Page 66 of Ancient Magic

Micha motioned toward the pilot, who pressed the thrust lever to lift them off the beach and soar toward the star-splattered sky. The servant would realize that Micha wanted to return to his lair unless he gave him specific directions to fly in another direction.

“Lynx said a lot of stuff that proved to be a load of shit,” Micha muttered, still furious with the arrogant fairy. And himself.

“True.”

“I also want to do more research on the Tempest,” he said, speaking loud enough for Skye to catch his words without allowing the pilot to overhear the conversation. He trusted his staff, but right now he intended to treat everyone as a potential traitor. “I never bothered to study the history of the sword when it was protected by a hex, along with my own layers of security. A lapse that might cause a new demon war if Lynx manages to get his hands on it.”

She reached to lay her hand on his arm. “You couldn’t have known what he was plotting.”

Her touch was as light as a butterfly wing, but Micha reacted as if he’d been scalded. Was she offering him comfort? It should have been amusing. He was a member of the Cabal. The leader of a powerful Gyre. He had thousands of demons who had pledged their loyalty and would readily lay down their lives to protect him.

But would any one of them care if he was injured or even destroyed? Would anyone mourn his passing? It wasn’t a thought that had ever entered his mind. He had associates and servants, but no one close enough to fret over his welfare. He’d never felt the need to create intimate connections.

Not until now.

Gazing down at her upturned face, he desperately wanted to believe that she was concerned for him. Micha. Not the Cabal leader.

Unable to resist temptation, he covered her fingers with his hand, giving them a soft squeeze, even as he forced his thoughts to return to the danger of allowing Lynx to accomplish his mysterious plans.

He had twenty-four hours, maybe less, to stop him. And the clock was ticking.

“The sword was in my territory, along with the mysterious crystal, which makes it my responsibility,” he insisted. “I can only hope we can discover what Lynx is truly searching for and destroy it before he ever wakes.”

“Where are you going to do this research?”

“I’ll start with my personal library and go from there.”

She lifted her hand to impatiently shove her curls out of her face. The wind had whipped them into a glorious halo of gold.

“Do you have research books that focus on magic?”

“Several thousand,” he assured her. “Why?”

“There was something strange about the spell that held the sword in place. I think it’s important we find out who placed it there,” she told him. “If we do figure out how to locate the sword, or whatever it is that Lynx is searching for, it’s probably best we know exactly what to expect.”

Hard to argue with that.

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