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  Not great.

  “But not you?” Ana asked.

  I wanted to fist bump her, because that was a damned good question.

  A small smile creased Arach’s face. “I hope that it will be mutual. We will help you master your powers, and in return, you will work for one of our divisions, helping to protect the magical world.”

  “We’ve never worked for anyone else,” I said. “I don’t really want to. And frankly, I don’t think I’d be any good at it.”

  “Once you’re trained—which I imagine you won’t like, as you will have to take orders—you will be on your own. Most jobs are self-driven here. You do it as you see fit. We’re built on trust.”

  Trust. Just as Cade had said.

  “Don’t forget that you could have friends here. Security. A life.” Arach’s eyes seemed endlessly knowledgeable at this moment. Like she knew what we lacked.

  She did. Because this was sounding tempting.

  I looked at Ana, who gave a tiny nod.

  I met Arach’s gaze. “A trial period. Two months.”

  Arach smiled and nodded. “Excellent. I am glad to hear it.”

  Happiness burst inside me. I might be conflicted about working for someone else, but I’d really wanted to stay. At least for now. I don’t think I’d realized how much.

  A quiet knock sounded on the door.

  “Perfect timing.” Arach rose, and drifted toward the door. We stood and followed her.

  “So, you really built this place?” I asked.

  “Yes. The magic was a gift from the other dragons, before they went for their slumber. But this place is built from my blood and bones, and now my spirit guides it.”

  “Wow. That’s a serious gift,” Ana said.

  Arach smiled and opened the door to reveal Caro. “Caro here will show you to your new apartment. Remember—train hard, and be worthy.”

  Caro waved to Arach. I turned to say goodbye, but the dragon spirit had disappeared into the air. Immediately, the immense magic that had filled the room faded a bit.

  Caro bounced impatiently from foot to foot. Her platinum hair was in wild disarray and excitement gleamed in her steely eyes. For someone with such a terrifying and deadly magical gift—not to mention a stone-cold attitude in battle—she was much more chipper and lighthearted than I’d expected.

  “So, what’d you think?” she asked, her brows wiggling. “You got to meet Arach! She normally never comes to see new members.”

  “Yeah, that was wild,” I said.

  “I had no idea that the Protectorate was this cool,” Ana said.

  “It is.” Caro’s face sobered a bit. “But she means it. You really do have to train hard and be worthy. It’s our motto, and boy, do they mean it.”

  We had excellent motivation to try, at least.

  “Since you’re staying, let me show you to your new apartments!”

  I glanced at Ana, intrigued. “All right.”

  Caro led us up the great stairs and through a maze of hallways of all styles—some done with silk wallpaper and chandeliers, others still in their original castle form, complete with flickering wall sconces. At one point, the Pugs of Destruction raced by, each carrying a large ham in its mouth. The last one—the winged pug—farted as it ran by.

  “Watch out for them,” Caro said. “They’ll steal the beer right out of your hand.”

  As we neared the back of the castle, mullioned glass windows provided a view of the grass lawn and an ancient stone circle.

  Cool.

  As a girl who’d lived in shitty wooden houses in the middle of nowhere her whole life, it was pretty danged awesome.

  Caro stopped in front of a wooden door painted deep blue. “This one’s for you, Bree. Ana, yours is the one next to it.” She pointed to a door about twenty meters down. “Come on. I’ll show you up.”

  We followed her up the spiral staircase. The space was empty for the first thirty feet, with glowing yellow lights dotting the walls, and we only reached an actual room near the top. Caro pushed open a door to reveal a round living space.

  I stepped in, my heart fluttering in my chest. I hated myself for it, but I honestly felt like a kid on Christmas morning.

  The space was round, with a beautiful living room on one side and a kitchen on the other. Gorgeous. Until now, all we’d had was shitty hand-me-down furniture that had been crap fifty years ago.

  This was so perfect, and so pretty, that I could hardly believe it.

  “It’s amazing,” Ana said.

