Page 42 of Arcane Entanglement

Magnus’s chin quivered. “Do you really mean that, your Grace?!” he choked.

“Yes. I shall convince my Commander to release you.”

“Evander,” Rufus warned, “you know that might not be possible.”

Evander jutted his chin out. “The man is innocent, Rufus. You and I both know it. I will not have him rot in prison while we finish solving this case. I’ll speak to Winterbourne. Hell, I will get him out even if I have to see the Commissioner himself!”

Viggo drew a sharp breath. Even Solomon looked stunned at Evander’s declaration.

“You best not argue with him, sir,” Shaw told Rufus. “You know what his Grace is like once he makes up his mind. He’s as stubborn as the son of a mule.”

“I hardly want to hear that from you, Miss Shaw,” Evander muttered.

Magnus sniffed and wiped his gleaming eyes. “But—I must have hurt you.”

Evander grimaced. “Having my head nearly crushed was not the most pleasant experience.” He paused. “To be fair, Lady Hartley did shoot you in the back of your skull. Twice.”

Magnus startled. “She did?!”

“Yes. If it wasn’t for the fact that you’re a Brute, you would have been in trouble.”

“Oh.” Magnus touched the back of his head. “My ma always said I had a hard skull—” He froze, brow wrinkling. “What’s that?”

“What do you mean?” Viggo said.

Magnus twisted on the bench. “There’s something there. Can you see it?!” His voice rose, panic setting in at whatever it was he was feeling.

Something glinted about an inch above his hairline.

Goosebumps broke out on Evander’s skin, his instincts as an Archmage warning him of imminent danger.

Viggo scowled. “What the devil?!” He reached for it.

“No!” Evander made to grab his hand. “Don’t touch?—!”

Viggo’s fingers grazed the object buried at the base of Magnus’s skull just as Evander grasped his wrist.

The force that whomped out of it knocked Viggo off the bench and sent Evander crashing onto the floor. Viggo flew across the cell and smashed into a wall with a grunt, the impact cracking the surface.

A bellow of pain left Magnus.

Evander’s heart raced as he pushed up on his elbows and watched the Brute clutch his head, his face a mask of agony. Magnus’s roar cut off just as abruptly as it’d started. He collapsed to the ground and began convulsing.

It’s a cursed artefact!

Magic warmed Evander’s blood as he jumped to his feet.

“Sergeant Griffiths, evacuate the other cells and isolate this floor!” he barked. “Miss Shaw, go get Mrs. Scarborough! Rufus, guard the door with Solomon!”

The room’s occupants unfroze, his rapid-fire orders bringing them to life. Shaw and Griffiths ran out of the cell.

Magnus’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. His back arched and his heels drummed the stone floor, his laboured gasps loud in the stunned hush.

Viggo straightened from the wall.

“What’s happening to him?!” he said numbly.

“I’ll explain later.” Evander shrugged out of his coat and undid his cravat hastily, his chest tight with dread. “You have to pin him down and stop him from biting his tongue!”