“Enough!” Remy ordered. “You will not speak to my guest in that manner. The Governing Council has already been informed I have claimed my Fated Mate so whoeverissued the order demanding my appearance has insulted meandmy Fated Mate.”
“Keeper? May I speak?” the second guard asked.
“Go ahead,” Remy said.
“I don’t know why we were given the order to take you to the Governing Council but it would seem that certain members don’t believe you are really the Keeper of All Magic.”
“How interesting,” replied Remy, “why would they doubt it?”
“Shut the fuck up,” muttered the first guard under his breath, shooting daggers at his fellow guard with his eyes.
“Keeper, may I?” asked Mystia.
“You may,” replied Remy.
Reciting a few incomprehensible words, Mystia waved her hands, silencing and paralyzing the first guard.
“Please answer my question,” Remy asked the second guard again, his voice deceptively calm.
Keeping his eyes on Mystia, the second guard said, “Uhm…the Council believes your claim to be false…uhm, because…uhm, because, you aren’t a low-level magic user so you cannot be the Keeper.”
“I thought so,” Remy said, his voice tinged with anger. “Do you believe I am the Keeper of All Magic?”
“I-I-I-don’t know,” the second guard replied, “I was told you didn’t have a Mystic Guardian…and that seems to be true because there isn’t another warlock here.”
“You were misinformed,” Remy said, walking over to his mate and placing his arm around him. “Carson is my Fated Mateandmy Mystic Guardian.”
The second guard’s eyes widened. “You have a dog for a mate?” he asked, his voice breaking.
“He’s a wolf shifter!” bellowed Remy. “Apologize immediately!”
The hapless guard watched as Mystia raised her hands and, fearing his fate, dropped to his knees, babbling out an apology.
Glancing at Mystia, Remy asked, “Why was he surprised about who Carson is?”
“Until now,” Mystia explained, “the Mystic Guardian has always been a magic user.”
“Well, I guess the Fates decided to shake things up a bit,” Remy chuckled.
“May I make a suggestion?” asked Mystia.
“By all means,” Remy agreed.
“Because this has never happened before, it might be helpful if Carson either showed these men your mark or removed the magic of one of them to provide the proof the Governing Council needs,” Mystia proposed.
Whipping his head around, Carson looked at his mate, raising his eyebrows. Beside the fact he didn’t know how to do it yet, doing that wouldn’t punish who was responsible for the issuance of the bad order. Ultimately, the one to pay such a dreadful price should be the member of the council guilty of doing so. “Babe?” he murmured.
Searching his mate’s face, Remy saw they were of the same mind. Turning to the trembling second guard whowas still kneeling, he said, “Stand, your apology has been accepted. Carson, please show these men my mark.”
“As you wish, Keeper.” Scowling at the guards, Carson slowly unbuttoned his shirt and after slipping out of it, turned around, showing the massive angel wings tattooed on his back.
Gasping at the sight of it, the second guard bowed his head, and said, “My deepest apologies, Great Warlock, Keeper of All Magic, Ruler of the Mystic Realm, please excuse our intrusion. I’ll personally report to the Governing Council that they have been misinformed. We willneverbother you again.”
“What’s your name?” asked Carson, putting his shirt back on.
“Lieutenant Duncan Steros.”
“Well, lieutenant, also report to the Governing Council the next time they pull a stunt like this, I will regard it as an attack on the Keeper, which will result in my removingmorethan my shirt, if you get my meaning,” Carson growled. “This is the only warning they will get.”
