirit Warrior on the team in years.”

“What happened to the last one?” Naomi asked him, though she was pretty sure of the answer. There were only two options: he’d died or he’d gone insane.

“He retired,” the older agent said.

“I see,” she replied. “Lost his mind, did he?”

The agent frowned at her.

His younger counterpart wasn’t deterred. “Would you be interested in work—”

“Let me cut you off right there,” Naomi said. “I already have a job, and I’m damn good at it.”

“Hunting monsters,” the young agent said. “You work for Mayhem.”

The Magic Council agents had done their homework. She wasn’t surprised. The Council was brutally competent.

“Your job is hardly prestigious,” the younger agent continued.

“Neither is sending people to hell for picking their nose.”

The young agent looked offended. “The Magic Council would never send someone to hell for something so trivial.”

“Of course not.” She smiled at him.

“May I remind you that the Magic Council has the authority to compel any supernatural citizen into service during times of dire need.” The young agent leaned in, matching her smile. “I think the opening floodgates of hell qualifies as a time of dire need.”

“Ok, enough of this nonsense,” Jen snapped. “We’re getting them out of here.”

“And who are you?” the young agent demanded.

“The name’s Jen Herring. My colleagues and I work for Kai Drachenburg.” She flashed him a grin. “Perhaps you’ve heard of him?”

The young agent paled. “Mr. Drachenburg is a member of the Magic Council.”

“That’s right, Junior. He is. And he’s already employed Ms. Garland to deal with the actual crises—yeah, that’s plural—facing all supernaturals. She doesn’t have time to dillydally around, dealing out hell sentences to people who annoy the Council.” Jen looked at Naomi and Makani. “Ready to get out of here?”

“I was ready an hour ago,” replied Naomi.

“What about him?” the young agent said, looking at Makani.

Makani folded his arms across his chest and shot him a menacing look.

“He’s working with us too,” Jen said. “If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with Kai Drachenburg.”

“This is not standard procedure—”

“Let them go,” the older agent said. He looked tired.

The younger agent stared at Makani for a bit longer, then waved them away. “Go.”

When they walked off, no one tried to stop them. Perhaps the mention of Kai coupled with Makani’s gigantic appearance, covered in blood and dripping fire magic, had convinced the agents that their time was better spent investigating the scene of Darksire’s evil fortress.

* * *

Naomi and Makani had upgraded from a warehouse to an apartment Gran had arranged for them. The furniture all looked like antiques. Naomi hoped they could go a few days without some villain or another attacking them. She didn’t want to have to explain to Gran why she’d wrecked an apartment full of antiques.

Naomi peeked out through the blinds, looking down on a moonlit street bustling with night foot traffic. “I don’t feel like we’re completely safe, you know. This isn’t over.”

Makani walked up behind her, setting his hands on her shoulders. “No, it isn’t,” he agreed. “But it is over for now. Firestorm is still weak. She won’t come for me until she’s regained her strength.”

“How long will that be?”

He leaned down, kissing her cheek. “I don’t know. Draining me would have healed her right away. Without my magic, it could be months.”

“Or weeks?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

His arms wrapped around her, hugging her to him. She leaned back against his chest, releasing a deep breath. It felt good to have someone with her, someone who had her back—even if that meant she had to give up a little control.

“Those Magic Council agents were skittish around you,” she told him.

“That’s because they were smart. I spent seven centuries killing to survive.”

“They don’t know that.”

“They could see it in my eyes, I’m sure.”

Naomi turned around to face him. “I see something else in your eyes: a strong, noble, brave man who never gave up, never turned into a beast despite being trapped in hell. And I’m not scared of him.”

He laughed. “Yes, well, we’ve already determined that you are crazy.”

He kissed her, passionate, strong, and slow—like her lips were the most delicious thing in the world and he wanted to savor every moment he tasted them. Then he folded his arms around her.

She set her head on his chest, smiling. “I just wish this moment could last forever.”

“There will be more moments.”

“As good as this one?”

“Better,” he promised. “We started out in hell, Naomi. It can only go up from there.”

“I’ve never met anyone like you,” she told him, breathing in his scent. His magic.

“Of course not. Even in my days, dragon princes were rare,” he said smugly.

“I’m serious, Makani.”

He pulled back, just far enough to meet her eyes. “Then let me be serious too. You make me feel things I…well, let’s just say that there was little but vengeance in my heart for centuries. And for the first time now, there’s something else. Someone else.” He set her hand on his heart. “Things won’t be all roses and silk, you know.”

“More like fire and brimstone.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “That sounds about right. But we
will
live through this. We will live. Truly live. Darksire is gone.”

“I don’t know how far I sent him into the spirit realm. I still have so little grasp on my powers.”

He intertwined his fingers with hers. “It will come.”

“But I think I sent him pretty deep down into hell. He is stuck for now. But what about Firestorm? Will she try to get him out?”

A soft gasp of protest escaped her when his fingers stopped stroking hers. He smiled at her, then continued.

“My sister gave up her family, herself, and her sanity for Darksire and the magic he and his master gave her,” he said. “And Darksire, twisted as he is, loves her. She won’t give up until she saves him. And she will burn through the earth to do it, if she has to. We have time before she regains her strength. Not much, but we have a little. We should use it.”

“For what?”

“To defeat Darksire and Firestorm, you will need to grow your power. And I know just the person to help you with that.” He pulled a necklace from his pocket and held it out to her.

Naomi recognized it. It was one of the objects he’d collected over the years, one of the things he’d brought with him when they’d escaped his cave.

“What does it do?”

“It does nothing. It is a memento from someone I saved years ago in the spirit realm.”

“Who?”

“Another Spirit Warrior like you,” he said. “Your father.”

“My father,” she gasped. Her heart felt like it had stalled in her chest.

“Yes, your father is alive, trapped on one of the deeper circles of hell by a demon,” he told her. “And we’re going to get him out.”

Author's Note

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If you enjoyed
Fairy Magic
, I’d really appreciate if you could spread the word. One of the best ways of doing that is by leaving a review wherever you purchased this book. Thank you for your invaluable support!

What's coming next in the series?

Rival Magic
, the fourth book of
Dragon Born Serafina
, and
Shadow Magic
, the fourth book of
Dragon Born Alexandria
, will be coming soon. Naomi will return in
Spirit Magic
, the second book of
Dragon Born Awakening
, also coming soon. Learn more about the books in all of the Dragon Born series
here
.