Page 144 of Magic of the Damned

“Not nearly to their degree,” he ground out, baring his teeth. For a moment, I expected to see fangs. I didn’t discard the possibility that he had them and chose to keep them a secret.

“Dominic hunted and killed all the Casters. I’m the only one left.” His eyes brightened. “We are the only ones left.”

“There’s no we,” I shot back.

His mirthless laughter filled the room with an ominous threat. “You’ve heard his version of reality, so your response is understandable. I’m not the monster you’ve been led to believe and Dominicus isn’t the lamb he’s presented to you.”

Everyone was using words so wrong. Lamb? Dominic had never given me the impression he was a lamb. Didn’t give me the impression he was decent a hundred percent of the time. Never denied that his morals sat firmly in the gray area. He wore the armor of a ruthless monster when needed. I waited for Peter to continue. As he inched closer, his arms crossed over his chest, hair disheveled, t-shirt molded to his sinewy chest, and loose-fitted jeans, I got glimpses of the deceptively bookish-looking man who hung out at Books and Brew.

My attention stayed on the wide-rimmed prop glasses he clearly didn’t need. Noticing where my eyes had landed, he removed them, and with a quick whisper they vanished in a cloud of smoke.

“We are powerful and never subscribed to their rules or leadership. Why should we? Magic like ours give us the privilege to shape the world in the manner we see fit.” He inched closer. Closer was better. The closer he was, the easier it would be to use the Garon. “Why should we be held to inferior rules? Dominicus, Helena, and Areleus aren’t. We should be extended the same privileges.”

“They work with the supernatural community to protect humans.”

He snorted. “What lies has he fed you?” he asked. “They seek to control the supernaturals. Humans being provided some modicum of safety is just a byproduct. We’d do the same, but under our terms.”

“What would be our terms?” I asked.

The question eased some of his reticence as he swallowed up more of the distance between us.

“You have no idea how powerful you are. Now we have the shades, who will do our bidding so long as it satisfies their needs.”

“Their need for violence and chaos,” I pointed out.

He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Do you want a docile army or one that is feared?”

As the moments ticked by and his question went unanswered, he said, “It would be foolish to believe there won’t be any violence. Even the humans haven’t managed such a feat.” Disdain raveled around the word ‘human.’ “I’ve established an alliance with them that is mutually beneficial. They will be controlled.”

“Okay, we have an army. What next?”

Peter’s smile widened and he moved until he was in front of me. He extended a hand to me. “Let’s sit on the sofa. Me speaking to you while you’re splayed on the floor seems…uncivilized. We are equals.”

Me sitting on the floor never meant anything more to me than just that—me sitting on the floor. Everything about this world had a meaning, a demonstration of a person’s role and position.

I eyed his extended hand, debating whether to smack it away or give him the finger. I did neither, taking it and allowing him to help me to my feet, hoping the small show of acceptance would cause him to lower his guard. I made sure to take the left side of the sofa, so that when I positioned my body toward Peter, I’d have quick access to the leg with the Garon. My casual seat, one leg crossed on the sofa, appeared to put him at ease. Sitting closer to him, I could feel the thrum of his powerful magic. It was undeniable. How had I never noticed it and how off his energy was?

“Here you are,” he whispered. “The Casters were all looking for you. I’d given up hope. There was no way you were just a tale of a sacrifice of one to give others the power they need to deal with Dominic. Then I happened to walk into Books and Brew. The description of what to look for had been skewed so much over the retellings. But the hair. The moment I laid eyes on you, I was sure. But I needed to be certain.” I ran a self-conscious hand through my auburn waves. “Discovering how curious you were made confirming you were the right person easy. That particular spell wouldn’t have worked on anyone else. It only would have worked with an affinity magic.” A dark smile curled his lips, his eyes slowly traveling over me as if he were getting thoughts of us being some awful dark-magic power couple. His head canted as he scrutinized me.

“You’re not human,” he said as a reminder.

“I know.” My chest squeezed. It felt like a betrayal. Despite knowing it, there was a part of me that felt a loyalty to humanity. To protecting humanity because that was all I’d known myself to be.

“Dominic, Helena, and Areleus are wrong and you’re right?” I inquired, needing more information and for him to be more comfortable with me. Needing him to be relaxed to the point he wouldn’t expect me to take his magic.

His eyes drifted to the window behind me. “What is in place is fine. Humans should know of our existence. And we should have a place at the table in society. No, we should be at the head. Entirely running things.”

“We?”

“You and I, of course. Do you understand the power I wield? With one spell, I could kill everyone on this block. I could unleash the shades with a word. I could bring most of the supernaturals to their knees with a well-crafted spell.”

“You against hundreds of magic wielders, shifters who are immune to magic, and vampires who move like lightning?” My words dripped with a skepticism that I made no effort to hide. He was a monster and an arrogant one, too.

“There’s a spell that will end the shifters’ immunity. The two of us can do it. I have no intention of allowing them to maintain that advantage. Too many vampires currently exist in this world. I will be pruning the population?—”

“Pruning sounds a great deal like genocide,” I countered, surprised at my ability to keep my voice neutral despite his admissions. I saw his easy reveals for what it was. My fate. He offered the information freely because he was confident I wasn’t going to leave. Whether my position with him was voluntary was up to me. Everything about his ominous smirk showed that.

“Our hands will remain perfectly clean. Roman will be released from the Perils and allowed to curate the vampires. I suspect he’ll only want his bloodline to remain. Which would be advantageous. They would be an asset and our goals would easily align. Vadim will also be a good addition. The spell would cause him to lose his immunity to magic as well. I’ll decide later if he’ll be allowed to keep his magical ability, based on how much of an asset he proves to be. Unfortunately, Celeste and her bloodline needs to end. That bloodline of witches has proved to be too powerful. Too obstinate. There are other skilled witches who’d be better.”

---