Do You Believe in Magic?

do you believe in magic?

F rom the moment I sensed the dark energy coming from down the street, Kaspar has been trying to get me to leave it alone. I demanded we investigate and when we got closer, I saw the woman helping the huge shifter up the stairs with a worried expression on her beautiful face. She didn’t see us, but I knew the affliction her friend was suffering from originated in Faerie.

We can feel, smell, and taste the magic of our brethren—which was bad news for the bear.

“I need to come closer and I may need to touch him. Are you both okay with that?” I tilt my head, waiting for them both to consent before I move. “I can sense Fae magic and smell Faerie plants involved faintly from here, but I’ll need a better idea before I try to undo the curse.”

Kaspar looks at them both in irritation. “Which doesn’t mean you can touch him without consequences. Prince Liam did not accept a bounty to lay this curse; he has no need for mortal money.”

“Listen, you Great Value Juggernaut, I didn’t accuse the Prince of anything.” Morgana looks infuriated, so I have to muffle my chuckle at her nickname. “And I have no intention of touching him; I just need him to fix my fucking mate, okay?”

A feeling of regret slams into my chest at her words and I realize I was hoping I could get to know her better after this. She seems loyal, intelligent, and fiery—all things I prefer, but often don’t find in the women who want to date the Prince. The bear she’s sitting next to looks ready to keel over, but I’m surprised when he gives me a knowing look then a wink. Does that mean what I think it means?

“You can come closer, Your Highness,” Lucas croaks.

That gets the Dean’s attention, and she rushes over to brush his hair off of his forehead. “He’s hot but also cold? It’s like a fever and that’s new.”

Shit. I hope I haven’t overplayed my hand in offering to help. There are a few nasty curses that aren’t entirely removable.

“Thank you,” I reply as I walk around the couch and sit down on the coffee table in front of the shifter. “I’m going to lay my hands on you in different places—nowhere uncomfortable, of course—so I can get a read on how the curse and poison are flowing in your body.”

“Prince, you don’t have gloves. What if it’s fomite transmissible? You risk more than your own life, Liam,” the bodyguard huffs. “Think, man.”

“I have gloves in the kitchen. Dish gloves, but better than nothing?” Morgana says as she looks at me questioningly.

I nod at her and give Kaspar a withering stare. “That will do, Dean. Kas is being very prudent; however, I doubt touching your bear will harm anyone. I assume you haven’t started feeling ill? If not, by the way your scent covers him, I believe we’re safe.”

That makes her face turn red before she whirls to stomp to the kitchen.

The blond athlete—there’s no mistaking his build despite not knowing him—looks at me and whispers, “I won’t block you, dude. She’s got two other supes sniffing about, and I know how to share.”

My eyes widen and he flops back onto the couch, laughing weakly. Shifters are normally so territorial and this one’s animal is an apex predator. Giving me a thumbs up, especially when he expects others to join, is unusual. Kas, pretending not to notice the sick bear or kitchen, catches my eye. My lips quirk—this will be interesting. My guardian hasn’t shown interest in a woman for a while.

“Found them!” The Dean walks back into the room, dangling a pair of hot pink and leopard print dishwashing gloves that make my retinas hurt.

Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.

“I wouldn’t have expected such… girly things of you,” I say as I put them on. “More like black with spikes or something.”

Her smirk makes my cock twitch. “I’m a woman of many layers, Prince Liam. Even my weapons have bling; I’m not afraid to be both pretty and deadly.”

Knowing her reputation, I suppose she’s not.

Kaspar snorts. “Did the blade you killed the former dean with have sparkles on it?”

The room goes quiet and I pause, not laying my hands on the bear as I wait to see if someone is going to attack over his tactless bullshit.

Morgana snorts, waving her hand dismissively. “I killed that motherfucker with my bare hands, Fin Fan Foom. Dragons think they’re all powerful, but it makes them slow, lazy, and unprepared.” My old friend’s jaw drops, surprised she not only identified him, but admitted her guilt without a qualm. “What? The trial transcript has obviously been leaked. Who the hell cares what I say out loud now?”

I grin a little, admiring her spunk. “Quite true, Morgana. Now, let’s see about removing this curse before it kills your mate.”

It’s her turn to look surprised, but I focus on running my hands over parts of him, feeling the darkness of the magic and intensity of the power. I sigh as I sense what they suspected is true—there is an element of magic and one of science, though without flora from my lands the science would not have worked. Once I have a basic idea of what we’re dealing with, I raise my head to look at both the bear and the Dean.

“There’s a mid-level piseóg placed by goblins, but it has traces of a botanical accelerant, so to speak. Likely someone hired a multi-race group of Fae who do hits for hire. The herbs and flora from both here and Faerie were used to weaken your body while the curse slowly killed you. It would distract most supe doctors until it was too late to stop.”

“Can you reverse it?” Morgana pleads.

“I can try. I doubt their power dwarfs mine, but I’ll need time to focus on unweaving the components. Do you have someone you can contact to get things to counteract the plant accelerator?”

She beams as she pulls her phone out. “Hold please.” When the person answers, she rattles off my theory, then turns back to me. “Lay it on me, Prince.”

“I believe cestrum or gelsemium from here. Antarachnia and Elysian Bubbleberry from Faerie. Oh, and if I’m not mistaken, a tiny brush of unicorn hair.” She looks confused, and I chuckle. “It’s a flower people use like… baby’s breath here?”

