Shadow glass the red mas.., p.1
Shadow Glass (The Red Masques Book 3), page 1
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
PART 2
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
M. Sinclair
Table of Contents
Copyright
Copyright © M. Sinclair, 2018. All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
*Fantasy Reverse Harem*
Vegas and her mean swear a lot. As well, please be advised that the book contains darker themes such as gore, assault, PTSD, and violence. Additionally, sexual themes are suitable for mature audiences +18.
For those who love our over the top alpha males AND our kickass heroines.
“Create an empire together.”
Chapter 1
Vegas
“Magic,” Luci stated again as her eyes filled with equal parts disbelief and concern for our mental well-being. I tried to ignore the feeling of tiny bird bones crunching under my feet as I swallowed with difficulty, my conversation with the boys now forgotten in trade for a very worried best friend and her girlfriend.
Lucida had returned from the hospital this Sunday afternoon and immediately made her way to our large blue Victorian and its garden of bird bones. The bones were an intentional addition. The supernatural community seemed to have macabre sense of decor. Now, she stood in shock as Miranda held her hand complete with five digits instead of the one that was missing a finger. I’m sure it was still healing, and the guilt associated with that knowledge was unending.
I caused that.
She had been hurt because of me and instead of being mad, she had come to warn me about my stalker, her captor, and his knowledge of my eccentric fire-play in high school. So, now I had thrown magic into her list of concerns. There was no walking away from that.
The exhaustion from our weekend beat down on my consciousness as mental stability began to elude me. Had it only been last week that Kodiak’s fever was my biggest concern? Fuck a duck. Or a swan. Either one at this point.
I met Lucida’s concerned gaze and took a moment to appreciate that, despite her current state of recover, she looked freakin’ fantastic. Then again, it was rare that she didn’t look great. Her bubblegum-pink hair looked freshly dyed and highlighted the pink lip gloss she wore. While one hand was wrapped in the area the missing digit existed, you could barely notice it. Her white sweater covered halfway down her palm. Her neon leggings and gym shoes stood in drastic contrast to her girlfriend’s outfit.
Miranda McCoy was a spitfire and loyal to a fault. She hailed from the Windy City. As such, most of our interactions had been over the phone. I didn’t know her as well as I wished, mostly because she was very important to Lucida. I could never deny that the two of them weren’t perfect for one another. While their styles contrasted like neon and pastel, they fit like two puzzle pieces. Today Miranda was looking far healthier than she had on Thursday. Her hair was pulled into a messy, bright red braid that highlighted her soft lavender dress and leggings. I would bet the two of them had gotten breakfast this morning downtown. They almost always did when she visited.
Shit. Look at me ruining their day with magic.
I was also distracting myself from the conversation that needed to be had.
“May I suggest,” Edwin’s voice purred over my shoulder, “that we move this conversation inside?”
Lucida nodded as I offered her a small smile and turned toward our large house. It wasn’t the best house in the area, but it was ours, dammit, and there was a sense of pride that came with that. I just hoped that someone cleaned up all these damn bones soon. Edwin walked next to me as the other boys began talking quietly, their voices and bodies betraying their exhaustion.
A cold shiver raced through me. I swallowed hard. Since the plane, my skin had felt chilled and my neck clammy with tension. I was going to be royally pissed if I got sick.
“Your body is regulating after using so much power,” Edwin spoke quietly addressing my concern. His dark curly hair was tied back and those amber eyes that faded into pumpkin-orange studied me with concern. It was hard to handle Edwin when he acted normal. It freaked me the fuck out.
“You’re going to explain all of this, right?” I snipped in a vain attempt to hide my feelings. “I’m tired of being in the dark, Edwin.”
He closed his eyes and hummed out a sound at my lips forming his name. Without agreeing, he lifted me up and around the message my stalker had left before leading me through the foyer. I was so caught off guard by his easy handling, I didn’t have a chance to yell at him before I was placed back down.
He called out to the group behind us. “I need to talk to Vegas for a moment. Lucida and Miranda, if you would like an explanation, you should wait with the others in the sitting room.”
A low growl came from Kodiak as he entered. “Stop giving orders. It’s not your damn house.”
Normally, Edwin let comments like that roll off his shoulders. Honestly. So, it surprised me when his cold, icy power leaked out and those controlled eyes snapped to dark. Instead of saying anything, he leveled Kodiak with a look that had me feeling on edge.
My eyes went wide. Kodiak studied him for a moment before walking toward the sitting room.
Damn it. Living room. I would not talk like him.
The other boys shuffled past, exhausted. Only Blue met Edwin’s gaze with an equally, if not more disturbing, look. Edwin was exercising his authority right now, but it was only because Blue was letting him. It wasn’t the first time the pair had butted heads. I predicted it wouldn’t be the last.
“Come here.” Edwin spoke calmly and intertwined his warm, rough palm with mine. I was so surprised by the action that instead of pulling away, I let him lead me toward the kitchen. I ignored how warm his smoky scent made me feel.
