Page 57 of The Magic of Destiny
“Who was the man?” I asked slowly, a feeling of unease swirling in my gut.
“There's much more to the story. And I will tell you. I swear it.” He looked at me and thumped his fist over his heart, the demon equivalent of a handshake—only once another demon answered the vow, it was sealed with magic. I nodded, and pounded my own fist against my heart, feeling a jolt of power course through my body.
“Why not now?” Kai asked impatiently.
Maverick looked at each of us, a severe intensity taking over his features. My fists clenched in preparation because I suddenly knew that whatever he was about to say, I wasn't going to like it.
“To answer your question, Your Highness, the man I worked for was Asrael.”
Curses filled the air around me. My vision started blurring red with the rage I felt.
“The moment I got my demon body back and knew everyone was alright, I tracked him down and did some detective work of my own. Turns out, I can still shift into the fox, which was handy. I got back here as soon as I could, to warn you.”
“Warn us about what?” Cam demanded, wringing his hands in front of his chest.
“The war is almost upon us. He has an army. I found where he's keeping them. There must be hundreds…”
“Hundreds of what?” Kai whispered.
Maverick met my eyes. “Dragons.”
The night air was quickly growing cooler at the high altitude. That must’ve been what woke me up. Being naked didn't help. But gods, my men were wrapped around me snugly, so the occasional chilly breeze wasn't a big sacrifice.
A hand brushed my hair from my neck, and Sloane’s lips pressed against my skin. “You okay, Red?” His voice was deliciously deep from our nap. It hadn’t been a long—or particularly great—sleep, but hopefully it’d be enough for me to get us home.
“I'm okay now that you're back with us,” I answered, and I felt his body stiffen. He still wasn't used to the random declarations of adoration from me, but I was going to work on that. I never wanted him to doubt that he had my heart and that I wanted him just as much as the others. This beautiful, broken man had decided to trust me, to let me into his heart and I refused to take that for granted.
Guppy stretched, a groan escaping his mouth. “We should get back to Emerald Lakes as soon as you're strong enough, sweetheart. The others will be going crazy.”
He was right. Not to mention we didn’t want to fall into Asrael’s clutches… or King Thane’s.
“They're not going to be happy with me,” I sighed.
My sweet Guppy leaned in and kissed me softly. “You would've done the same for any of them.”
“And they fucking know it too. Don't worry, Red. I got your back. You were a total badass tonight,” Sloane murmured against my neck.
“You almost sound impressed,” I teased, and he bit me playfully.
I sat up, looking around for my clothes. Oh. Right. They were shredded. I gave Sloane the stink eye, and both of my mates chuckled.
“Oh! Bram did this really cool thing once when I was here early on,” I blurted out, hopping to my feet.
“Red... as much as I love sharing you, can you wait to tell us about the cool sex tricks he knows—”
I busted up laughing. “Oh stars, no. That's not it. I mean, yeah, he does this—” I bit my bottom lip at Sloane’s fiery glare. “Anyway. He was able to procure items with the snap of his fingers. Maybe I could try that and get some clothes?” It was worth a try, anyway. If it didn't work, the worst that would happen is I would look like a snap-happy nudist atop a mountain peak.
Fischer was busy locating his own clothes, so I closed my eyes and pictured what I needed. Leggings, a shirt, and underwear. I could get by without a bra long enough to get through the portal and get home.
Taking a breath, I held one hand out and snapped my fingers, grinning when I felt the texture of clothing in my grip. Opening my eyes, I released a whoop when I saw the black leggings and black t-shirt. The shirt itself looked a little large, but it would work. I repeated the action and grinned again when I found a pair of shorts and a tank top in my other hand, tossing them to Sloane.
“You did it,” Fischer commented proudly, stepping into his pants. “That's a really cool trick.”
I slipped on the cotton underwear and pulled up my pants. “I can't believe it was that easy,” I remarked as my head popped through the shirt. “Huh. This shirt smells like Bram.” Spinning, I faced my guys, and they both cracked up.
“What? Does it look ridiculous?” I flapped my arms out.
“Property of Goldie, huh?” Sloane teased, and I looked down. The shirt literally saidProperty of Goldiein huge block letters.
