Page 80 of Magic Betrayed

“We’re done with the threats and the hostages. I didn’t like it then, and now I’m putting a stop to it. And I can’t believe you went behind my back to kidnap her. You took Ethan out there! In front of witnesses! Are you insane?”

This was very interesting, but they were going to have to work out their differences later. I stepped forward again, thinking that this time, for sure, someone would react…

And they did, but not the way I expected.

The man standing beside Chesney—short, solid and red-haired—suddenly flinched backward, his eyes wide and terrified.

“What… What is that?” he whispered hoarsely, pointing a shaking finger in my direction. A moment later, he went bone white and fainted, hitting the floor with a thud that made me wince.

And that’s when I realized I’d never let go of my fae magic. I was lurking in a patch of shadow, making no sound, leaving a trail of blood dripping behind me from where the glass had sliced my arm.

Guess the Haversmith House just got a little more haunted.

Somehow, I resisted the entirely inappropriate urge to laugh and released my magic.

My appearance out of nowhere had about the effect you might expect—Chesney swore, and the woman sitting near the boarded-up fireplace let out a scream that could probably be heard all the way to the Guthrie city limits.

“I’d love to chat some more about my kidnapping,” I informed them dryly, “but—and I can’t believe I’m saying this—we have a bigger problem.”

* * *

Jacob sat up—clearlyembarrassed by his reaction—and three pairs of eyes stared at me in silence. I could feel the weight of their combined fear, hatred, anger, and confusion.

“Oh, and you can tell whoever is trying to sneak up behind me that I will smack the crud out of them if they don’t knock it off.”

“That’s enough Reese,” Chesney called wearily. “Just come in here. Apparently, we have more significant issues than your inability to kidnap people properly.”

I heard a frustrated sound from behind me, as a scowling man in his mid-twenties emerged from the shadows beneath the stairs. “My kidnapping was just fine,” he muttered. “It was the serum. It was supposed to knock her out for at least three more hours.”

“I suggest you shut up while you can still talk,” Chesney snapped in return. “I still don’t know whether I can forgive you for using something associated withher.”

Well, that explained a lot. They’d used one of Elayara’s serums on me.

“And where is the fifth member of your group?”

Chesney shot me a look that ought to have dropped me in my tracks. “Noah is supposed to be upstairs keeping an eye on the four of you, but he’s nineteen and brooding, so he’s probably playing phone games. Any more questions for us?” Her sarcasm could’ve peeled paint, if there was any left on the walls.

“Many,” I retorted. “But we don’t have time.”

“Then how about you stop spewing nonsense and tell us what you know.” She really was soverymuch like her mother.

“We’re currently being surrounded by a team of mercenaries who don’t much care about collateral damage and are only interested in collecting the bounty on Kes’s head,” I announced bluntly. “They want her alive, but are totally chill with burning this place down with the rest of us in it. So if you have some sort of defense plan, now would be a great time to pull it out, dust it off, and put it to work.”

Chesney swore again. Reese turned and punched the wall, while the other two just looked utterly defeated.

“One question.” Chesney pinned me with a glare that was only a fraction less powerful than Talia’s. “Is the child safe?”

I regarded her for a moment in silence, wondering whether my hunch magic would help me out, but in the end I had to go with my gut, and it was pretty sure her concern was genuine.

“As safe as a six-year-old who can teleport ever is,” I responded. “Safer than we are, most certainly.”

I heard a warning creak from the stairs, and turned just in time to catch Kes, who hurled herself at me in a trembling hug.

“I told you not to come,” she said fiercely when she pulled back to look me over. She flinched when she saw my bleeding arm, and despite her hug, her expression held nothing but disapproval.

“Yeah, well, they didn’t really give me a choice.” I chose not to tell her that we’d been planning to come for her and Logan anyway.

“So.” She whirled on Chesney. “Will you try to threaten me withhernow? I told you. I can’t do what you’re asking. That won’t change, no matter how many people you promise to hurt.”

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