Page 123 of Magic of the Damned

“They’re emboldened by him. With the type of magic he possesses, I understand why,” I said. Under the weight of Dominic’s scrutiny, I tried to say what kept going through my mind since his sister’s departure. “The chaos and the lives lost is because of me.”

“Because of Peter using you,” he corrected.

“Semantics. I gave him the opportunity to do it. I’m at his whim and I hate this so much. We need a way to stop me from being used by him.”

“I don’t know if there is one,” he admitted softly.

I had no idea where to begin. The political landscape was a mess. It wasn’t just Peter at the root of it, but the dissention, too, and everything in me wanted to find a harmonious solution when there wasn’t one. People would die, be betrayed, lose their freedom, and be worse off than before. I didn’t cause the fire, but I was fodder for it.

Distracted by my own thoughts, I wasn’t aware of Dominic directly in front of me until his fingers were rubbing the creases out of my forehead before kissing me, nothing chaste about it. Heat ran through me, my nipples responding to him stroking against them. I felt grateful for the bra that hid my response to him, but from his mischievous grin, he was aware of it. He’d ruined me. Sex and magic were forever intwined.

He took me in, I’m sure seeing the dejection I felt. I didn’t have the ability to hide it.

“You are a wonderful insight into the many parts of humanity that I don’t see often. I adore it for its optimism, beauty, empathy, and heart, but you are its weakness.” The prince had just landed what Emoni and I called a compli-sult. An insult wrapped in a compliment. I was the weakest part of humankind. What the fuck? How the hell was I supposed to take this compli-sult?

Ignoring it, I opened my mouth to redirect the conversation to what I wanted to suggest. Before I could, he held up a hand to stop me.

“You want me to do the spell my grandfather performed to recapture the shades and spare the lives of those who will hunt them. Am I wrong?

“When Callum attacked you against my wishes, he should have been handled without mercy. You stopped that. Your empathy will be seen as weakness and your kindness exploited.” Again, he held his hand up to stop a rebuttal. “Nothing you say will make that any less true. I will not sacrifice my magic for that. No matter how many may die. You will see my refusal as cruel, but it is necessary. I will not put myself in a position to be weaker than my father. I need all the power I have because the next attempt on my father will end with his death.”

“You couldn’t do it before,” I pointed out. The complexity and viciousness of their world would never sit well with me, but I felt better knowing he couldn’t kill his father.

“You dying when the magic was removed from you is the only reason he is alive. I wasn’t aware of the shades’ release, but I knew I would need my father to handle Peter and the incipient war. After Peter and the shades are handled, things will need to be stabilized, and the three of us are the ones to do it.”

No matter how many times I reminded myself this wasn’t my fight, the rules of this game of life were predetermined, and my only goal was to exit it intact, it was hard to blindly accept the ways of their world.

“I can’t read you,” Dominic whispered, concerned.

The rampant thoughts in my head were concerning, too. “Your sister’s right,” I blurted.

“Are you petitioning for your death?” Dark intrigue clung to his words.

“No. I just don’t understand. You’re so pragmatic about everything but—” The words fell away.

“But when it comes to you.”

I nodded.

“Well, Little Luna,” he drawled against my ear, “since meeting you, I’ve accepted that some things are beyond our knowledge. I want you around so I can continue to satisfy that curiosity.” His breath was warm against my ear. The moment I started leaning into the heat of his body, I startled and took several steps back.

“Stop that. Stay on task,” I demanded.

His rumble of laughter did ease some of my tension, but the problems remained.

“Of course. You get some rest. I’ll be going out again with the others to hunt.”

“For the shades?”

He nodded. “And the Awakeners. They must be taken out of the situation.”

“Temporarily imprisoned, right?” I clarified.

I repeated my question when his only response was closing the distance between us, his finger gently gliding along my cheek. Instead of focusing on his touch, I was drawn to the splatter of blood on his clothing.

“That is the initial goal,” he offered, leaving no room for further questioning. He studied me for a long time and made a low rumble. “You will keep my humanity,” he said, so softly that it seemed like it was a reminder to himself.

He moved to the door and waited for me to break the barrier to let him out.

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