“All here. And Finn too.”

“And the enemy?”

“Except for Finn, they’re all back in that burning, crumbling tower as far as I know.”

“Good.” He pressed his lips to her fingertips. “Now, help me up, please. We’re going to have that talk.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Magic Ignited

DESPITE THE DRAGON’S threat, they didn’t have a talk about Sera’s magic that day. Not ten seconds after she’d pulled him out from under his desk, a horde of Drachenburg employees swarmed into the office. Their arrival had apparently triggered a silent alarm. As Kai went through the play-by-play with a room full of his overwrought advisors, Sera slipped out. The look he gave her as she left stated clearly enough that this wasn’t over. Maybe not, but she needed a long shower and a good night’s sleep before going toe to toe with the dragon again.

Nearly half a week went by without any word from him. Sera was just beginning to hope that she’d never hear from him again, when she got called into Simmons’s office. He was sending her to Drachenburg Industries for a ‘closing meeting’. Whatever that meant. Probably something Kai had insisted on so that he could force her into this ‘talk’ he wanted to have. And he went through Simmons so she couldn’t say no. Bastard.

This time when Sera entered the building, there was someone waiting for her. A taciturn man in a sleek black suit escorted her up to Kai’s office, then left her alone with the dragon in the room.

Kai rose from his desk, as always dressed in dark jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. God, he looked good. Sera clenched her fists behind her back and stepped forward.

“Sera,” he said, magic pulsing beneath each syllable. The few days of rest had recharged him. He was as powerful as ever. And as deadly, she reminded herself.

“Mr. Drachenburg.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a half-smile. “I thought we were past that.” He circled around his desk and set his hands on her shoulders.

She shrugged him off. “I’m here on official guild business, not to cuddle up to the dragon.”

“Very well then.” He leaned his hands back against the desk. “Harrison and Olivia got away. The Magic Council has sentenced Finn to imprisonment at Atlantis.”

That was their code name for a supernatural prison in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Only a select few knew where it was, and Sera wasn’t one of them. It was just as well. The fewer people there were who knew where to find him, the better off everyone was. Finn had accumulated quite a following. The last thing anyone needed was for them to spring him out of prison.

“Did he happen to mention how his minions got past your security?”

“Yes. He joined them every time. He broke through the security.” The reluctant words scraped out of his mouth.

“You said no one with selfish or nefarious reasons could get in.” And Finn’s intentions had been dripping with both.

“He claimed he was acting in the best interests of the supernatural community,” Kai said, frowning. “I think he actually believes it.”

Well, Finn was nuts.

“And the guys? Are they all right?” she asked.

“Tony, Dal, and Callum have fully recovered. I’ve awarded them each a bonus and the rest of the month off.”

“They deserve it after what they went through.”

“Yes.”

“And the Priming Bangles?” she asked.

“Safe. They are somewhere no one will find them.”

“Good.”

“I’ve sent Mayhem the payment.”

“I figured as much when Simmons didn’t send me here to take it out of you with my sword.”

“How much of that payment will you get?”

“Not much,” she said. “But more than I usually get.”

“You saved me from that torment.” He rubbed his hand across his wrist, as though he could still feel the bangle there. “You could have left, but you didn’t. You risked your life to save me. You nearly drowned the tower in magic. And then you activated the glyphs and got us all out of there.”

“It was no big deal.”

“No big deal?” he said. “You told me the range of transport is dependent on the magic level of the person activating the glyphs. You transported us over the water and across town. I’m not even sure I could have brought us so far.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point,” he said, pushing off his desk. “…is your magic is off the charts. If you told Simmons about it, he’d have to pay you more.”

Only after the Magic Council had tested her. No thank you. “We’ve been through this before.”

He sighed. “If you’re going to insist on keeping your magic a secret, you should at least let me train you to control it so you don’t end up getting someone killed.”

“I can control it.”

He arched a dark eyebrow at her.

“I’ll work on it,” she promised. “Ok?”

“Ok, I’ll be keeping track of your progress,” he said, his eyes shimmering like blue glass. “As long as you keep your magic under control and don’t go off on mad, drunken rages through the city, it can just be our little secret.”

“Even from the Council?”

He watched her for a few seconds that seemed to stretch onto eternity. “Yes,” he finally said. “They don’t need to know. If they found out, they’d get you tied up in all these tests, which would interfere with my plan.”