Page 93 of Magic Claimed
“You’d better be calling to tell me I’ve won a million dollars or I swear I will find you and eat your fingers,” she announced, sounding deeply annoyed.
“It’s Raine,” I said, and did not miss the sudden flurry of curses in the background. Probably should have thought to offer reassurancefirstwhen calling from an unknown number. Especially when they all believed I was sound asleep upstairs.
“Are you alone?” Kira asked urgently. “Are you safe? Where are you?”
“No, probably, and on the roof,” I replied. “There’s a dragon up here who wants to talk to Callum. But Kira, he’s…”
She’d already hung up.
I stared at the phone, grimaced, and then tossed it back, noting the older man’s slightly pained expression.
“Kira’s here?” His tone was somewhat hesitant.
“She is. And Ryker. Not sure how much of a family reunion you were bargaining for, but you got one anyway.”
He regarded me thoughtfully. “You know my children well?”
“Better than you do,” I returned bluntly. But that was probably unfair. Perhaps he hadn’t had much control over thosecircumstances. But at least from my perspective, it seemed like he should have tried.
“Yes,” he acknowledged. “I knew that was the price when I agreed to Tairen’s proposal. And maybe I should have tried harder to change her mind. But it’s difficult to regret a course of action that led to something as incredible and miraculous as my children. I wouldn’t change my decision now, no matter how they feel about me.”
I couldn’t exactly disagree.
The door burst open behind me—my backup arriving in force. Callum was beside me a moment later, flanked by Ryker, Kira, and Angelica. Behind them, Faris remained by the door, as a last defense should the enemy evade the five of us.
Callum scanned me first, as if to be certain I was whole and undamaged. When his gaze fell on the unexpected guest, however, his entire posture shifted. The feelings that filtered through our bond cut off as if they were controlled by a switch, leaving only a wary detachment in their wake.
“How did you know where to find me?” Callum’s tone was so stiff and unwelcoming, I saw Kira looking from him to Deverin with a sharp, calculating expression.
“Tairen keeps me updated from time to time.” The newcomer paused. “I’m actually visiting the city in my official capacity, but I arrived early in order to warn you of a potential threat.”
“Callum, who is this?” Kira demanded.
I could almost see her noticing the same things I had. Trying to deny the conclusions I’d reached.
“Hello, Kira,” the man said, a bit ruefully. “I’m sorry we ended up meeting like this, but I’m Deverin.”
She didn’t react quite the way I’d expected. One eyebrow shot up, and she raked him with a critical gaze before folding her arms over her chest. “So you’re ‘Mutual Respect.’ I admit I always sort of wondered what our DNA donor looked like.” She shrugged. “I can see why Mom picked you. What do you want?”
Deverin sighed and held out his badge again. “I’m here with the Bureau of Idrian Affairs, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to save your mother. But we don’t have much time. Will you at least hear me out?”
We endedup back downstairs in the fifth-floor office, where coffee cups, pizza boxes, and heaps of crumpled napkins indicated this strategy session had been going on for some time while I was asleep.
Callum offered me his chair, then leaned against his desk, while Angelica reclaimed her usual place. Ryker paced to her left, and Kira and Faris hovered near the door, leaving Deverin in the center of a lopsided circle.
It didn’t appear to faze him in the slightest. He remained calm and relaxed, bearing the weight of all those hostile stares without any evidence of resentment or nerves.
“All right,” Callum said. “You have our attention. Why don’t you tell us why you’re here?”
“I won’t waste your time with backstory,” Deverin told him coolly. “Except to explain how I know what I know. When theBureau was founded almost forty years ago, I was the first Idrian representative to join—the first to earn the humans’ trust, and the first to forge a relationship with the human government of the time. I’ve now been with the Bureau through eight different directors, and I have contacts in every enclave, every major city, and most departments of the government. I hear a lot, and what I’m hearing right now suggests something potentially catastrophic is coming.”
“You mean something like a protest march of nearly ten thousand people?” Angelica piped up icily. “We already know about that.”
“Wait, what?” There was apparently a lot I needed to catch up on.
Callum nodded. “All that cyberstalking led us to Greg’s activities on a couple of deeply disturbing websites devoted to anti-Idrian causes. He helped organize the protest this morning, but more worrying is the march they’re planning for later this week. They’ve been building momentum for almost a month—all grassroots, online stuff.”
“Yes,” Deverin admitted. “That’s a part of it. And unfortunately, the current director of the Bureau seems to have been influenced by a lot of their rhetoric. He’s repeatedly refused to inform local officials, or supply aid for any increased security during the protest, despite the violent and inflammatory nature of what these groups are calling for.”
