Magic Kingdom (Dragon Born Alexandria Book 3) (12 page)

“I wouldn’t have just tried, love. I would have succeeded.”

Eva looked at Alex and Sera. “Ladies, why oh why, are we attracted to such arrogant men?”

“It’s not being arrogant,” Logan told them. “It’s being self-assured.”

Kai nodded. That was probably the first time the two of them had ever agreed on anything.

Sera sighed. “I do love a man who knows how to get things done.”

“Having one that’s easy on the eye doesn’t hurt either,” Alex added, taking pizza slices for herself and Sera.

The sisters nodded at each other, then blew kisses at their men.

“You know, in some ways they are so different,” Logan said to Kai.

“And yet so completely alike,” Kai finished for him.

“And now they’re together.” Callum handed Dal a pizza box. “You’d better eat up, man. You’ll need all your magic and then some to heal those two when they get themselves into trouble.”

“We might get ourselves into trouble,” Alex began.

“But we always get ourselves out of it again,” Sera finished.

“Precisely,” Alex said, then took a bite of her pizza.

Sera laughed. “I’m glad I came, Alex. I missed you.”

Tony walked back into the living room. Dal cleared the stack of empty pizza boxes away, making room for him to set the tower of new deliveries onto the coffee table. Everyone converged on the pizzas. Tony returned to his seat on the big sofa with the commandos. Naomi joined them. Alex pulled Sera onto the other big sofa as Logan and Kai sat down on either side of them.

“Why did you come?” Alex asked Sera. She grinned. “And how long can you stay?”

“We came because Kai is attending the Magic Council summit. While he’s saving the world in dull meetings—” Sera winked at Kai. “—the guys and I are going to keep an eye on things outside the meeting hall. Alden is gathering his forces. He has the power to bewitch people. He’s already turned some Magic Council members to his side. A few of them have defected publicly, but we suspect there are more members he’s turned, lying in wait until the time is right to make their move.”

“How do you know?” Alex asked.

“There have been information leaks, leaks that could only have come from a Council member,” Kai said. “We can’t trust anyone, not anymore. This is why we must keep all of this between us. We cannot involve outside people. We need to conduct the investigation ourselves.”

“We believe one of the defectors will make a move at the summit,” Sera said. “Possibly by allowing Alden in so that he can cast his spell over the Council. We need to draw this person out before Alden makes his move.”

“He certainly picked the perfect time and place,” Alex commented. “Right now, we already have monsters going wild and a supernatural thief who can control ghosts, disappear from thin air and reappear halfway across the city, and wield green fire that burns through anything.”

“Sounds like a friendly fellow,” commented Sera.

Alex sighed. “How do I fight someone like that? How do I stop him? Such a person shouldn’t exist.”

“Maybe such a person doesn’t exist,” said Logan.

“What do you mean? Like he’s a phantom of some sort?”

“No. I mean, what if he’s borrowing powers? The Convictionites—humans—can borrow magic. What’s to stop a supernatural from doing the same, from boosting his own magic by adding additional powers?”

“Nothing, I guess,” replied Alex.

“I agree with the assassin’s assessment,” Kai said.

The corner of Logan’s mouth curled up—if only just a little. “The great Kai Drachenburg agrees with me? A shock.”

“I don’t take issue with your competence, only with your methods.”

Logan laughed. “Your methods are no better.”

“Perhaps. In any case, your assessment makes sense. This thief could be using drugs and artifacts and maybe even bottled magic to access so many different branches of magic. Just like the Wicked Witch.” He looked at Alex. “Tell me about the magic you sensed at the scenes.”

“There was none.”

“None?”

“At the two scenes we checked out, the green fire scorched it from the air,” she said. “There were two more thefts tonight that we believe are related, but thanks to all the monster attacks, we haven’t had a chance to check them out yet. But I think the monsters are starting to settle down. I’ll go out again after I eat.”

“There’s no need. Send me the locations.” His magic hummed with amusement. “I believe you have my number.”

Alex pulled out her phone and forwarded the list to him.

Kai turned toward the commandos. “Take a look at Alex’s scenes.” His fingers flew across the screen of his phone. “Report back with any information you can gather.”

Nodding, the commandos stood up and marched out of the living room, Tony in the lead.

Alex turned to Logan. “We have got to get our own commando squad. We could send them to do our bidding and fetch us coffee and stuff. It would be awesome.”

