Page 41 of Madness of Her Mages

I did my best to steel my nerves while facing the demon. “Who are you?”

He puffed up his chest, bright red flashing in his eyes. “I am Hector.”

“Alright, Hector.” I blew out a deep breath. “Let me speak to your demon.” Maybe it would be easier to get information from this demon than the last one and I could finally expose Thorin as the dark mage behind the Crimson Tide.

Smoke pouring from his eyes was my only warning. I fell back against Nikkos when the cook spontaneously combusted, his screams muted by the strange crackling noise coming from his disintegrating body.

After the dust settled, my mates dug through his ashes for clues but came up empty-handed.

Damn.

Well, that’s one way to get rid of a demon.

I looked warily at Blaze as his words echoed in my skull.I wanted to question him.

Don’t worry,Drae said.I have a feeling you’ll have a lot more chances.

Part Two

Spells, Secrets, and Bonds of Blood

Chapter Ten

Malvolia set a grueling pace, saying she was anxious to reach the capital city before Fachnan declared war. I was forced to ride on the back of Mortimus the entire way. At least my thigh muscles were getting exercise.

To make matters worse, we’d had no opportunities for love making since we left Abyssus. The girls had slept between us in our private tent, though we were too tired at nights, anyway. After I’d rubbed a salve between my mates’ shoulder blades and then along my sore thighs, we would pass out in our bedrolls, only to be awoken at a goddess-damned hour, hurry through a meager breakfast, and then fly at a breakneck pace.

My mates had told me that journey usually took them four or five days when it was the three of them, but after leaving Abyssus three days earlier, we reached Delfi’s capital city, Thebes, as the sun had begun to set. Aptly nicknamed ‘Sky City,’ for many of the gathering places were high up in the air, Thebes reminded me of the treehouses my father had built for Tari and me when we were little. He’d built several surrounding our hut in the woods, and now I understood why. He’d created a miniature version of Thebes, though the houses here were suspended at the tops of narrow stone towers. The only way up was either by winding stairs that wrapped around the towers or else by flight. Thetowers were built more for the Ravini males than the wingless females, though I saw many women gathered at the tops of towers, too. Just like me, they probably relied on their mates or male companions to carry them up there.

Malvolia’s castle was easily thrice the size of our home at Abyssus with several tall, pointy turrets shaped like broken shards of glass and a wide atrium in the center. The castle itself was situated at the edge of the city of Thebes, right beside a massive seawall that was almost as tall as the castle turrets and wide enough to draw a carriage across the length. I’d heard of the Northern Shore from my parents, but their description didn’t do justice to the true magnificence of this oceanside city: cool, humid air that filled my nostrils with pungent, salty smells, and the loud crashing of monster waves upon the wall.

Mortimus flew us around the city as Malvolia pointed out several of her favorite buildings, from the dome-shaped library to the circular tavern at the top of a narrow tower to the wide river that ran through the heart of the city. There were several buildings connected by swaying bridges and narrow towers. This was definitely not a city built for those afraid of heights, and it favored the males of our species, which was odd considering that females had been ruling Delfi for centuries.

I didn’t know why I was suddenly bothered that I’d been born wingless, but I was. Ravini women usually had more magic than the males, which I thought made us even. With the exception of a few very powerful Fae like my mates, most fire mages had only enough magic to wield fire, whereas many Ravini females were gifted with various magical talents. As magnificent as my magic was, I still envied the winged mages I saw swooping from tower to tower and wondered why the elements had made us so different.

From a distance, I spied the towering wall dividing Delfi from Windhaven. The wall was easily five times the height of a dragonand wide enough for the monsters to perch. Jutting up from the other side of the wall were what looked like castle turrets, which I knew belonged to Ventus, Windhaven’s capital city. And I remembered my parents telling me Delfi’s capital, Peloponese, was a stone’s throw away from Ventus. How odd that the three cities were such close neighbors while war between them was an imminent possibility. Combined with Thebes, the three cities were known as the Tribus Point, the northernmost tip of the Fae continent.

Beyond the Tribus was a wild, untamed ocean, and beyond that were savage islands, teeming with all kinds of monsters from wyvern to sirens. And supposedly, my sister had flown off toward those islands. I forced back all sad thoughts of Tari. Some days I felt guilty that I was always shutting out her memory, but it was the only way I knew how to cope. Either that or spend each day moping and bringing everyone down with me. I only prayed my twin was safe and would return to us soon.

Mortimus eventually circled the battlements, swooping so low that a few Fae had to duck their heads. There was such a bustle of servants and fire mages and witches dismounting and unloading supplies that most Fae were hardly bothered by the fanged horse diving upon them like a hawk trying to snatch a mouse from a field.

My mates were already there, accepting drinks from servants while trying to corral the children. I raised a brow when two pretty, blushing Fae women bowed before Drae, their breasts practically spilling out of their tight corsets. One had hair as black as a raven’s wing, big, pouty eyes, and a narrow waist. The other was shorter and curvier with pale hair that looked as soft as goose down. We weren’t close enough to hear what they were saying, but they quickly curtsied and hurried away while giggling and whispering to each other.

What was that all about?

Nikkos and Blaze were having a difficult time containing the girls who ran across the bridge and back with excited squeals, burning off pent-up energy while almost tripping several Fae in their path. Perhaps Drae should have been helping his brothers instead of flirting with pretty Fae.

After Mortimus landed, my aunt gave me a sharp look over her shoulder. “Looks like your mates don’t know how to discipline.”

“They’ll tire out soon,” I said, giving Nikkos an appreciative smile when he swept Aurora into his arms. I mouthed my thanks to Blaze who followed after him with a smiling Ember sitting on his shoulders.

Not to be outdone by her sister, Aurora insisted she ride on Nikkos’s back. “Fly that way, Mortimus!” she said with a squeal.

Nikkos and Blaze both ran back across the bridge, neighing like Malvolia’s winged horse, the girls’ excited giggles carrying across the battlements.

Malvolia huffed before turning a stiff back on me. I didn’t care if she didn’t like our disciplinary style. The girls were my responsibility. I’d choose how and when to discipline them, not her.

I carefully dismounted from Mortimus with Drae’s help, my thighs sore and tight, my fingers numb from clutching my aunt’s back. I jerked back in surprise when Mortimus nuzzled my head. I thought he was going to bite off my ear, but when I came away with a bit of snot on the side of my head, I realized he’d given me a kiss.

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