Page 94 of Ruled By Magic

Leo lay on the floor in a crumpled heap, arms and legs still bound. The four henchmen surrounded him, devices trained on his unconscious form. I gasped, tears flowing. I tried to rush to him, but the bartender tightened his grip.

“Is he dead?” My voice came out screechy, shrill.

Adante relaxed in a chair facing Leo. He turned toward me. His expression was hard to read. His eyes scanned me once, without much interest. “He hasn’t told me what I need to know. Bad news for you.”

He stood from the seat with fluid grace. Everything about him screamed danger. How had we been so careless? We walked right into his trap.

I pulled against the bartender’s grip. “Leo! Is he dead?”

Adante scrutinized me, curiosity softening his hard face for a moment. “The infatuation is mutual? He holds your leash. I thought you might be glad to be free of him.”

His words rolled past me. Horror robbed my limbs of their strength, and it took all I had to keep upright. “Did you kill him?”

Adante stepped back. “Not yet. He passed out from the magic. Garron, wake him up.”

The bartender—Garron—released me. I let my hands fall limp at my sides. He collected a syringe from behind the bar and injected something into Leo’s arm. Relief forced a sob from my lips as he jolted awake with a gasp of air. His eyes scanned the room frantically until he found me. He tried to speak but dissolved into a coughing fit instead.

“Hold him up,” Adante instructed Garron. “Make him watch.”

He dragged Leo up to a kneeling position and held him there.

“Welcome back.” Adante’s demeanor shifted, voice clipped and cold. “Since you’re not being helpful, I’ve brought some extra motivation.”

I locked eyes with Leo, tried to send him a message.

Be ready.

“I’m trying to decide what to do with your girl.” He walked behind me, and my neck prickled, but I didn’t turn. I kept all my focus on Leo. Without warning, a sizzle of magic seared the straps of my dress and it fell away. I yelled, my hands flying to my chest. The glass almost lacerated me.

“Leave her the fuck alone!” Leo’s voice rasped as he fought Garron’s grip.

The prince reappeared and scanned my body with a critical eye. Rage boiled in my veins.

“I will. She’s too skinny for my taste. I can’t say the same for my nobles, though. If I add her to the Palace Collection, she’ll be very popular. They’ll all want a turn.”

Leo screamed, and at a nod from Adante, Garron clasped a hand over his mouth.

“Or I could throw her into the non-mage slums. A pretty little thing like her, with no family or protection? One of the gangs will grab her. She might be lucky enough to catch a boss’s eye. Or they’ll whore her out for pennies to any piece of street trash that wants her.”

The prince stood close to me, almost in arm’s reach, but not quite. Amusement curled his lips, and he looked between Leo and me as if a sudden notion had taken him. “You gave her a choice, didn’t you? I can do the same.” He studied my face. “Join the Palace Collection, get your ass fucked by well-bred nobles for five years, and leave with a big payout. Or take your chances on the street. What do you choose?”

A chance. It might be my one opportunity. I cast my eyes down as if shamed and mumbled inaudible words. I watched the prince’s feet.

Come closer.

I slumped my shoulders. The picture of defeat. A girl with no good choices left, about to utter something shameful. I let my arms fall limp at my sides, as if I hadn’t the energy to even cover myself. He had to come closer. He wanted Leo enraged and desperate. The nearer he was to me in my exposed state, the angrier Leo would get. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then he took two steps toward me.

“What was that? I didn’t hear you. Do you choose life as a palace whore?”

One more deep breath, and with a cry I drove the shard of glass into Adante’s neck. Skin parted with nauseating ease and blood spurted from the wound. Pain tore across my palm. The prince yelled, an enraged animal sound. I ran toward Leo.

Confusion erupted. Letting go of Leo, Garron fired a stream of red magic at a henchman. Unshielded, the energy tore through his body and he dropped to the floor, blood gushing. The device fell from his hands.

Shock coursed through me. He was helping us now?

Leo jolted, blue light wrapping around him in a shining corona. The light faded, and he shot to his feet; bonds gone, hands raised. His shocked expression changed to fury, directed at his brother.

I reached his side and spun to check on Adante. Hunched in a crouch, the prince clutched a hand to his neck. I’d hurt him. Pride surged through me, mixed with vicious hatred. He’d hurt me. Hurt Leo. And planned to take away my freedom. I wished I could stab him again.

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