Page 117 of Magic of the Damned

Emoni had been dismissive when I told her about one of my contacts with Dominic when he’d accused me of being a witch. She’d considered it quirky. The abstract thought of the supernatural wasn’t that scary, but when the curtains were pulled back and it was revealed that they could control your life, making you a marionette in their puppet show, things got darker. Being faced with the violence, politics, and instability of the house of cards was anxiety inducing.

“The people who dress up in their little costumes to stand out in the most ostentatious way?” Domonic inquired.

Emoni nodded.

“They are not creatures of magic.” His lips twitched with an emotion I couldn’t place. “Creatures of magic prefer to blend into the background. Go unnoticed among the unremarkable. Shows of magic and power are often used to intimidate. There’s no need to intimidate or put on displays for the l—” He stopped abruptly before he could finish saying ‘lesser.’ “Humans,” he amended. We both cut our eyes at him.

That could change in a blink of an eye if the Awakeners got their way and supernaturals were revealed to the world. There would be demonstrations of power and violence to intimidate us into subjugation. My heart began to race at the idea and the thud of it jerked Anand’s head from Emoni’s direction to mine.

“Worrying about it won’t change anything,” Anand said.

Great, the King of Comfort has spoken.

Dominic had sat back, hands clasped behind his head, in anticipation of further interrogation by Emoni.

“Find comfort that there are more people who want to stay hidden than there are who want to be revealed,” Anand added, leaving out the part that two sects existed to do just that. The current Conventicle and the Conventicle-in-waiting that was plotting a hostile takeover. Their objectives aligned but not their means of enforcement. The Conventicle-in-waiting was more violent, choosing to deal lethally with any threats to exposure. The current Conventicle tended to coddle more, allowing threats of exposure to be handled at the expense of humans. The awaiting Conventicle wasn’t opposed to that, but there would be dire consequences if that were to happen. My preference was a takeover; however, their extreme nature wasn’t limited to their kind and they saw me as a threat and wanted me dead.

Anand’s head whipped to the door. Several beats later, there was a knock. With the discussion of the Conventicles, Peter, and the Awakeners, I was tentative about answering the door. Perhaps I hadn’t been convincing enough to my brother and he was stopping by to visit. I peered through the peephole.

My breath caught.

Areleus and Helena.

CHAPTER 15

Ihesitated to let them in.

“Luna,” Areleus’s voice called from the other side. His urging served as a warning and likely the only one I’d receive. The only reason I heeded it was from fear of what they’d do to gain entrance if I refused.

Once I opened the door, my eyes dropped to Areleus’s arms, searching for the tell-tale marks of his magic restrictions. They were gone. Moving with his signature lethal grace, he slipped by me, taking command of the room. Midnight-blue slim shirt and cobalt pants showed a fit body that belied his presented age. A shrewd malice lingered in his eyes as they landed on me before moving to his son. Helena’s outfit of white pants, jacket, and a terracotta midriff shirt, along with the elaborate twists in her hair that formed a crown of her head, gave a deceptive impression. A fashionable menace. I glanced at Emoni, looking for any signs that she was falling for the false presentation.

“Why are you here?” Dominic asked, his tone icy, narrowed eyes piercing them.

“If you weren’t in such a rush to return to your”—Areleus frowned—“Luna, you’d have noticed the shades are gone.” I knew he’d wanted to say ‘human toy.’ Using my name made me real and not just an animation that could be dismissed. Presenting me as more than a plaything that they didn’t understand.

Anand’s and Dominic’s sudden intake of breath filled the room.

“All of them?” Anand asked.

Areleus nodded, looking at Emoni who crept away to the farthest corner, correctly reading the danger they posed. Her easing away was interrupted by Helena rushing over to her.

“I see you’ve acquired another one,” Helena whispered, her eyes trailing the length of Emoni’s body with a pleased smile. She reached out to touch the spiral of curls that had pulled from her tie. Emoni blocked her hand. When she made another attempt, Emoni knocked her hand away.

“Don’t touch me,” Emoni demanded.

“But I want to.” In Helena’s world that was all that mattered.

“That sounds like a ‘you’ problem,” Emoni snapped back.

Undeterred, Helena made another attempt. Emoni pushed her hand away. “I’m being polite. You won’t like it very much if I stop.”

I think she would. A woman who suggested taking off my finger then invited me to dinner probably saw this as flirting.

“I like this one. I see the interest.” She flashed a dubious brow arch in her brother’s direction.

“She’s not mine,” Dominic said, and Emoni and I both skewered him with a look. I wanted to take his tight-lipped smile as an apology, but I had no idea what to make of it. How long would it take for him not to see humans as trinkets to be collected, used, and discarded when their interest waned?

“We have to find them,” Anand said, standing, his odd magic roiling from him. It was noticeably dark, ominous, and dangerous, and for the first time Emoni openly showed a desire to be away from this mess. I didn’t blame her. I wanted the same.

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