Page 16 of Magic Unrestrained

The weight of their encounter the previous night still hung between them, unspoken but undeniable. Savannah’s thoughts flickered to the mind-boggling sex they had shared, the heat of his kisses and his cock as he’d thrust in and out of her still lingering in her mind. It had been reckless and impulsive, but it had also been the kind of release she hadn’t known she needed.Now, they were back in the thick of it—back to the mission, where the lines between trust and betrayal blurred dangerously.

“Stay close,” Gage muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. He cast a glance over his shoulder, his eyes meeting hers for a moment longer than necessary. “These tunnels are old. Not just physically, but... energetically. There are things here that can sense us before we see them.”

“I can handle myself,” Savannah shot back, her voice firm. “I’ve been navigating these kinds of places longer than you think.”

Gage grinned, a dark glint of amusement in his eyes. “Yeah, I’m starting to get that.”

They moved in tense silence after that, both focused on the task at hand. The tunnels stretched on in a dizzying array of twists and turns, each passage seemingly more dangerous than the last. It wasn’t long before the air began to change—becoming thicker and more humid. The clean, metallic scent of stone and earth gave way to the putrid stench of rot and decay.

They had crossed into Grungle’s domain.

The sewers beneath New Orleans were nothing like the tunnels they had just left. Here, the walls were slick with moisture, and the ground underfoot was treacherous, a mixture of mud and waste that sucked at their boots with every step. The air was hot, thick with the smell of stagnant water and the faint, sulfuric undertone of something far darker.

“Charming,” Gage muttered, wrinkling his nose. “I can see why Grungle likes it down here.”

Savannah laughed—it was a light, frothy sound that reminded him of early spring in Louisiana. “Grungle’s domain might be disgusting, but it’s his. He’s got control down here. We’ll need to be careful.”

Gage nodded, keeping his hand on the hilt of his dagger as they moved deeper into the sewer system. They both knewthat this wasn’t just about navigating the sewers—it was about finding the artifact before anyone else did. Falwell had told Gage it was an ancient key of some kind, said to open gateways between realms. If Falwell or Vesper got their hands on it, the consequences would be catastrophic.

They weren’t looking for trouble, but it wasn’t long before it found them.

A low growl echoed through the tunnel, the sound reverberating off the walls. Savannah froze, her grip tightening on her dagger as the shadows around them seemed to shift and come to life. The growl grew louder, closer, until finally, from the darkness, emerged a pack of twisted, hunched creatures—lesser demons, their eyes glowing with a sickly yellow light, their claws scraping against the stone.

“Here we go,” Gage muttered, already stepping into a defensive stance.

The demons attacked with little warning, lunging at them with unnatural speed. Savannah moved like water, her fae instincts kicking in as she ducked beneath the first strike and drove her dagger into the nearest demon’s side. Black, oily blood sprayed from the wound as the creature howled in pain, its body disintegrating into ash.

Beside her, Gage fought with a brutal efficiency that took her breath away. His strength was inhuman, his strikes powerful and precise. But as the fight dragged on, Savannah noticed something else—something darker. There was a wildness in his eyes, a ferocity that bordered on recklessness, and for the briefest moment, she wondered if he was struggling to control his demonic nature.

The skirmish was over quickly, but it left Savannah rattled. They had been victorious, but Gage’s demonic side was closer to the surface than she had realized, and it unnerved and aroused her at the same time. She had trusted him enough to come thisfar, but seeing him fight like that—seeing the darkness in him—made her wonder just how much control he really had.

They continued through the sewers, fighting off several more groups of lesser demons along the way. Each fight tested their growing trust in each other, but with every battle, they moved more in sync, their movements complementing each other as though they had been fighting side by side for years. Still, there was tension between them, an unspoken conflict that neither could ignore.

It was during a brief lull between skirmishes that they found it—the artifact.

The key was embedded in the wall of a small, hidden chamber deep in the sewers, glowing faintly with a pulsating light. It was made of some kind of ancient, blackened metal, its surface etched with runes that Savannah couldn’t decipher but instinctively knew were dangerous.

“This is it,” she whispered, her eyes fixed on the key. “The key that could open the gateway between realms.”

Gage moved closer, his expression hard. “Now what?”

Savannah hesitated, her mind racing. What were they supposed to do with it? Destroy it? Hide it? Take it to someone they trusted? But who? There was no easy answer, and she knew that whatever choice they made would have consequences.

Before she could respond, a familiar voice cut through the silence like a blade.

“Well, well, well, isn’t this a surprise?”

Savannah’s blood ran cold as she turned to see Lyrion Thornheart and a group of fae enforcers standing at the entrance to the chamber, their weapons drawn and their eyes gleaming with malice.

“Thornheart,” Savannah spat, her hand instinctively going to her dagger. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Duvall,” Thornheart sneered, stepping forward. “But I already know the answer. You’re meddling in affairs far beyond your comprehension.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Gage growled, his stance shifting as he prepared for a fight. “Get out of our way.”

Thornheart smirked, his gaze flicking between Savannah and Gage. “You think you can just walk out of here with the key? I don’t think so.”

And with that, the fae enforcers attacked.

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