Page 85 of Magic Claimed

We would have to reveal that humans could use stolen Idrian magic.

“How long?” Callum’s voice was dangerously calm.

“Since Elayara.”

I could see him calculating. Assessing.

“It was the gem, wasn’t it?”

She shrugged, but it did seem the most likely culprit.

When Tairen had ended the battle with Elayara by eating her, she’d also consumed one of the fae queen’s magic-imbued artifacts—a clear, faceted gem.

“It was absorbed when I shifted back,” she admitted. “There are no precedents to work from, so no one can tell me what to expect.”

“That’s why you left,” Callum said softly. “Instead of staying here to spend time with Kira. You didn’t want her to find out and feel guilty.”

His mother folded her arms and glared at him. “And if you tell her now, I will kill you myself.”

“She’ll figure it out. She’s not stupid.”

But Kirawasdistracted—by her mate’s absence, the dangers of the Fae Court, and the destruction of The Portal.

“For now, the best option is for me to stay here,” Tairen said, in a tone that suggested she would not be accepting any competing arguments at this time. “I’m visible but also protected. It should decrease the scrutiny on the rest of the Idrian population while they decide what is to be done with me. What kind of due process is demanded, what kind of sentencing is even possible. I can’t help you with the threat posed by this Blake person, or with the rebuilding, or searching for the missing children. But this?”

“They’ll hate you,” Callum warned. “This will be loud and messy and public. You’ll be the focal point for millions of unjustified grudges. Fear mongering. Name calling. All of it.”

Callum’s mother huffed in amusement. “If I could not bear a few insults with dignity, I would never have attempted to lead our people. Now get out. The best resolution is for this monster—and his artifacts and his plans for war—to be annihilated, so there is no chance of this happening again. To anyone.”

We madeour way outside in silence—both of us lost in our own thoughts—until we headed for Callum’s car and found our path blocked by a mass of people exiting a bus. No, make that two buses. Three…

They were a diverse group of varying ages, with one thing in common. All of them held what appeared to be handmade signs, some small, some large, some rolled up like banners waiting to be unfurled—a protest, I assumed, but they wereeerily quiet. Not filled with energy or indignation, but focused and moving together.

“Hold on,” I murmured to Callum as we crossed the street towards Bicentennial Park. “I want to see what’s going on here.”

As soon as we reached the park, I paused under a tree, pulled out my phone, and pretended to snap some cute couple selfies. And as I posed—as awkwardly as possible—I kept an eye on the crowd.

The moment they were all off the buses, they began assembling in front of City Hall, unfurling their banners, and raising their signs. And it didn’t take long for me to realize what kinds of messages had been written on those signs.

Monsters are among us!

Keep our children safe!

The alien invasion is already here!

The new Cold War - End Magic Now!

“This isn’t good at all,” I muttered, snapping several shots of the crowd under the guise of more selfies. “What do you want to bet that Blake trucked them in here just to make sure everyone stays on edge?”

“Could also be coincidence,” Callum pointed out. “There are numerous anti-magic groups that have existed ever since Idria fell. This is exactly the kind of publicity they live for.”

But I wasn’t sure I believed in coincidence. Not when I’d seen Blake’s hand already at work, stirring up unrest in the city I now called home. Not when he’d been ahead of us every step of the way, with months to continue planning while we searched desperately for clues.

I was snapping a few more pictures when my phone began to buzz with incoming texts.

From Logan.

not just tabitha and jeremiah