  “No, this is amazing.” Caro strolled toward one of the windows on the wall and waved us forward.

  I followed, my head buzzing slightly. When I caught sight of the sweeping view of the cliffs and ocean at the back of the castle, I gasped. The stone circle sat right below my window.

  “See?” Caro said. “Nice, right? Each tower is enchanted to look the way the inhabitant wants it to.” She spun around, gesturing to the decor. “Apparently you like the modern contrasted with the historic. Very nice, if I do say so. Mine looks like a pixie unicorn vomited rainbows all over it.”

  “I wouldn’t peg you as the type,” Ana said.

  Caro shrugged. “We like what we like.”

  If someone had asked me what my design aesthetic was, I’d have said something like “not broken.” Apparently, this tower knew me better than I knew myself.

  “This is insane.” The luxury of this place boggled my mind. “Are you freaking serious? They let you live here?”

  “Why not?” She shrugged. “People give up a lot to work and live here.” She hesitated. “Well, honestly, most of us are losers and loners, so this is an upgrade. But still, there’s nothing wrong with living in a nice place. It helps with recruitment.”

  “I’ll say.” Ana roamed toward the spiral iron staircase that led upstairs, presumably to a bedroom.

  “Well, I’ll leave you guys to it,” Caro said. “You know which door is yours, Ana.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “No problem. I’m glad you’re here!”

  She hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Ana and I were silent until we heard the bottom door slam.

  Then we turned to each other. I wanted to go check out her apartment, but the elephant in the room was about to trample me.

  “Can you believe we’re doing this?” I was still kind of shocked. We were survivors. Together, we could handle anything. We’d made it on our own all this time. But now, maybe we didn’t have to?

  “I can’t believe it. No, I can.” Ana shook her head. “It’s a game changer. This place is amazing. And the Undercover Protectorate. That’s really cool. Being a part of something like that.”

  “If we pass the training.” I wanted to. I wanted to get ahold of my magic. And if this was as cool as it seemed, I wanted a place here. “Having a purpose other than survival would be…awesome.”

  We could help people who were as scared as we’d been. As we were. Because the threat wasn’t over yet.

  “Let’s focus on the survival part, first,” Ana said.

  “I’m worried about what Ricketts said before he died.”

  “About the woman.” Ana nodded. “I think you’re right. He wasn’t acting on his own at the end there. Someone had gotten to him. He didn’t want money anymore—just my blood for some kind of ritual.”

  “We need to find out who.” Not knowing was an axe hanging over my neck. “But at least now we have some help.”

  “And help finding Rowan.” Ana spun in a circle, taking in the amazing view from all windows. “Rowan would love this.”

  Tears pricked my eyes. Rowan was the only thing that could make me cry. “She would.”

  “We’ll find her.” Ana swallowed hard. “If she’s alive, we’ll find her.”

  I reached for Ana’s hand, squeezing tight. “I love you, nerd.”

  “Love you back, double-nerd.”

  I grinned. “Let’s go check out your room.”

  “Yeah.”

/>   We walked out of my apartment and down the stairs, both quiet. Thinking.

  Whatever came at us, we would figure it out. Together.

  Epilogue

  The day after we moved into our new apartments, Cade and I returned to Venice to help Squido clear out the remnants of Ricketts’s underground lair so his family could return. A crew from the Protectorate hauled off the stuff that Hedy might want to check out, and the Order of the Magica had agreed to make this a protected area for the Italian Kappis. All in all, a win.

  After we finished, Cade and I sat on the steps of San Zaccaria, catching our breath from the work and watching the sun set in a brilliant display of orange and pink.

  “I think you’ll do well at the Protectorate,” Cade said.

  “Thanks.” We watched the sunset in silence for a while before I spoke. “Why didn’t you tell anybody about my new power?”

  Arach knew. And everyone else would eventually, as my powers manifested. But he hadn’t spoken of it to anyone.

  “It’s not my story to tell.”

