Page 57 of Joined By Magic

Icy fear trickled into my belly. I jumped to my feet. “I’m leaving.”

He stood so fast his chair shot backward, clattering to the floor. “Sit down.”

“Fuck you.”

“Don’t be stupid. I didn’t come here alone. I’ve got two men ready to stop you if you try to leave. They’ll try not to hurt you, but I can’t guarantee it.”

I held up my wristband. “I’m going to call the prince in ten seconds. Get out of here if you don’t want to die.”

He snorted. “I used a dampener. He won’t hear.”

I matched his scornful tone. “Are you really sure it’ll work againsthismagic?Histech?”

I saw the words hit home. The tiny flinch. “Five seconds. He’ll kill you. Is it worth it?”

Alec’s gaze flicked to the back door. Maybe my words were true, I had no idea. But it was possible, and Alec knew it. “Three.”

“Fuck.”

He bolted for the storeroom and the back entrance. I pressed the spot on my wristband that signaled the prince, and the warm glow of activated magic tingled against my fingertip. My heart slammed against my chest, and my head spun like an out-of-control spark wheel. What would I say?

Before I could form a lie, the prince appeared, hand raised and eyes wide. “Talia. What happened?”

“We need to leave, right now. Grab what we can and go.”

“But why—”

“Please, Your Highness, I’ll explain after we go. There’s no time.”

He stared for a moment longer, then nodded and gripped my arm.

Blackness consumed me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Liv

Aroyalweddingwaseveryone’s business. Arguments raged through the palace over things that seemed minor, though everyone expected me to have a strong opinion.

Traditionally, non-mages married in white, while female mages wore dresses in the color of their future husband’s magic. What would I do? That one was easy. Blue, of course.

Would we incorporate Dexian elements into the ceremony as a nod to our origins? I’d always liked the Dexian tradition of lighting a candle together, but that idea got thrown out quickly. In Atar, naked flames were bad luck. The Ataran ritual of drinking water from the same cup was a suitable replacement.

I stood firm on the fasting. Here, women were supposed to fast for two days to prepare for the wedding, only consuming a small meal before the ceremony. Leo wanted to spare me the discomfort. But no. It’d make me seem weak, unable to do what was expected of—my brain snagged on the phrase every time—a future queen. If I lived to be a hundred, I’d never get used to that word applied to me. Ridiculous. But, regardless, I wanted to follow the Ataran tradition. It seemed right, considering how shocking it was to everyone that we were getting married at all.

Leo planned a short engagement. Scandalously short, to the extent that servants kept asking about my health and suggesting I eat more iron-rich foods. In three weeks’ time, we’d travel to the summer palace, say our vows, and I would be Mrs. Leopold Rahl forever more. The thought sent a shiver of anticipation down my spine. The matter of my royal title went back and forth, and no one seemed to agree, but I didn’t care. Whatever title they decided belonged to me wouldn’t change a thing.

Hex and I were running through meal options when my link-up buzzed. Leo’s voice came through, sharp and excited. “We might have found him. Adante. A tip came through, the most promising we’ve had. A local team’s going in. Come to the operations room.”

We ran.

The operations room—a grandiose name for the small room stuffed with vid screens where Peter ran his search for Adante—was full of people. Leo, Peter, Damien, Garron, and three other tough-looking men, all crowded together, talking. I caught Leo’s eye and sat down next to Hex. Moments later, Atalie joined us.

Nerves zinged through my body. Could this really be it? Knowing Adante was out there, loose in the world, poisoned my happiness and had me glancing into shadows whenever I left my room. Until he was captured, we’d never be safe, and some nobles would never accept Leo until he was the only option.

Seeking a distraction while we waited, I turned to Atalie. “How did last night go?”

Her lips curled up in a coy smile. Atar agreed with Atalie. Her skin glowed, and the long, flowy dresses suited her tall, slender frame. Of all of us, she’d adjusted the best. She’d even let a few curious Ataran men take her out for drinks.

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