Page 38 of Magic Claimed
He hesitated. “Morghaine just notified me a few seconds ago. I wasn’t sure of your situation, so I waited to call you.”
I understood. I did. For all he knew, we might have been sneaking around, hiding from enemies, or fighting for our lives. A phone call could have distracted me or given away our location.
And out of all the people who’d known about Callum, Faris might be the only one who knew how to contact me directly. So, it probably wasn’t that anyone was deliberately cutting me out. I was letting my own insecurities get to me instead of remembering what mattered—Callum chose me. All I needed to do was keep choosing him in return, in spite of my fears, and in spite of what anyone might say about us.
“I’m sending some people to pick up the prisoners,” Faris promised. “Just hang on for a few minutes, and then you can head for Callum’s place.”
“Draven can babysit the prisoners,” Kira interrupted. “And wait to see if the herbalist shows up. We’re leaving now.”
I nodded numbly.
She shoved her scaly nose closer to the phone. “Tell them to hurry, because Raine and I aren’t waiting.”
I glanced over at Draven.
“He’s got this,” Kira said firmly. “Now hang up and let’s go.”
TEN
We ran.
Somehow, I didn’t stumble on the uneven ground, and despite the burning pain from my side, I made it over the fence with barely even a pause. When we reached Kira’s car, she had me dig her spare clothes out of her trunk so she could shift and change.
Once she had opposable thumbs, she checked the wound across my ribs. “Shallow,” she reported with a sigh of relief. “Messy, but it’s already stopped bleeding, I think.” She offered me a long winter scarf, which I double-wrapped around my waist before tying a knot and hoping I wasn’t going to bleed all over Kira’s car.
“I’m good.” I flashed her a shaky thumbs-up. “We can go.”
Neither of us said anything as we pulled out and headed for Callum’s place. I think we were both too worried, and I reminded myself that Kira was hurting too. This was not onlythe man I loved, it was her brother. One she’d barely had a chance to get to know.
Thankfully, the streets were empty and no law enforcement spotted us, because Kira was most definitely driving too fast as we headed downtown. And she clearly didn’t care whether she got a ticket, because she pulled into a no-parking zone right outside The Assemblage, jumped out, and ran for the side door.
I followed close on her heels, but no luck—the door was locked.
Front door—also locked.
Kira muttered under her breath and whipped out her phone. “I get that security is important, but we need to get in there!”
I wasn’t waiting. My lock picks were still in their loops hidden behind my belt, so I pulled them out and got to work. It was my second time picking this lock, so it didn’t take long, despite my shaking fingers. Kira was still waiting for someone to answer her call when the door swung open.
Her jaw dropped as she stared at me and hung up the phone. “You are officially the coolest person I know,” she declared before grabbing my hand and tugging me inside.
The lights were on—proof that someone was in the building—and my anxiety mounted as we dashed past the ancient elevator and headed for the stairs. Even when I was exhausted, the stairs were the faster option, but I cursed every one of those five flights as we raced up, my thighs burning and the cut across my ribs throbbing with agony.
When we reached the top, I didn’t pause or even knock, just charged right through the front door of Callum’s apartment…
Into the middle of a standoff.
Four women stood in his living room, and the tension was so high I was surprised I didn’t bounce off the air and fly right back out the front door.
Three of them had their backs to me, but it was easy to identify Callum’s family. Tairen, Skye, and Morghaine faced off against a single blonde woman—tall, slender, and composed, dressed in heels and a suit despite the late hour. Angelica’s pale gold hair was pulled into a perfect chignon, and her icy blue eyes narrowed slightly as she spotted me…
Oh right. The last time I saw Callum’s executive assistant, I more or less told her to shove off.
Angelica was a gryphon, and typically the most self-controlled, buttoned-up, and put-together person in any crowd. But at that exact moment, I could have sworn she was one wrong move away from shifting right in the middle of Callum’s living room.
“My king’s life is in danger, and his orders specifically stated that no one is allowed to see him until he has been evaluated by a trusted medic,” Angelica was saying, in a tone that suggested she’d repeated these words multiple times already. “I don’t care who you are. My duty as his assistant is to protect him, and I will not stand aside.”
As frustrated and scared as I was, my respect for her went up a half dozen notches. She had to know who she was facing—the former shapeshifter queen, current dragon queen, and former dragon seneschal—but she refused to be run over. The gryphon was putting her life on the line to protect Callum, and I was thankful for her dedication.