Morgana relays the information, then sighs as she hangs up. “Iggy is on it. He’ll get Slade to help him with his little mess at the greenhouse, then bring everything here. Which means, Prince, you only have about an hour before very interested supes will be dying to watch you work Fae magic. Unless you want gawkers, I’d suggest you chop chop.”

Damn, this woman is amazing. I’ll let her bust my balls anytime.

Kaspar wasn’t happy when I sent him home for a few power boost items I don’t carry on my person. He thinks this is someone else’s problem and I risk calling unwanted attention to our people if I can’t fix what’s being done to the illustrious Wolfenberg heir.

He worries too damn much.

Once he returned, we helped Morgana get Lucas outside on her porch. Fae magic is strengthened by proximity to nature, and being in the sunshine will help—Daybreak Prince, of course. The light is our strength and I’m going to need a lot, given the time they wasted researching magics on this side of the Veil. It’s a damn good thing I dropped in for a visit, or she’d have a dead shifter on her hands within a day or two.

“You know, I have a few suggestions for gardening back here—both for Fae foliage and plants from your realm. I should probably consult with your wizard so we can coordinate a strategy for this area, Morgana. I have the feeling you attract trouble,” I say, as I wink playfully.

Hopefully, that calms her nerves a little. She doesn’t look jittery on the outside, but I can sense her fear.

“Yeah, she’s a magnet for it,” Lucas mumbles weakly. “Being a Slayer isn’t easy.”

Kaspar snorts, arching a brow. “One dragon dead—a weak, lazy, pampered one at that—does not a Slayer equal, bear.”

Morgana’s gaze hardens as she stares at my grouchy guardian. “We could try for two, but I have more pressing issues at the moment. Perhaps a rain check?”

“Oh, rain checks work perfectly for me,” Kas purrs with a dangerous look in his eyes. “Whenever you feel froggy, step on up. I’m not afraid of your curses.”

Merciful Aed, the two of them.

“Stop!” I growl as I look between the two stubborn, overconfident supes. “We need calm and support for this magic to work. After we heal the lad, you two can snipe at one another all you like. I suspect it would be a draw regardless—which neither of you would like to admit the ‘why’ of. Go to separate corners for now.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” the storm dragon murmurs, dipping his head.

“For fuck’s sake, Kas,” I mutter. He only resorts to that when he’s pissed about my choices, so I know I hit the mark in his dragon pride.

The gorgeous hybrid doesn’t reply. She simply moves to her mate’s side and kneels by him, placing her hand on his stomach. Once she’s settled, she looks up and nods. “I’m ready to assist in any way you need, Prince Liam.”

Oh, the distraction of seeing her kneeling and saying my name like that.

Lucas turns his head to smirk up at me, winking before he mumbles, “Give it to me, fairy man. I’m ready.”

Shaking my head, I close my eyes and start working on unweaving the threads of the Fae curse carefully. I can see all the different races who added their magic to this—goblins, brownies, Fae, fairies, pixies—it’s a spiderweb of the races of my realm. Both Seelie and Unseelie cooperated for this venture, which means my father’s worry about a group of multi-race assassins crossing the Veil to set up shop was correct. I don’t always agree with my old man and he’s more paranoid than necessary, but… his spies were correct this time. The entirety of Faerie is at risk if the Council and the Society find out about a cooperative team running around on Earth accepting hits for money.

The humans do it and the Society is aware of that little compound because it's run by one of the originals. We, however, cannot allow our citizens to wreak magical havoc on this plane.

“Kaspar, I’ve sensed at least seven different races’ magic. This discovery must be brought to the attention of the King. His fears about the Hand of Morrigan are not unfounded,” I murmur as I continue pulling at thin cords of magic. “I don’t wish to return to the portal when I finish, but perhaps you could notify him in my stead.”

“Hand of Morrigan?” Morgana says, her eyes narrowing. “What the hell is that? Why would they care about Lucas?”

Kaspar snorts. “You’re far too intelligent to be this na?ve, gorgon. Obviously, they’re a group of assassins thought to be rumor. All different species from our realm, banded together to come here and try capitalism. We’ve been hearing whispers for years, but no one has showed proof—until now.”

“A group of Fae doing dark magic for hire? The Society will lose its mind,” she hisses. “Rogue shit is not rewarded as evidenced by me. A hit on someone as prominent as Lucas would draw their attention. Why risk it?”

The bear groans as I keep pulling on the power infecting him. “Because their first attempt was probably framing me for the murder. When it failed, they decided taking me out was easier.”

Holy shit. He’s probably right.

My guardian lets out a strangled grunt as he paces. “The question is: were you targeted or merely a bystander? Yes, framing you would hurt your family and the school. But also, a prominent name found misbehaving in the a sports program already in trouble would hurt Morgana. You could be an acceptable loss in their eyes.”

“What do your instincts tell you, Kas?” I open one eye to look at him seriously, letting him know I want him to be baldly honest.

He shrugs and shakes his head. “This isn’t enough information to determine what I think is most probable. I will need access to everything these half-assed Nancy Drews have on the situation before I can give you an accurate answer, Liam.”

Morgana sighs, but finally nods. “Go into the living room. Once Iggy and Slade arrive, send one here with the plants for the Prince and inform the others to lift the magic so you can witness him working.”

I smile to myself as I go back to focusing on my work.

This is not the visit I expected when we came over, but I’ll be damned if I’m not enjoying myself immensely.