Then the man began making coffee. Damn him. Brownie points for Edwin.
“I need answers,” I reminded him softly.
He started the machine up and turned back to face me, his face drawn from exhaustion. “And you will get them, Vegas. More than you probably want. I need your trust, though. I can give you knowledge on the Horde, magic, and anything else, but I can’t explain anything about your magic. Not yet.”
“Why the hell not, Edwin?” I snarled. I felt empathy for his exhaustion, but I also didn’t give much of a fuck. This was about me, after all. Not in an egotistical way. Literally, it was about me. Had anyone else set fire to a demon trying to rape them?
No. No they hadn’t. Okay, then. Glad that is handled.
Edwin snorted. His lip twitched at my thought.
I gasped, “You can’t read my mind, can you?”
His grin grew. “Not really, but sometimes things come through.”
My blush grew as I folded my arms and raised my chin. “Stop distracting me from our conversation.”
Edwin muttered something in Italian and frowned. “Unfortunately, and much to my dismay, I have not been given all the gritty details regarding your power and its origins. The details I do have would likely just confuse you further. We need to wait for my cousin to share his knowledge.”
“You have a cousin researching me?” I tilted my head to the side.
“Correct, dolcezza,” he purred while starting to pour several cups of coffee. “As it stands though, what you need to understand about yourself is simple. You are different than humans given the sight and even from mages born with the sight. You have magic without a blood ink tattoo and that is very dangerous because… well, it’s impossible. Impossible things are always dangerous.”
“So, I’m a freak,” I determined with a dry look.
“No, you’re unique.” He grinned softly, affection simmering in his gaze. “Besides normal is rather boring. Don’t you agree?”
As he handed me a coffee, I flushed at the spark his hand created when touching mine. I didn’t miss the heat in his eyes as he grabbed three other mugs. I followed behind him quietly and realized if he wasn’t going to give me answers regarding my magic, the next best thing would be magic itself. We needed to be prepared.
“Oh, wow,” I commented with a stunned chuckle. Lucida looked up from her phone and an exhausted Miranda resting on her lap. The other boys, save Blue and Kodiak, were passed out cold. Even Rocket had his eyes closed as he sat, sunk into a large comfortable chair.
Edwin looked at Byron dozing and nodded as if confirming something. “Kitchen?”
Kodiak grunted and took a coffee cup before pulling me into his pine scent. I grinned at the twisted expression on Blue’s face as he took a sip of his coffee. He was soooo not a sugar person and Edwin had heaped a lot of sugar into the cups. Lucida placed a gentle kiss on Miranda’s forehead and followed us with a bouncy pep in her step.
Lucida sat on top of the counter. Kodiak pulled me onto his lap at the small, dated island. Blue leaned against the counter and stared at Edwin until he began speaking.
“First,” Edwin looked at Lucida, “I want to make you very aware that Miranda does not need to be privy to this conversation. You, on the other hand, don’t have much of an option anymore.”
My best friend’s forehead furrowed. “Explain.”
“You have the sight,” Edwin indicated softly. He rolled up his sleeve to showcase a beautiful and intricate red masque tattoo.
“I thought she didn’t,” I demanded. Lucida’s eyes traced over the tattoo before granting him a pointed stare.
Edwin continued. “She didn’t. Then she came back from being held by our little stalker. It only solidifies that he practices magic and exposed her to it.”
My head snapped to her. “Is that true?”
Her beautiful skin paled, but her expression remained neutral. “I passed out after a bit usually, but I did see some weird shit.”
Then her eyes lit up. “Explains why I couldn’t find the fucker even with the local stations on board. Just wait until I get my hands on that asshole and his massive boots. I’m going to shove his dick up his ass and...”
Blue started chuckling. Edwin’s eyes widened. Kodiak harrumphed an agreement and began to play with my hair. The motion earned him a hearty scowl from Blue. Blue didn’t like anyone touching my hair. My blood thrummed remembering our moment earlier that day, his forceful grip on my hair in the shower. My thoughts must have been loud. Blue’s denim baby blues heated.
“I’m still pissed you didn’t tell me about the P.I. thing.” I took a sip of my coffee. “Or that they were doing sneaky shit behind my back.”
“You can’t be pissed at me, Ve.” Lucida grinned and waved her left hand around. “I have sympathy points forever, now.”
I chuckled despite the guilt. “Oh, man. So, what? Now I can’t call you on your shit?”
“I mean, you could.” She sighed dramatically. “But would you really pick on a poor defenseless....”
I sputtered. “Defenseless my ass! I call bullshit!”
“Oh,” she chuckled and took a sip of my coffee. “That reminds me. We need to work out some self-defense classes for you.”
Kodiak nodded his approval. “That is a fantastic idea. I mean, unless you can do that fire shit all the time.”
Blue smiled with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Beautiful, are you going to light up every time you get mad at us, now?”
“Light your ass on fire?” I smirked. “I might.”
