Page 51 of Ignited Spirits (Haunted Magic #3)

“Do not apologize, mate,” I tell her through an understanding smile.

“You are allowed to be angry and scared and need to take it out on someone. I am more than strong enough to weather it. And I know you are strong enough to survive the confrontation with Lua. I have witnessed many battles with far worse odds and far weaker people than this.”

Her eyes light with a hope that, while weak, still flickers. “I don’t feel particularly strong.”

“That is what your mates are here for. When you cannot see your strength or your resilience or your perseverance, we will see it for you. We will remind you of it when you feel defeated. We will carry you when you feel like you cannot go any further.”

She does not seem to know what to say as she digests my words. I do not make any move to rush her. Eventually, she settles on, “You’re super sweet for a dude who could wipe out multiple realms without a second thought.”

I chuckle and trace her cheekbone with the pad of my thumb. “Thank you, mate. Do you feel like continuing on to rally more support, or do you wish to rest here for longer?”

Her face fills with determination. “Let’s keep gathering support.

We don’t have infinite time, and I’m feeling energized by your pep talk.

” Surprising me, Izzy lifts onto her toes and presses her lips to mine.

I clench my hands into fists to avoid the temptation to touch my little mate.

She notices and pulls back, laughing softly. “You’re allowed to touch me, Legion.”

I press a hand against her lower back and pull her against me before leaning down to rasp, “If I start touching you, mate, we will not leave this underground city anytime soon. And the jaguars will get quite the show of me taking you again and again and again until you pass out from the pleasure.”

Pride rattles around in my chest when I see her gaze fill with heat at the prospect of me fucking her.

Her eyes widen in surprise and her cheeks turn an enticing shade of pink. “Understood. No touching,” she squeaks.

“Good job, bro ,” the pup tells me in our mind, able to watch what is happening, even when he is not in control.

“ I’m surprised you have enough game to make her blush when you’re a certified ancient, crusty old man.

Maybe it’s not so bad getting body jacked by you, especially if you only do it to help Izzy. ”

I wince because I should have asked him before assuming control. I apologize. Would you like me to give back control?

“Nah, I’m good for now. I enjoy watching you shooting your shot with our mate. It’s highly amusing,” the pup tells me with a smile in his voice.

I… do not know what that means, but I will not protest being in control for longer.

When I do not say anything further, Izzy’s oldest brother turns back toward us, almost as red as my mate is. “So, uh, are we going to Elemental now?” His voice is higher pitched than normal, and the discomfort is plain to see on his face.

The other brother is just watching with a very amused grin on his face.

“Yep.” She looks as uncomfortable as her oldest brother. “Sorry, Rhys.”

He huffs a laugh. “Nothing to be sorry about. It’s normal, but I really, really don’t want to hear about it.”

She laughs. “Understood. I don’t particularly want to hear about any of your conquests, either.”

The younger one gives the older one a large grin tinged with self-satisfaction. “You won’t, because Rhys hasn’t banged anyone in ages.”

Rhys slowly turns to glare at his brother before reaching over and punching him in the shoulder hard enough to send him stumbling. He gives Aiden an innocent look and a shrug when Aiden narrows his eyes on him. “Oops.”

“Portal’s open,” her mage says, his voice lined with exasperation. “Let’s go before the three of you start a wrestling match here.”

Izzy gasps dramatically. “Me? Wrestle with my brothers? I would never. I’m way too much of a lady for that.”

Bishop shakes his head at her but cannot hide his amused smile at her antics.

She starts for the portal, but her mage sticks out his arm to stop her. Izzy glances up at him with a frown. She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, her brothers walk through the rift in space.

She huffs and walks through the magic after them, and I hurry to follow her.

I am surprised that the creatures of this planet have figured out how to travel through space so efficiently. For such a young species, they have discovered many very advanced concepts. It would be a shame if the cura managed to wipe them all out.

“What the actual fuck, Rhys?” a man I have never seen before yells at the oldest brother. He is tall with sandy blond hair, a pale complexion, and lean muscles that make it clear he is not a shifter. “I thought you were dead or captured or worse!”

“I’m sorry, man. It’s just… been a shit show, if I’m honest. I couldn’t make up the crap we’ve been through if I tried.” Her oldest brother sounds almost as exhausted as I know my little mate is.

Whatever happens, it will all be over tomorrow. Whether it will be the outcome my mate desires, I do not know. But I have full confidence in her capabilities, and I will do everything I can to help her overcome any challenges.

The blond man, who I’m fairly certain is a mage, based on his peppery scent, sobers. “I heard about your dad. I’m sorry about him. I can help you break him out if you need. Off the books, of course.”

Izzy snorts because her father is already broken out of prison.

The man looks at her in surprise, his green eyes widening before softening when he realizes who she is. “Hey, Izzy. What are you doing here?”

A growl rumbles in my chest at an unmated mage unrelated to my mate speaking to her. She turns around and raises her eyebrows at me, wordlessly asking me what’s wrong.

