Page 106 of Magic of the Damned

His narrowed eyes fixed on her, and he lifted his chin in defiant hauteur.

With noticeable effort, her tightly pressed lips formed an insincere smile. “My apologies, Lord Areleus,” she pushed out in a stiff voice.

The mien of discontent faded, replaced by his brand of cool arrogance as he closed the distance between them. Nailah placed the small overnighter tote clutched to her chest on the floor and shrugged off the oversized jacket to reveal layers of clothing. A sweater over a button-down shirt, slim-fitted jeans, and boots. With a sigh, she pulled the hair tie from her bun and let her braids cascade over her shoulders.

“I’ve never traveled to the underworld alone and wasn’t sure I’d end up in the right place on my first attempt. So, I needed to be prepared for any destination,” she explained. “My vision saw me here, but navigating travel isn’t where my magic lies.”

Seer abilities were subject to the butterfly effect, as was everything in life. Anything could have happened during her transport to change the outcome. Her transporting to the underworld wasn’t part of her magical abilities, confirmed by the curious looks she was getting from everyone.

“I made it.” She exhaled a deep sigh, her tension disappearing.

Areleus’s smile seemed to be a genuine display of appreciation at seeing her relaxed and safe. Her genial personality swept through the room in a manner that felt mystical. I suspected the sense of comfort came from being in a room with a person who possessed the ability to warn you of potential danger.

“How did you get here?” he asked.

Opening her hand, she revealed the Trapsen. It conjured identical looks of betrayal from Areleus and Dominic.

“You said that Madeline’s grandmother had the last one,” Dominic challenged.

“No, I said you had all that you needed collected,” she countered softly, ignoring his sharp look of disapproval.

“A lie of omission,” Dominic said.

“A necessary misdirection.” The underworld’s royalty didn’t seem satisfied with the answer.

“Shall we argue over my dishonesty or discuss what brings me here?” Nailah asked, breaking the tense silence.

The rigid expressions made it obvious her lie of omission was the topic they wanted to discuss, but the need to satisfy their curiosity took precedence. At least, it did for Helena and Dominic. Lord Areleus’s lips drew back in a sneer. Poorly suppressed anger flooded the room. Magic thickened the air and he straightened with the need to exact punishment for dissatisfaction. My dislike of him was dipping into hate territory.

Nailah’s arrival gave me hope. If she was able to get into the underworld, there was a possibility of us getting out.

Lord Areleus inhaled a long breath, keeping his eyes on Nailah. She pulled her shoulders back and, giving as much illusion of height her diminutive stature would allow, inched toward him, removing the small space that separated them. Her expression unyielding, she paid careful attention to him when he cast a glance in my direction. They exchanged a look, expressing ideas that I couldn’t figure out. The fiery menace that dwelled in Lord Areleus’s eyes couldn’t be denied.

“What you are thinking of doing, don’t,” she whispered.

His lips pulled into a thin taut line. “Are we forgetting our roles again?” he challenged.

“That is something you’d never let me forget. Do I need to remind you how important I am to you?” Despite her assertion, her tone was gentle and entreating. He considered her but his attention kept slipping in my direction. What was she pleading with him not to do to me?

Her tone was still hushed, but in the silence it was hard to keep the conversation between just them. “I was with the Conventicle when I had visions of Madeline and members of her coven dying. The lives of several shifters snuffed out and vampires destroyed. It was carnage.” She started to lean into him to whisper something in his ear, but changed course. Her eyes swiveled to find Dominic. “If Luna is killed, a lot of supernaturals will die.” She turned to me, her eyes showing confusion and concern. She was aware of the connection between me, Peter, and unspeakable violence but couldn’t determine what it was. As the tension thickened, I knew the speculations were a windfall. Helena and Anand knew the shades were drawn to me. Areleus was aware that Dominic was keeping secrets about me.

Whether or not they were choosing to ignore it, I couldn’t ignore her hands clenched at her sides, the glow over her face, and her glistening eyes. It had to be difficult to see clips of events and try to make sense of them, envision futures and potential deaths and try to coordinate the right activities to prevent them happening. To witness the world on fire and try to determine where to direct the hose to save the most lives and minimize the damage.

Feeling secondhand distress for her, I stepped in her direction to comfort her, feeling the weight of Dominic’s scrutiny as I did.

“Nailah, let’s have a drink,” Dominic suggested with a half smile. “We have a bottle of Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand for you.”

A smile eased onto her face. “A glass would be nice.”

I, too, wanted to ease what troubled her, but day drinking and problem-solving with a tipsy Seer seemed like a bad idea.

Nailah grabbed the overnighter and kept a nervous hold on it as we navigated to the kitchen. Dominic went to the cellar and returned with wine and Cognac. Anand retrieved the glasses and Helena remained on the outskirts of the room, watching everyone with a cool indifference that I was sure hadn’t fooled anyone.

Dominic pointed at the bottles for me to indicate which one I would like, the wine or the Cognac. I declined both. In a room with a person who suggested killing me or at the very least cutting off my finger, and another who’d held me hostage with claws at my stomach, I wouldn’t risk having my senses dulled by liquor. The rest settled on Cognac, leaving the wine for Nailah. Dominic placed the bottle on the table where she’d taken a seat, then perched on a stool at the island, next to Areleus. It was easy for me to study the many similarities between them. The same dark aura of power that couldn’t be dampened. The stamp of ruthlessness that could be accessed at any time. The command of the room and the warring hostility that marked their mood when they were in the same room. Their palpable contention made me wary as I slid onto the chair one seat over from Nailah, from where I could keep a careful eye on everyone. I speculated that was the reason she chose her seat. She might have been part of the supernatural world, but she had to be acutely aware that she was surrounded by predators. And when you’re not the predator, you default to prey.

Helena maintained her distance, calculating and staying in her spot even after Anand offered her a snifter of Cognac and invited her to have a seat. When she declined, it didn’t slip my notice that he stayed at her side.

Nailah took a draw from the glass, appreciating the first taste of the wine with a sigh. Placing the glass on the table, her gaze drifted to the peculiar midnight-color flowers in the garden. It couldn’t have been her first time seeing them, but she looked at them with the curiosity of someone seeing them for the first time.

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