“How stealthy are they?” Logan asked Kai.

“Stealthier than I am.”

“That’s not saying much, Drachenburg.”

“I know.” Kai grabbed another pizza box. He must have eaten the equivalent of two extra large pizzas by now.

Sera set her hand on his arm. “Thanks for sending the guys so Alex and I can have some time together.”

“I knew you would like that.” The fierce devotion in his eyes as he looked at Sera was almost frightening.

“I do,” Sera said.

“So do I. Thanks.” Alex squeezed her sister’s hand. “He’s such a sweetie.”

“Shh, don’t spread it around,” Sera said. “He’s trying to pretend he’s a big, bad, spiky dragon.”

Alex leaned forward to look at him. “So, what do big, bad, spiky dragons know about green fire that melts concrete?”

“Nothing, I’m afraid.”

“This house belongs to a prominent monster hunter who retired to warmer climates. He has an extensive library of magical texts. Maybe we can find something in there,” Eva suggested.

“Research?” Alex asked.

Sera smirked at her. “Try not to sound so horrified.”

“I’d rather go kill monsters.”

“So would I,” said Sera. “We could have really used Riley on this trip. He’s great at research.”

“He’d want to check out the crime scenes with the commandos, not stay behind in the library,” Kai said.

“Riley has been helping me out lately,” Sera told Alex. “He’s good. He can convince people to give up information without pulling out a weapon. Or being sarcastic.”

“Mind-boggling.”

“It really is,” said Sera.

“I wish he were here. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him.” Alex sighed. “I miss him.”

“He wanted to come, but he’s busy getting ready for graduation. June 25
th
, by the way. Be there.”

“I will,” Alex promised. “Even if I have to fight my way through a horde of monsters, I am going to see my brother graduate.”

“Nelly Winterspice at the Fairy Queen already has a dress reserved for you to wear at the ceremony.”

“Great. Nelly always knows how to pick a dress that makes my legs look long and my boobs look big.”

“Ok, it’s settled. I have got to visit the Fairy Queen,” Naomi declared. “What I wouldn’t give for long legs.”

“You could use magic to make them longer,” suggested Eva.

Naomi sighed. “I tried that, but they ended up looking like pieces of Play-Doh that had been stretched out.”

“I haven’t figured it out either. I’m still stuck on hair and eye color changes. Sometimes, I really wish I were a full fairy. Or a full mage. Being stuck between the two just means I can’t use either type of magic well.”

“Yeah,” Naomi said. “I know exactly what you mean. I can’t perform an elemental spell to save my life.”

“Marek is helping me with my fire,” Eva said.

Naomi’s blue eyes lit up with golden sparkles.

“Not like that.” A smile slid across Eva’s pink lips. “Ok, yes, like that too.”

The cousins laughed. Marek sat up a little taller. He looked very pleased with himself.

“This conversation has taken a troubling turn,” Logan told Kai.

“Perhaps I sent the guys away too soon,” Kai replied.

“What would you talk about if they were still here?” Sera asked. “Football?”

“Anything but Marek’s love life,” Logan said.

“We’ll behave now.” Eva set her hands primly on her lap and looked at her cousin. “Naomi, how was your evening out?”

“Short,” replied Naomi. “But at least I might have a lead now on where the kidnapped hybrids are being held.”

“Hybrids are still being taken?” Sera asked, her voice—and her magic—dipping in worry.

“Yes. I don’t know who is behind all of this, but I will stop them. I will save those people.” You didn’t have to be able to sniff out magic to sense the determination pouring out of Naomi.

“So Spitfire was the right place to visit?” Eva asked.

“The club itself was a bust. But as I was leaving, a fairy in a cloak attacked me. I think he was testing me. In the middle of the fight, he suddenly stopped and told me I was ‘just the person for the job’. Then he disappeared, leaving behind a paper with the word ‘hybrids’ and an address. I looked it up. It’s Nymphenburg Palace.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Alex said. “A strange fairy you’ve never met attacked you in the street. Then, deciding you are worthy of doing his bidding, he disappeared without further explanation, leaving behind a piece of paper that proclaims it will lead you to hybrids.”

“Yeah.”

“And you believe this fairy is leading you to kidnapped hybrids?” Sera asked her.

