Shadow world 3 book co.., p.45
Shadow World - 3 Book Collection, page 45
part #0 of The Dragon Born Trilogy Series
Sera glanced to the other side of the shop, where Kai and Logan stood in dutiful silence as Nelly tossed tuxedo jackets into the growing piles of clothing in their arms.
The tiny silver bells over the shop door jingled, and a woman in a large sunhat walked in. She tilted up her face, her mouth twisting into a sinful smile as she met Sera’s eyes.
“Rane,” Sera gasped.
Alex’s jaw dropped. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Blunt as always, Ms. Dering,” the demon replied, her voice as smooth as whipped cream. She sounded pretty good for a dead woman. She looked good too. There wasn’t a single wrinkle in her daisy-print sundress. “Nice to see you too.”
“But you’re…dead,” Sera said. “We saw you die.”
“Yes, well, it’s not that easy to kill a demon, dearie. You forget that I infused Riley with my magic.”
“So that’s why you did it.”
“Well, it wasn’t the only reason. Riley had to bring you to your present. How did you like it, by the way? Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to gift wrap all those little mages.”
A perplexed crinkle formed between Alex’s eyes. “You are really bizarre.”
“Thanks for noticing,” the demon replied with a courtly curtsy.
Riley stepped out of the changing area. “Something is happening to me…” His voice trailed off when he saw Rane. “You’re dead. You had to die to kill Merlin.”
“Not dead anymore,” she said brightly. “That’s the power of magic. There’s always a little loophole. And you are my loophole.” She tapped her finger against his chest. “Thanks for holding onto my magic, by the way.”
His shoulders slouched. “You’re taking it all back.”
“Of course I am. I need it, you know.”
Riley’s mouth thinned into a hard line. He looked so lost, so young.
Rane watched him with interest. “I never took you for the power-hungry sort.” Her eyes flickered to Lara. “Oh, I see, You need to keep up with the dragon.”
“What I need is control over my magic. Having your power allowed me to keep it in check.”
“Oh, did you think I was just going to let you loose on the world with all that magic? No, dearie, you’re going to train with me until you’re in control. I couldn’t have you destroying this lovely place.” She smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress.
“How long will that take?”
“Years.” She wiggled her finger at him. “Don’t give me that look, young man. Mastering this kind of magic takes hard work.”
“I’m not upset. I’m relieved. Hard work I can do.”
She cackled with glee. “I’m going to redefine your idea of hard work. And I can be very motivating. If you fail to control your power, I’ll lock you up in my honeycomb.”
Alex stepped forward.
“Hold your dragons there, girl. You know I’m right. Just look at what happened with Merlin. I will not unleash another out-of-control shadow mage on the world. It’s a bitch to clean up after their messes.” Rane clapped her manicured hands together. “Now, for more happy news. As if my resurrection weren’t fantastic enough.”
Alex rolled her eyes.
“I’ve brought you a present, dearies.”
Rane waved her hand. The door opened, and Blackbrooke walked into the shop. Ok, maybe not walked. He was bound in shadow magic. It nudged and poked and pulled at his body, moving him as though he were nothing but a puppet.
“I did manage to gift wrap this present,” Rane said with delight.
“Get your foul magic off of me, demon. I told you I was coming.”
Rane let out a dainty little yawn behind her hand. “You weren’t moving fast enough.”
Kai stepped up behind Sera, wrapping his arm around her waist. “What is he doing here?”
“Probably came to deliver his declaration of war,” Alex muttered.
“No, he’s too much of a coward to do that in person,” said Sera.
“Oh, I think you will be pleasantly surprised,” Rane told them. “Blackbrooke and I had a little chat. I showed him a few choice scenes of where this world is headed if he continues with his hate campaign. Some of those possible futures end quite tragically in his death.” She tittered. “I also promised to torture him when he ended up in hell. He really appreciated that one.”
Blackbrooke growled at her.
“Tell them what you told me,” Rane said with a sunshine smile.
“I will not allow the world to fall into chaos.” Blackbrooke looked at Kai. “I wish to discuss how we can prevent that from happening.”
“You want to work with me?” Kai had his professional face on.