Lucida leaned forward. “What’s this about fire?”
Edwin smacked his palms down on the counter. The black shadows that wrapped up his arms from the tips of his fingers stilled us all. My eyes snapped up to find him waiting patiently.
Lucida hit me with the back of her hand. She spoke in a whisper. “Dude. You saw that right?”
I snorted. “No shit.”
Edwin groaned, unamused with our antics. It made me worry about just how tired he really was. Then I was pissed I was worried about him. His lips twitched which pissed me off even more. The fucker could totally read my mind.
Not really, dolcezza. I could just tell you were annoyed right after you looked concerned. Now, though? You’re projecting.
“Fucking shit!” I jumped out of Kodiak’s chair and frowned at Edwin. “Get out of my head!”
Blue frowned at Edwin who feigned confusion. Kodiak wasn’t buying it. He let out a low rumble and tugged me back on his lap. I curled in comfortably with a narrowed look at our own personal magical asshat.
“So,” Edwin looked back at Lucida. “If you tell Miranda any of this, it will expose her. Even if she doesn’t have the sight, it could place her in danger. That being said, you need to personally decide if you want to actively pursue magic, or just live with the sight.”
“What’s the sight?”
“The sight is what an individual is granted once they have witnessed or experienced magic despite being human. It also means that you are able to see blood ink tattoos and have a small, yet helpful idea of what type of creatures surround you.”
Lucida blinked twice before looking at me. “Is he serious?”
I nodded taking another sip of coffee. “Deadly.”
I snorted at my inadvertent joke. Edwin had created a slaughterhouse in Las Vegas. Deadly didn’t even begin to describe what he was capable of. Edwin met me my eyes with an amused look before focusing back on Lucida.
“What type of creatures are there?” Lucida asked a question that piqued my own curiosity.
Edwin grinned, almost wistfully. “That’s a big question with an even bigger answer. Outside of Earth realm, our universe is filled to the brim with an infinite number of realms invisible to the human eye.”
“Why hide it from humans if they, just an assumption here, outnumber us?” Blue asked.
Edwin’s eyes sparkled. “We can thank the god realm for that.”
He explained further, his voice tinged with both annoyance and amusement. “The mythos states that when the cosmos gods created Earth, they dictated it to be the central hub and single portal for all other realms. Humans developed through natural evolution and without magic, creating somewhat of a situation. Now we keep them shielded from it because, frankly, they don’t do well with ‘weird.’”
“All right,” Blue nodded as if this was okay.
It wasn’t.
So, gods existed. Wow. Alright then. No big deal. Let’s just carry on with our day as if I don’t have a million questions.
“Where do we fit into all this?” I asked instead.
“Well,” Edwin sipped his coffee with a detached elegance that irked me. “The Fae realm consists of three kingdoms.”
“You’re a fairy?!” I jumped up a little as Kodiak shifted underneath me. I didn’t miss how hard he gripped my hips or the unapologetic way he had hardened underneath me. Kodiak never apologized for anything, let alone his body reacting to mine.
Edwin scowled, but amusement flickered in those pumpkin eyes. “Not exactly. The Fae realm is split into three kingdoms. The Light, Dark, and the Horde. The latter consists of all the rejects and half-breeds of Fae society. Light and Dark don’t appreciate anything but pure blood.”
“Assholes,” Lucida muttered in defense of a place she didn’t know.
“We aren’t any better,” Edwin grimaced, distracted. “Byron and I are part of the mage community under King Silas’s rule of the Horde. Our representative, Colliard, has a bone to pick regarding humans turned mage.”
“You’re not human?” Blue frowned.
Edwin’s brows pushed together. “Partially. You see when a Fae mates with a human, the child is born with the sight automatically. If there was a Fae and human that mated anywhere within our genetic line, then we are born mages. It is much different than the way you lot received the sight. Colliard has an issue with, in his words, the ‘unnatural expansion of our community.’”
“What does King whatever-his-name think?” Lucida asked. This is why Lucida was so fucking awesome. She formulated the important questions when I began overthinking and got overwhelmed as well as tongue-tied. Damn. I could totally see why she was a good investigator.
Edwin snorted. “King Silas is useless. Although, word is that the ruling power is going to change soon. No one can predict if it will be for the better, however.”
“So, he is biased and discriminates against human-made mages just because he was born with magic? Is that why the leprechaun wouldn’t give us the blood ink tattoo?” It all sounded crazy as the words dropped from my lips.
“Exactly,” Edwin agreed. “Now, the Horde also consists of half-shifters and half-demons. All of them seek refuge in the Horde because no one cares about Fae purity there.”
“Were your parents Fae, then?” I asked confused.
Edwin shook his head. “They were like Bryon and me. For mages, it doesn’t matter how far down the line your pure human or Fae side exists. The magic perseveres. Honestly, lineage gets very confusing in the Horde because no one cares to keep track of it. Not to mention, the Fae pure-bloods often send their bastard children there.”
