Page 41 of Joined By Magic

Leo flew to his feet, whipcrack fast. The officer flinched away. “No. She’s been attacked. I’m taking her home.”

The officer flicked nervous eyes over Leo’s elaborate clothing. “I’m sorry, Lord Commander, but this is a murder investigation. I must insist.”

“Murder?” Leo’s voice held a wild edge.

“It’s okay, Leo, we can go with them.” A growing sense of unease radiated through my body. How had the Guardians arrived so fast?

Leo scoffed. “No. We’re going home. I’ll make a statement when I’m good and ready.”

Without a glance at the Guardians, he gripped my arm, and we vanished.

Chapter Nineteen

Liv

Leoheldmetightas we appeared in our apartment. The familiar space had never felt more welcoming or safe. Leo buzzed with tense, angry energy. I flopped onto the sofa, limbs shaky as my adrenaline drained away. Leo brought me a large glass of water and threw himself down beside me, his Ataran outfit incongruous in our home. He was decked out in bluish-silver threaded with black, giving him a sinister appearance. No wonder the Guardians had looked afraid.

“Tell me the full story,” he said, and I could tell he was fighting to keep his voice calm and even.

I told the tale from the beginning, trying not to leave anything out. He frowned as I described the abduction. “I must check on Celia. I need to call this in anyway. Will you be okay while I make a couple of calls?”

I nodded. “I’m going to take a shower.” I could still feel where the priest’s spittle had landed.

“Alright.” Leo hesitated, then brought his arms around me in a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay. He’s dead, and I’ll decimate the whole benighted lot of them. The priests have had too much power for too long. It ends now.”

The dark tone to his voice made me shiver.

In the bathroom, I stripped off the teal dress and threw it into the corner. Keeping my necklace on, I wrapped my fingers around the glowing stone as I set the shower to a hair’s breadth below scalding. The feel of it comforted me. Leo had come. He’d protected me, as he always did. As long as we were together, I’d be safe.

But how had he come? Unease crept through my bones once more. Things didn’t make sense. Why had the priest’s device stopped working? And how did the Guardians know where to go? It all felt too convenient—a neat package. Abducted, saved, Guardians, home. Simple as that.

I turned off the shower and heard Leo’s raised voice.

“What do you mean he’s not available? Put me through.” I stepped, towel-wrapped, into the living room to watch Leo pace, his free hand curled into a fist. “Do I need to repeat myself? His wife is a witness to my partner’s abduction. Ellory Griffin. Now.”

A loud pounding rang out from the living room door. “Liv! Leo! Open up!”

Damien. One of the few people with direct access to our corridor. My jitters magnified into real alarm, a swooping sensation in my belly as though the ground was falling away beneath me. Leo’s head snapping up, he noticed me and frowned as he met my gaze. He hung up his call and strode to the door.

Damien barreled inside as soon as the door was open. “Grab anything you can’t live without. We need to go.”

He turned to Leo, and his face took on an expression I found hard to place. Sorrow, or regret, unfamiliar on his usually cheerful countenance.

“I’ve got bad news. Terrible. You’ve been set up. Look.” He held out his vid screen. I crowded in behind him to watch. News footage blared over the screen. A banner across the bottom read “Lord Commander Wanted for Revenge Murder of Priest.”

The video playing in the background stopped my breath. Silent footage, too high quality to have come from a standard security camera, showed Leo in his Ataran finery, advancing on the cowering priest. He raised his hand, blue light flashed, and the priest fell still.

The footage cut back to a news reporter. “Guardians who arrived on the scene confirmed the identity of the deceased to be Father Amanthus, who served as the palace priest for fifteen years. Colleagues reported animosity between him and the Lord Commander, which came to a head during protests over the controversial Ataran portal.”

Damien glared at me. “Get dressed! There’s no time. They’ve mobilized the army.” He turned back to Leo. “Either you run, or you’re going to have to kill half the army. Hundreds of men. I’m sure you could, but—”

He raised his palms to Leo, meaning clear. How could Leo rule if he’d massacred his own people?

“They want me to run. It’ll be what they’re counting on.” Leo’s voice came out clipped. “If I stay and fight—”

He closed his eyes, and a world of exhaustion settled on his face. He’d been running close to his limit for weeks. I ignored Damien’s impatient grunt and took Leo’s hand. “If we get to safety, we can tell the real story. But if you attack your own soldiers, there’s no coming back from it.”

His grip tightened on mine. Damien backed off a few paces, giving us space. Leo said, “There’s so much I wanted to do. It feels like if we go, that’s it. We’ll never be able to come back.”

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