“Well…there’s something else,” Naomi said. “When the fairy was attacking me, I got a vision. It was about a man.”

“Do tell,” Alex said, lacing her fingers together.

“He had cropped black hair and dark golden eyes that shone with magic. He wore cloth pants and no shirt, like he was in some kind of hardcore martial arts tournament. Except he was armed. He had a few knives and a bow, but I don’t think he needed them. He was built with the strong, muscular body of a predator, a beast in human form. He had beautifully bronze skin with intricate tattoos on his chest and down one arm. They look like ancient magical tattoos. There were even some dragons in the tattoo design patterns.”

“So, you are going to try to find this dreamy guy from your visions?” Sera asked her, wiggling her eyebrows.

“He sounds delicious,” Alex said.

Sera nodded in agreement, but she quickly molded her face into the picture of innocence when Kai gave her a hard look. Alex, on the other had, had no shame. When Logan shot her his piercing assassin’s stare, she smirked back at him and gave him a coy wink. Sera chuckled.

“Don’t worry,” Alex told the guys. “This dreamy dragon tattoo man is only for Naomi.”

“It’s not like that,” Naomi said. “I have this feeling that I’m meant to save him. He’s trapped. And he is sad, suffering. Tormented.”

“It sounds like a trap,” Alex told her.

“It could be your fairy attacker messing with her mind,” Sera agreed.

“But I’m immune to that kind of magic,” said Naomi.

“Then maybe it’s a demon who wants to trick you into releasing him from hell,” Sera said. “Demons play mind tricks like that.”

“No, it’s real. I can feel it,” Naomi insisted. “I don’t know where this man is, but I think he’s the key to something important. If only I knew what. All I can say for certain is that he’s linked to the place where the hybrids are being kept. I have to go there to save them anyway. After I finish eating, I’m going to check it out.”

“I still say it sounds fishy,” Sera told her. “A fairy attacked you, handed you an address where you would just happen to find what you need, and now you’re getting visions. Strange visions are almost always bad news.”

“I have no other leads.” Desperation cut through Naomi’s voice. “I’ve been at this for weeks now, and I have nothing. I want to help these people. I have to help them. No one else is looking out for them. The councils of mages, fairies, and vampires only look out for their own.”

“That’s not true,” Kai said.

“Isn’t it?” Naomi demanded. “If I’m in trouble, who is supposed to look out me? The mages? Or the fairies? They can’t decide, and so they do nothing. Just like it’s always been.”

“If you’re in trouble,” Alex told her fiercely. “We will come for you.”

“Your friends,” Sera added.

“And family,” said Eva.

“Thanks.” Naomi smiled at them. “I’m lucky to have all of you. But you see, most hybrids aren’t so lucky. They don’t have a team of family and friends who are ass-kicking mercenaries. So I need to be the one to help them.”

“Please don’t go alone to check this out,” Sera said.

“I won’t be alone. I’m bringing my sword and crossbow.”

“And me,” Eva said.

“And me,” Marek added.

Naomi grinned at them. “Happy to have you along.”

“Nymphenburg Palace,” Kai said. He was already typing on his phone. “It’s currently closed off to the public.”

Logan nodded. “Ever since relations between supernaturals and humans soured, the family who owns the palace has closed their gates to visitors. It’s owned by two nymph sisters.”

“Nymphs own the palace?” Naomi asked, laughing.

“Of course,” Logan said. “Why else would it be called Nymphenburg Palace?”

Alex looked at him, trying to read past that granite mask. “You’re just making this up.”

“I don’t make things up.”

“The assassin is right,” said Kai. “Nymphs own the palace. It is usually closed, but they’re having a special gala tonight. By invitation only.” He glanced down at his buzzing phone. “You three are now invited. I’m sending you your tickets now.”

“Thank you,” Naomi said.

“I could get used to this,” Eva said, a devilish smile cracking her lips. “Hey, Kai, could you get Naomi and me tickets to the Fairy World fashion show next month? They’re all booked out.”

“That depends,” he replied, his face a mask of pure professionalism. “Will there be a major threat to the supernatural community at this event?”

“Uh, I guess there could be?” Eva said, hitting him with a dazzling fairy smile.

Dragons, it seemed, were immune to fairy charms. He gave her a flat look.

“Come on, darling,” Marek said, pulling her up from the sofa. “Let’s go and get changed before you offend him any further.”