“Working with you is preferable to the alternative.”
“You will work with Sera too?”
Blackbrooke looked like he’d just bitten down on a lemon. “If need be.”
Alex smirked at him. “So it seems you were wrong about us Dragon Born. We’re not the problem. We’re the solution.”
“No, I still don’t like you,” Blackbrooke snapped. “But our world is headed for civil war, just like the Shadow World.”
Anyone who had been on earth when Merlin’s spell broke should have forgotten all about the Shadow World. It seemed Rane had jogged his memories. That demon sure was helping them a lot. Sera wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“Thus begins the shaky alliance,” Alex commented later in the changing room as she helped Sera into her wedding dress.
“Blackbrooke. Wow.” Sera sucked in a deep breath—and it wasn’t just because the dress’s corset was crushing her ribs. “If you’d told me a week ago that he would be joining forces with us, I’d never have believed it.”
“A lot has changed these past few days,” said Alex. “Biggest of all, there are Dragon Born in the world. Thousands of Dragon Born, Sera.” Alex could hardly contain her excitement. She was bouncing on her tiptoes. “There’s so much we can learn from them.”
“Maybe we can convince them to unite together with us, to start a new world where Dragon Born and the other supernaturals live in peace.”
Someone knocked on the door.
Alex opened it a crack, peeking outside. “Don’t worry. It’s just Riley, not your groom-to-be.” She opened the door just wide enough for Riley to squeeze inside the small room of mirrors.
“I’m not worried,” Sera said.
“Lara will sick her dragons on you if you let Kai see the dress before the big day,” Alex said with a melodramatic gasp.
Sera chuckled. “Lara is taking this very seriously.” She patted Riley’s arm. “So, when do the shadow magic lessons begin?”
“Tomorrow morning. Rane will be training me for two hours every day before work.”
“But not before breakfast,” Sera said. “Magic burns even more calories than running. Make sure you eat before you go play demon with Rane.”
“Yes, mother.”
“Careful, junior,” Alex said, mussing up his hair. “Show some respect to your elders. Just like we taught you.”
“Actually, you taught me to talk back.”
“Oops.”
“The dress looks good,” Riley told Sera. “Kai will like it.”
Sera waved her hand. “Go on. Shower me with compliments. I’m sure it will make me more amenable to whatever you’re going to say next.”
“How did you know?”
“You always fiddle with the bottom of your shirt when you want something from us,” Alex told him. “Ever since you were a kid.”
Riley pressed his hands to his sides. “I’d best watch out for that habit then.”
Sera laughed. “Ok, spill it. What can we do for you?”
“You two are always helping people. I can’t even count the number of times you’ve saved the world.”
“Twenty-three,” Alex said.
They gaped at her.
She winked at them. “Not that I’m keeping score.”
“Well, I’d like to help you,” Riley said. “Not just in the lab but in battle too. You’ve seen what I can do. Take me with you. Let me fight beside you.”
“I think he’s proven himself,” Alex said.
Riley squeezed her hand, then turned his eyes on Sera. He looked worried, as though he were sure she’d protest like all the times before. She probably should have told him no. The word was right on the tip of her tongue, begging to be spoken. She’d always made it her mission in life to protect her little brother—but the thing was, he wasn’t little anymore. Riley was all grown up, and he’d proven himself more than once, even before he’d gained shadow magic.
“Yes,” Sera said. “We’d love to have you with us.”
“As long as it’s clear that I’m in charge,” Alex said quickly.
A crisp, professional knock thumped over their laughter. Alex opened the door again.
“We couldn’t help but overhear,” Callum said.
“Because you had your ear pressed to the door,” Tony added as the commandos entered the changing room.
“We are very pleased that Riley will be joining us in Kai’s new squad of enforcers,” Dal said.
“Kai’s really forming his squad?” Sera asked.
“Yes, we just finished hammering out the details with Blackbrooke. The enforcers will be reporting to Kai,” Tony told her.
“Kai let Blackbrooke have the desk job. They both decided that would be best for everyone,” Callum said, lightning crackling across his eyes.
“And you’re getting your pool,” Sera said.
Dal flashed her a grin. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Now we just have to convince Alex and Logan to join us,” Sera said.