  I smiled, liking that answer. A cool breeze rustled over my face, smelling of flowers and night and happiness. The last one was weird, but I swore it was true.

  The colors had faded from the sky and Cade stood, reaching down for my hand to help pull me up.

  I took it, his large palm swallowing my own, the strength in his touch sending a frisson of pleasure zinging up my arm. I let him help me to my feet, my mind buzzing with awareness.

  He stood so close that the scent of his skin wrapped around me, bringing with it the smell of a storm at sea. It soaked into me, making my head spin. Heat seared, warm and fierce, sinking into my muscles and sending electricity blazing through me.

  I licked my lips, so intensely aware of him that it felt like we were one, and glanced up.

  His gaze was on my face, heat in his green eyes. Tension pulled at his jaw, as if he were resisting.

  What? Me?

  His full lips parted, just slightly.

  He wanted to kiss me.

  With all the stress of the past few days—the past few years—riding on my back, all I wanted to do was forget. To do something fun and spontaneous and totally free.

  I wanted Cade. And he wanted me. The heat that burned me came directly from him. From the grip of his strong hand that still cradled my own, a point of contact that seared me.

  I threw my arms around Cade’s neck and kissed him.

  Once, hard on the mouth.

  His lips were full and soft, giving me a buzz unlike any I’d ever experienced. It spun through my head and veins, lighting me up like a live wire. He groaned, low in his throat, and his hand tightened on mine.

  I pulled away, panting.

  He swallowed hard, gaze hot. There was desire, but also something else in his eyes. He swallowed again, regret flashing across his face.

  “That can’t happen again.” His voice was rough.

  Shit. “You didn’t like it?”

  “I wanted it. But you’re a trainee with the Protectorate now,” he said. “It’s…a conflict of interest.”

  So he did like it!

  But then my face flamed. I’d just made an ass of myself. And he was right. It was a conflict of interest. I wanted a place at the Protectorate—or at least to earn the right to be there and find Rowan, even if we didn’t stay forever.

  So making out with Cade was a terrible freaking idea. Not to mention the whole trust thing. Growing close to Cade was a one-way ticket to a giant mess.

  I stepped back, nodding. “You’re totally right. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Sorry. I should have asked before I kissed you.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I should have said no, but I didn’t want to.” His voice was low. Warm.

  Oh, hell. I stepped back a foot.

  My new life was confusing enough. New home, new job, new threat to my life. But then he had to go and say something like that? Something that made it so clear that he actually did want me?

  “Ready to go?” My voice squeaked. Awkward.

  “Aye.” His lips quirked up in a devastating smile.

  We turned and walked away from the church, headed to the boat waiting in the canal. As we silently crossed the square, tension thrummed between us like a living thing.

  Oh my fates. With this between us, it was going to be damned hard to work with him in the future. Whatever the future might bring.

  THANK YOU FOR READING!

  I hope you enjoyed Bree’s first book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are so helpful to authors. If you want to leave one, you can do so on Amazon or GoodReads.

  Join my mailing list to stay updated. You’ll also get a free copy of Hidden Magic, the story of the FireSouls’ early adventures. Turn the page for an excerpt of Hidden Magic. The story stars Cass, the girl that Bree and Cade visited in Magic’s Bend.

  Excerpt Of Hidden Magic

  Jungle, Southeast Asia

  Five years before the events in Ancient Magic

  “How much are we being paid for this job again?” I glanced at the dudes filling the bar. It was a motley crowd of supernaturals, many of whom looked shifty as hell.

  “Not nearly enough for one as dangerous as this.” Del frowned at the man across the bar, who was giving her his best sexy face. There was a lot of eyebrow movement happening. “Is he having a seizure?”

  “Looks like it.” Nix grinned. “Though I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting this. We’re basically in a tree, for magic’s sake. In the middle of the jungle! Where are all these dudes coming from?”

  “According to my info, there’s a mining operation near here. Though I’d say we’re more under a tree than in a tree.”

  “I’m with Cass,” Del said. “Under, not in.”

