“Yes,” he replied. “She spied me soon after we got here, watched us for a while, and when I fully looked up at her, she attacked. Then the other guy attacked before Edgar bit him.”
I vibrated with anger. What the hell? Not only did they have mages—surprise, indeed—but those mages attacked us?
We kindly ask that you give Drex a chance to explain,Vessa had said.After what we witnessed this morning, we are assured that our well-being is solely in your hands. We ask that you keep that in mind.
“Power level?” I asked as car tires squealed at the end of the street.
“I can’t be sure, but it appears not enough to do magic without using her hands,” he answered.
Smoke curled up as a red sedan slid around the corner. Everyone turned and braced as it sped toward us. The basajaunak’s hair puffed out and then they stepped forward until I held out my hand to stop them.
“And the guy down the street?” I asked, watching the car while simultaneously readying to cast and dive, if necessary, because I wasn’t nearly powerful enough to explode a car off the street.
“Didn’t seem strong. The two mages that ran out to help didn’t have the poise and arrogance of top tier mages. I’m not sure we need to be worried, but I also know next to nothing about them other than a snap judgment.”
“They didn’t attack and run, though,” I mused. The car started to slow at twenty feet away. Austin put his hand on my shoulder, probably getting ready to hustle me out of the way. “They kept attacking. Their friends came to attack.”
“Yeah,” Sebastian replied. “They aren’t cowards, but then, they might not have known they were outgunned.”
I shook my head in frustration as the driver door flew open and Vessa got out of the vehicle. She visibly slowed as she took in the scene, pausing on the woman being held by the gargoyles and then her people huddling to the sides, having run from the basajaunak.
I didn’t give her a chance to speak. “You thought it was somehow a good ideanotto tell us that you had mages in this town?” I walked closer, and Austin kept pace with me. “Drex knew a lot about us, and so I assume he knew we’ve had some run-ins with mages. And yet you thought springing them on us, having themattackus, was the best idea?”
“He wanted to explainwhythe mages are here,” she replied, stopping in front of us. “He thought he’d be able to do that afterthe challenge. He hadn’t realized he’d be incapacitated to this degree.” She shook her head, her gaze direct and apologetic. “I don’t know why they attacked. Please, give me a moment to find out what is going on. They’re skittish, these mages. They’ve had run-ins of their own. Drex will explain when he’s able.”
I put out my hand to keep her put. “You need to understand something. Your people areincrediblylucky Austin was here to stop Sebastian from killing that woman and the guy down the street. Austin was acting in good faith with your alpha and had the presence of mind to read the scene. If it had been anyone else, including me, you might haveseveraldead townspeople right now, not just a couple mages. Keeping us in the dark is about the stupidest thing you can possibly do. You have no idea how incredibly dangerous we really are.”
I lowered my hand but kept my stare levelled on hers. I’dloveto ring her bell right now, all their bells. I was tired and out of patience and energy. What sort of absolute moron would start a fight with us? Had they not heard about the basajaunak?
I gestured at the gargoyles holding the woman, while simultaneously daring the beta to challenge my authority. “Bring that mage over here. Let’s settle this right now.”
She dropped her gaze from mine in submission, a gesture that would probably make a shifter feel powerful, but I was just annoyed.
The woman’s brown eyes were wide with fear, and her gaze was rooted on Sebastian. As she neared us, her gaze flicked to Nessa, then back to Sebastian. Trembling, she tried to shrink away from Sebastian.
“Why’d you attack?” I asked without preamble.
Her gaze swung to me and darted back to Sebastian. “Do you know who that is? He might look disheveled and dorky now, but that’s all an act! You’ve got a snake in your bed. That is Elliot Graves, and the moment you turn around, he’ll kill you.”
“Ah.” The breath gushed out of me.
She struggled in the gargoyle’s hold.
“I will not go quietly!” she gritted out. “I will die before I work for himorthem, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you anything. I will not succumb to whatever it is you plan to do to me.”
I put my hands on my hips, glancing at Sebastian with raised eyebrows.
He shrugged. “I don’t remember her face. Maybe a name would help?”
“Is she correct?” Vessa asked, her gaze wary. We were giving her a lot of nightmares with our visit.
I couldn’t admit who Sebastian was, not in front of all these people. Some, no doubt, filming this whole interaction on their phones through the shop windows. And even if the service up here was lousy, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t spread the word. It wasn’t time to tell the world that Elliot Graves and the Captain were our mysterious mage helpers, even though Momar probably knew already. He hadn’t told the mage community at large, so Niamh said we shouldn’t either. Not yet.
The problem was, I was bad at lying, especially to shifters. Anyway, I suspected they already knew the answer, considering Sebastian had essentially spoken on Elliot Graves’s behalf.
I sighed. “Look, I guess we’ve all got some secrets we need to chat about.If you stop attacking usyou won’t be in any danger. Otherwise, I’ll let the basajaunak loose.”
Vessa’s expression smoothed to hide her emotion. “Understood.”
