Page 63 of Magic Claimed

I shook my head. “It doesn’t always work that way.”

She stared at me as if she could somehow deduce the genuineness of my response by boring holes in my head with her eyes. And after a few moments, I could see some undefinable change in her posture. A settling. Achoice.

“This isn’t what I wanted,” she muttered savagely. “I never thought I would be asked to choose between loyalty to my king and my court. But… if the court has betrayed Callum, then I cannot stand behind them.” Her gaze met mine, burning amber with defiance. “I will defend him to the death.”

For a gryphon, that was no insignificant promise, and I felt a sudden surge of gratitude and… was thataffection? Weird as it seemed, I might actually be starting tolikeher.

“And if I bring my family here?”

Angelica’s nostrils flared, but she nodded tightly. “I will defend them as well.”

It might be grudging, but it was enough. My family would be safe, and I would be free to choose my battles.

Find the missing kids.

Defend the peace between humans and Idrians.

And fight for Callum’s life.

I wasn’t giving up on a single one.

“Also,” Angelica said, “I should probably mention that Callum is awake.”

Forget friendship. For about five seconds I envisionedmyself punching the blonde gryphon right in the face. Messing up her hair and ripping a few buttons off that perfectly pressed suit.

But as it turned out, I was a perfect model of manners and restraint who somehow managed to inform her of my opinion using my words rather than my fists.

“Yousuck,” I hissed fiercely.

And I had no idea how she responded, because by the time the final syllable was out of my mouth, I was halfway up the first flight of stairs and couldn’t see her face.

By the time I reached Callum’s apartment, I was two full flights ahead of both Angelica and Logan, and I found Ryker pacing just inside the door, his phone to his ear, his hair mussed, and his eyes wild.

He grabbed my arm, his grip so tight it nearly bruised. “Raine! What happened out there? Is everyone okay?”

“Everyone’s alive,” I told him with a weary shrug. “It’s not going to be an easy fix, but the danger is over for now.”

He let out a long breath through pursed lips, and his chin dropped to his chest in relief. “We heard a dragon, but we couldn’t leave to help or find out what was going on. One of the worst moments of my life.”

“Callum,” I said, gripping his arm in return and shaking it a little to get his attention. “Tell me what’s happening. He’s awake? He’s okay?”

He hesitated, so I pulled away and started for the bedroom, not willing to wait another moment.

Ryker didn’t let me get far.

“Yes,” he said hesitantly, “but also, no.”

I stopped, but kept my back to him, not trusting myself to look him in the eye. “What does that mean?”

“It means that he’s in and out of consciousness, but we aren’t actually sure how stable he is. He’s sleeping right now, but he fights us when he’s awake, and we can’t tell for certain whether he recognizes anyone. That’s why we’ve been calling you. I think you may be the only one who can reach him.”

My heart constricted, and I could barely swallow, but I wasn’t going to stop. I was scared, yes, but it didn’t matter. As long as Callum was alive, I would fight for him.

“Have you talked to your mom yet?”

He shook his head. “We wanted you to know first.”

“Call her,” I said grimly. “In fact, you may as well call an official family meeting, cause we’re about to have a whole lot to talk about.”