  “Fair enough,” Nix said.

  We were deep in Southeast Asia, in a bar that had long ago been reclaimed by the jungle. A massive fig tree had grown over and around the ancient building, its huge roots strangling the stone walls. It was straight out of a fairy tale.

  Monks had once lived here, but a few supernaturals of indeterminate species had gotten ahold of it and turned it into a watering hole for the local supernaturals. We were meeting our contact here, but he was late.

  “Hey, pretty lady.” A smarmy voice sounded from my left. “What are you?”

  I turned to face the guy who was giving me the up and down, his gaze roving from my tank top to my shorts. He wasn’t Clarence, our local contact. And if he meant “what kind of supernatural are you?” I sure as hell wouldn’t be answering. That could get me killed.

  “Not interested is what I am,” I said.

  “Aww, that’s no way to treat a guy.” He grabbed my hip, rubbed his thumb up and down.

  I smacked his hand away, tempted to throat-punch him. It was my favorite move, but I didn’t want to start a fight before Clarence got here. Didn’t want to piss off our boss.

  The man raised his hands. “Hey, hey. No need to get feisty. You three sisters?”

  I glanced at Nix and Del, at their dark hair that was so different from my red. We were all about twenty, but we looked nothing alike. And while we might call ourselves sisters—deirfiúr in our native Irish—this idiot didn’t know that.

  “Go away.” I had no patience for dirt bags who touched me without asking. “Run along and flirt with your hand, because that’s all the action you’ll be getting tonight.”

  His face turned a mottled red, and he raised a fist. His magic welled, the scent of rotten fruit overwhelming.

  He thought he was going to smack me? Or use his magic against me?

  Ha.

  I lashed out, punching him in the throat. His eyes bulged and he gagged. I kneed him in the crotch, grinning when he keeled over.

  “Hey!” A burly man with a beard lunged for us, his buddy beside him following. “That’s no way—”

  “To treat a guy?” I finished for him as I kicked out at him. My tall, heavy boots collided with his chest, sending him flying backwar
d. I never used my magic—didn’t want to go to jail and didn’t want to blow things up—but I sure as hell could fight.

  His friend raised his hand and sent a blast of wind at us. It threw me backward, sending me skidding across the floor.

  By the time I’d scrambled to my feet, a brawl had broken out in the bar. Fists flew left and right, with a bit of magic thrown in. Nothing bad enough to ruin the bar, like jets of flame, because no one wanted to destroy the only watering hole for a hundred miles, but enough that it lit up the air with varying magical signatures.

  Nix conjured a baseball bat and swung it at a burly guy who charged her, while Del teleported behind a horned demon and smashed a chair over his head. I’d always been jealous of Del’s ability to sneak up on people like that.

  All in all, it was turning into a good evening. A fight between supernaturals was fun.

  “Enough!” the bartender bellowed. “Or no more beer!”

  The patrons quieted immediately. Fights might be fun, but they weren’t worth losing beer over.

  I glared at the jerk who’d started it. There was no way I’d take the blame, even though I’d thrown the first punch. He should have known better.

  The bartender gave me a look and I shrugged, hiking a thumb at the jerk who’d touched me. “He shoulda kept his hands to himself.”

  “Fair enough,” the bartender said.

  I nodded and turned to find Nix and Del. They’d grabbed our beers and were putting them on a table in the corner. I went to join them.

  We were a team. Sisters by choice, ever since we’d woken in a field at fifteen with no memories other than those that said we were FireSouls on the run from someone who had hurt us. Who was hunting us.

  Our biggest goal, even bigger than getting out from under our current boss’s thumb, was to save enough money to buy concealment charms that would hide us from the monster who hunted us. He was just a shadowy memory, but it was enough to keep us running.

  “Where is Clarence, anyway?” I pulled my damp tank top away from my sweaty skin. The jungle was damned hot. We couldn’t break into the temple until Clarence gave us the information we needed to get past the guard at the front. And we didn’t need to spend too much longer in this bar.