“That would be epic,” replied Alex. “We have some messes to clean up back in Europe first. After that, I think I can convince Logan. It turns out he and Kai were bonding.”
“Oh, really?”
“Well, kind of. This mission was good for them. Awful as things were at times, it was great to be all together again. But now I think the love birds need to be alone.”
Alex shooed them all toward the door. Kai was waiting on the other side. He cast a long, leisurely look down Sera before his eyes slid up to meet hers.
“I like the dress,” he said as the others hurried out.
“I thought you would.”
He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Sera looked up at him. The room felt smaller now than it had when Alex, Riley, and the commandos had been inside. That was Kai. His presence filled up any space, no matter how large.
“I heard you’re getting your supernatural enforcer squad,” she said.
“Yes, Blackbrooke has convinced his allies that peace with the Dragon Born is the best course of action.”
“I guess they figured if the biggest cheerleader of burning the Dragon Born has changed his stance, then maybe there’s a good reason.”
“Yes. They all know we supernaturals have other things to worry about right now. Humans are turning against us. If we don’t make peace with them, this world could end up like Merlin’s game world, where we are all hunted and hated.”
“And if the supernaturals don’t make peace with one another, it will tear the world apart like in the Shadow World.”
Kai nodded. “Merlin’s worlds showed us many horrible possibilities. I can only hope that together, united, we can prevent any of that from happening here. For now at least, the civil war has been averted. We can get married without worrying about people like Blackbrooke crashing the wedding to kill us. This is the beginning of something new. Something great. Dragon Born and other supernaturals will work together on my squad.”
She smiled. “It will be awesome.”
“Just wait until you see your uniforms.”
“Is mine red?”
His expression hardened. “That color attracts monsters. You don’t need any help in that department, sweetheart. You attract them all too well on your own.”
“You know, red isn’t only good for attracting monsters,” she said, tracing her hand up the slit in her skirt. “I hear it’s good for attracting dragons too.”
Kai’s eyes followed her hand. “You are trouble,” he said in a silky voice.
Sera draped her arms over his shoulders. “You knew that when you asked me to marry you.”
“I knew it the moment I met you,” he whispered against her lips.
“And? Any regrets?”
“No, regrets are for fools who can only look back. I prefer to look forward.”
“And what do you see?”
He stroked his hand down her face. “You. I see you.”
Author’s Note
If you want to be notified when I have a new release, head on over to my website to sign up for my mailing list at http://www.ellasummers.com/newsletter. Your e-mail address will never be shared, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
If you enjoyed Shadow World, I’d really appreciate if you could spread the word. One of the best ways of doing that is by leaving a review wherever you purchased this book. Thank you for your invaluable support!
And to learn more about the other books set in the Dragon Born world, visit the Dragon Born page on my website.
Books by Ella Summers
Dragon Born Serafina
Mercenary Magic
Magic Games
Magic Nights
Rival Magic
Dragon Born Shadow World
(Magic Eclipse, Midnight Magic, Magic Storm)
The Complete Trilogy
Dragon Born Alexandria
Magic Edge
Blood Magic
Magic Kingdom
Shadow Magic [2018]
Dragon Born Awakening
Fairy Magic
Spirit Magic [2018]
Legion of Angels
Vampire’s Kiss
Witch’s Cauldron
Siren’s Song
Dragon’s Storm
Shifter’s Shadow
Psychic’s Spell
Book 7 [2018]
Sorcery & Science
Sorcery & Science (Prequel)
Vampires & Vigilantes
Book 2 [2018]
And more books coming soon…
About the Author
Ella Summers has been writing stories for as long as she could read; she's been coming up with tall tales even longer than that. One of her early year masterpieces was a story about a pigtailed princess and her dragon sidekick. Nowadays, she still writes fantasy. She likes books with lots of action, adventure, and romance. When she is not busy writing or spending time with her two young children, she makes the world safe by fighting robots.
Ella is the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and International Bestselling Author of the paranormal and fantasy series Legion of Angels, Dragon Born, and Sorcery & Science.
Connect with Ella at
www.ellasummers.com
Ella Summers, Shadow World - 3 Book Collection
