Page 64 of Bearing Secrets
Maybe Kirell will use it to drive me home.
She’d packed a bag this time, just in case she had to stay for a few more days, as they’d originally discussed. This time, she wanted some changes of clothes that weren’t sweats more readily available. Not that the sweats weren’t comfy, but she felt a uniform brown from head to toe just wasn’t her look.
The trees opened up to reveal the house, an awe-inspiring sight in the daylight as much as it was at night. Arched doorways, peaked roofs and beautiful stained glass caught her eye yet again. It was truly a beautiful piece of architecture. Whoever had designed it had done a wonderful job. Idly, she wondered how old it was.
Motion in the circular entryway under the gargantuan awning caught her eye. Five large SUVs were parked there, with lethal-looking men and women standing around. As she watched, five people exited the main doorway, each getting into one vehicle.
Each was dressed in the same kind of black suit, even though two of them were female. That wasn’t the weirdest part, however. The weirdest was the slight blur that obscured the features of each of them, and any details about the suits as well.
“What the hell was that?” she muttered to herself as the motorcade got underway, departing the grounds behind her.
Then she was going down the ramp and into the parking garage. To her surprise, Kirell was waiting for her, standing in his parking spot.
“Afraid I wasn’t actually going to bring it back?” she said, cracking a smile as she got out and handed him the keys.
He took those and the bag from her hand, moving so confidently that she handed her belongings off to him before realizing what she’d done. “I can carry that,” she said, but he wasn’t having any of it.
“Thank you for coming.” His voice was tight.
Without thinking, she flung her arms around him. “I’m sorry you had to do that,” she said, squeezing tightly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” He stood still, not hugging her back. She lay her head on his chest for another moment, just in time to hear it growl loudly.
“When was the last time you ate?”
He took too long thinking about it, which was answer enough for Natalia.
“Come on. We’re dropping this stuff off in your quarters and then you’re taking me to get some food. I assume you have a kitchen here?”
“Four.”
“Good enough,” she said, laughing.
Kirell didn’t join her, but for a brief moment, his mouth twitched in a vague upward direction and there was a twinkle to his electric blue eyes, removing the dullness that had entered them.
It was gone as quick as it came, but it was somewhere to start from, and she wasn’t about to give up. Not yet.
“By the way,” she said, following him toward the elevator. “What’s up with the weirdos leaving when I got here?”
“Weirdos?”
“Yeah. Five people all dressed in black, getting into black SUVs. They were really weird, and it was like there was some kind of field between us, because I couldn’t make out any of the details of their faces.”
“Oh. Them. That’s the Mage Council. Some of it at least. They were meeting with the Queen.” He shrugged and kept going, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Natalia, meanwhile, had come to a full stop and was staring. “Mage Council? As in…magic users? That sort of Mage?”
Kirell looked over his shoulder, realized she hadn’t moved and turned back. “Yes. Spells and stuff, just like in the books.” He frowned at her. “Is that really all that surprising? I can turn into a massive bear.”
“Yes, but I just figured that was like, some sort of mutated DNA. Not magic!”
“That’s exactly what it is. But if that can happen, why not magic?” He obviously didn’t get why this was such a big deal to her.
“Uh.” Natalia pondered that question. It was a good one. “I don’t know. It’s just…different, okay?”
“Okay.” Kirell wasn’t going to argue, it seemed.
“Um, why did you never mention this before?”
