Page 9 of Magic Forsaken

“Left end of the bar,” Irene called over her shoulder.

The room where I’d done my “interview.”

Maybe that’s where Faris was hiding. I hadn’t seen him all evening, but I figured he had to be around here somewhere. Keeping an eye on his new employee to make sure she didn’tstabanyone. Actually, every time I thought about it, I felt a little stabby, so maybe he’d been onto something.

I was carrying the platter in both hands, but the door to the card room was closed and I couldn’t just bump it open with my hip. So I balanced the sandwiches on my left hand, opened the door with my right, and took a step into the dimly lit room.

Looked up.

Four pairs of eyes locked on mine—three men and a woman. I heard a growl, and then two of the men shot to their feet, turning and heading towards me as if to confront a threat.

Adrenaline surged. The platter went flying. Shards of glass mingled with bits and pieces of fallen sandwiches as I crouched slightly and angled my body to the side, making myself a smaller target while balancing my weight over the balls of my feet. Both of the men facing me were absurdly tall and fit, so I wouldn’t have much hope of winning in a fight. Not without losing control of my magic, which I had sworn never to do again.

My only chance was the door.

Heart pounding, my breath a harsh rasp in my ears, I took a slow step back, bending towards the floor to scoop up a piece of the broken platter. Better than no weapon at all.

“Raine, are you all right?”

A third figure came to her feet and took a cautious step towards me.

“Kira, wait.” The last of the room’s occupants caught her arm. “I don’t think she sees you. Give her a moment.”

No one moved.

“Raine, it’s Kira. We met earlier today.”

My eyes finally focused on the petite, red-haired woman in the center of the group. On her kind but concerned expression.

“Don’t worry,” she said soothingly. “These guys are just overprotective and sometimes growl before they think, but you’re safe here.”

Kira. Who was somehow related to Faris. She belonged here. And I’d panicked and almost attacked her guests with a makeshift knife.

Well, crap.

I looked down. The shard of broken platter was cutting into my hand, so I opened my fingers and watched with dismay as the blood spread across my palm.

“I… I’m so sorry,” I said quickly, ducking my head to stare at the floor. “I…” There was no easy way to explain this. Not without revealing alotmore than I was comfortable with. I wasgoing to have to lie again, and no matter how often my life had forced me into it, I hated to lie. Especially to those few people I actually liked, and Kira seemed almost ridiculously likable.

“I guess… I just panicked.”

In truth, it was a lot worse than panic. It was sheer, ironclad instinct, in response to what my body had assumed was an immediate threat. I’d hoped that being free would enable me to control those reactions better, but clearly, they were still in the driver’s seat. It was honestly a miracle I hadn’t lashed out with magic instead.

“Drop the weapon!” A rumbling voice cut through the haze of my frustration. I heard footsteps approaching, so I let the bloody makeshift dagger fall to the floor amidst the mingled remains of sandwiches and platter alike.

Then I looked up. And up some more. One of the men was standing right in front of me. I saw a defined chest and broad shoulders in a crisp, dark button-down shirt. Above them was a chiseled jaw, recently shaven but wearing the slightest shadow of a beard. A little higher, and then I was drowning in oddly familiar pools of amber fire.

It was the gorgeous shapeshifter I’d seen on the curb outside.

And he was looking downright murderous.

THREE

“Who are you?”

The threatening baritone rippled through my chest, and, just as it had the last time, the weight of his stare roused every bit of rebellion in my soul. My chin tilted up as I held his gaze, refusing to back down in the face of his demand, even though I knew better. My brain was screaming for me to stop, but some other impulse was winning.

What was wrong with me?

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