Page 8 of Hopeless Magic
“Zakara Storm.” The three of them eye one another, the gazes shifting over my head to each other.
They’re probably wondering if I made it up.
If I made it up, it’d be something prettier and more appealing to say. Maybe Angela or Jenée, or even Nicole. Not something that sounds like a fucking angry sneeze.
“How old are you, Zakara?” Even the way he says my name comes out in a mocking tone, a disbelieving sound.
“Twenty-one,” I say in a flat voice.
Ryder’s probably just a few years older than myself. Depending on how fae age, I suppose. And the twins are a total mystery. Darrio looks to be the oldest of the three. Even the way he holds himself makes him seem older with worn confidence, and yet Daxdyn appears younger than even myself. Smooth, boyish skin and a glimmering light in his eyes make him appear barely eighteen.
A long sigh parts my lips. I won’t bother asking their age. It makes no difference if they’re eighteen or one hundred and eighteen.
I slip the blade back into the tattered leather sheath on my outer thigh. A wide tree supports Ryder’s weight as he leans into it, his hands still pushed into his pockets. He holds a careless posture. Not anything like I would imagine from a man of royalty.
“You’re a prince. How do you not know the way home?” I ask, changing the subject.
The cold bites into my skin and I hug my arms around myself. None of them seem to be aware of the chilly temperature.
“When my scars appeared along my arm, my father knew then that I was more than just a mortal. He didn’t know I was mixed. I was only five. It scared the hell out of him.” The tone of his voice dips and he studies the dark leaves at his feet. “He knew people would kill to get to me. They would use me like a weapon. I was never a child at all really.” My heart sinks for him. Until I notice the traitorous feeling. I straighten my shoulders, pushing down the weak emotions. “So, he exhausted all of his resources for months until he found a way to get me to the mythical realm everyone whispers about.” His eyes meet mine, intensity burning through them. “The Hopeless city.”
A pounding feeling bangs through my chest, my heart racing from his words.
He could be lying. Everyone lies. These three could be no different.
But something in me believes every word he says.
Ryder just might be an exiled prince of Juvar. He might really have magic burning through his veins. He might really have saved my life tonight. The Hopeless city might be real after all.
But what he doesn’t know is that I’ll never step foot on the coast of that kingdom.
Chapter Four
The Eminence
The hike through the wooded area back to town is quiet. Not uncomfortably so. I enjoy the silence. I used to talk for hours to anyone who would listen. I used to talk about the most mundane things as if they held so much importance.
I was stupid then, taking for granted all the simple things in life that I’ll never have again.
“My name’s Daxdyn Riles.” His name rolls off his tongue in a sensual way that makes me want to repeat it on an uneven and shuddering breath. I shake my head at my dirty thoughts just as he speaks again. “It’s a nice sword.” Daxdyn bumps his lean shoulder into mine.
I eye him for a moment, taking in his lithe muscle tone. The way a smile always sits waiting on his lips makes the suspicion in me fade away. He isn’t dangerous. I don’t think he could be even if he tried.
My attention darts to his brother; the hulking opposite of the man at my side.
“It was my father’s.”
Why did I tell him that?
Stiffly, I straighten my posture as I chastise myself for speaking so freely with someone I know nothing about. I could know him though. Daxdyn could be useful if given the opportunity.
“Why didn’t you just use your magic to escape the prison?” The tangle of trees ahead of us holds my attention. I try to pretend I’m not searching for information, as if I just want to make small talk.
The white moonlight falls across his smooth features. The iron-like color of his eyes shines with intensity. An odd thought crosses my mind, making me smile to myself: Daxdyn would make a beautiful prostitute. I push the smirk from my lips.
After my father’s death, my aunt raised me. Lady Ivory is the most successful ‘escort’ in the country. She made sure I never was. But her words of wisdom have never left me. And I just know she’d encourage Daxdyn to use his good looks to his advantage.
And, oh, what an advantage he would have.