I shake my head, not wanting her to worry about my possessiveness right now. It’s just a trait of anguia. We are very possessive over our mates.

It is a good thing that anguia females also have multiple mates, or I would struggle with sharing Izzy. As it is, I would rather have her to myself, but I can live with the fact that she will never be only mine.

After staring at me worriedly for a long moment, she faces back toward the newcomer. “Hey, Logan. And, well, we might want to go somewhere more private if you want to be filled in.”

“Know where Dec is?” Rhys asks. “Might as well have you all here if we’re going to have this conversation.”

The man’s forehead wrinkles in worry. “That’s not ominous at all, but, yeah, I know where he is. Why don’t we meet in your office, Rhys? I’ll meet you guys there in a few minutes.”

With a nod, Rhys takes off down the hallway in one direction while the blond man takes off down the other. Our procession moves silently down the navy-blue hallway dotted with doors every so often. The only sound is the tapping of our shoes on the slate-tiled floor.

After less than a minute of walking, we come to a stop in front of a dark-wood door with a brushed brass nameplate that says “Rhys Gallagher” on it.

Letting his magic out, Rhys directs it toward the keyhole. After a moment, the door clicks open, and Rhys leads us all inside.

“Take a seat,” he tells us as he gestures distractedly at his office. He makes a beeline to his desk and starts flipping through the stack of papers placed there with a frown on his face.

Izzy and Aiden hop up onto the walnut desktop, swinging their legs in unison, looking every inch of the siblings they are.

Bishop rests his hip on the desk edge next to our mate, placing his hand on her thigh. The two wolves take the emerald-green chairs in front of the desk, and Leviathan stands at the other corner of the desk.

I opt to stand against the wall, where I have a good visual to ensure no one tries to attack my mate.

It’s not long before the blond man walks through the door with a black-haired man with onyx-colored eyes that stand out starkly against his skin. He has the same lean muscles as the first one, so I assume he, too, is a mage.

“Logan, Dec, this is Luca and Archer Nightshade and Cain Blackthorne, three of Izzy’s mates. The tall guy with tattoos is Leviathan, another one of her mates. Guys, this is Logan Shannahan and Declan O’Brian, the co-owners of Elemental, along with Bishop and me.”

The blond one named Logan tilts his head as he looks at our mate skeptically. “Not that I’m not thrilled for her, because she’s an awesome person and absolutely deserves mates, but how does Izzy have mates when she has no magic?”

Izzy winces. “Um, yeah, about that. So, I actually have magic.” She lets her mage and cura magic fill her hands. The two men gasp in surprise, and she looks apologetic. “Sorry, guys.”

“When the fuck did you get magic?” the black-haired one asks.

Blowing out a breath, Izzy reluctantly admits, “When I was seven.”

He looks a little hurt as he turns to Rhys. “You didn’t trust us enough to tell us? You know we would’ve had your back, man. We never would’ve told anyone about it.”

“It’s not about that,” Izzy says before Rhys has a chance to respond.

“Knowing would put you in danger when the council inevitably found out. Rhys didn’t tell you to keep you safe, not because he doesn’t trust you.

I’m pretty sure Rhys would’ve rather had you two as his siblings than Aiden and me, if I’m being honest.”

Rhys snorts at that and shakes his head. Logan and Declan crack a smile before sobering.

Logan asks, “What’s this about, Rhys?”

Rhys, who has been pacing the length of his office, shoves a hand through his hair before facing the other mages. He scrubs a hand over his face before he fills them in on everything that has happened and what we will attempt to do tomorrow in vague terms.

Lua Mater can watch anything that happens in this realm, other than in the underground city. She can also spy on some of Infernus , but anywhere the Styx flows is obscured from her view. We cannot risk telling them too much and having the cura learn about it.

“So, in summary, you need us to engage in a giant battle like we did last year. Only, the fate of the entire fucking universe is hanging in the balance and your little sis, instead of some wolf chick, is the only one who can stop it?” Declan asks.

Rhys tilts his head in thought before nodding. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Welp, at least life is never boring with you Gallaghers.” Logan flashes Rhys a smile. “We’ll get on rallying the troops. When do you need us ready by?”

Izzy grimaces. “Tomorrow?” It comes out as more a question than a statement with how high her voice gets.

Logan laughs while Declan looks like he cannot decide whether to scream or cry. When he gets his laughter under control, Logan says, “Sounds about right. We’ll do what we can, but some people will have to stay on assignment.”

“I figured. Thanks, guys,” Rhys tells them. “Izzy and her mates need to get going, but we’ll pick you up and everyone else in the morning.”

The mages all say their goodbyes before Izzy opens a portal back to Infernus so we can finish preparing for the battle tomorrow and get some sleep. I have faith in my mate that she will be able to stop Lua, but I cannot help but worry what it will cost her to do so.