Magic Kingdom (Dragon Born Alexandria Book 3) by Ella Summers Page B

magic—more powerful than any Alex had ever felt—crackled beyond a granite wall of absolute control. If that wall ever crumbled, they’d all be in really deep shit.
    “He looks even better than the magazine photo,” Alex teased.
    Sera chuckled. Behind her, Kai folded his arms across his chest, which only made his enormous muscles bulge more. God, he was a beast. Alex had a feeling he didn’t pull any punches either. She would have hated to be at the receiving end of one of his strikes.
    “You have to excuse Kai,” Sera told Alex. “He did that Mages Illustrated magazine photo shoot because he lost a bet. He had no idea it would become their most popular cover, and he’s just peeved that because of it people aren’t as scared of him as he thinks they should be.”
    Alex looked at Kai. “I’m trembling,” she told him, extending her hand. “I’m Alex, the wicked sister.”
    Naomi snorted.
    Kai shook Alex’s hand, his lip twitching with the beginnings of a smile. “You and Sera are a lot alike.”
    “A fantastic sense of humor?”
    “No sense of self-preservation,” he said.
    “Oh.” Alex laughed. “Well, what fun would that be?”
    “Good God, now there are two of them,” gasped Tony.
    Dal and Callum laughed. Sera joined in, her magic a calm, content hum. She looked happier than Alex had ever seen her since Dad’s death. Kai stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. There was a protective gleam in his eyes—a gleam that said he would tear apart anyone who tried to hurt her.
    “So, this is Alex,” he said, his thumbs massaging slow circles into Sera’s arms. Her eyelashes brushing closed, Sera leaned back against him. “I got your message,” Kai told Alex.
    Sera’s eyes opened. “You didn’t tell me you and Kai were pen pals.”
    “Naomi and I sent him an SMS from London.”
    “A pair of drunk mages from Drachenburg Industries tried to hit on us,” Naomi explained.
    “Tried to hit on you?” Sera asked.
    “We hit them instead,” Alex told her. “After they tried to force the issue. Like I said, they were drunk. After we knocked them out, Naomi took a photo of them sleeping on the sidewalk, and we sent it to Kai. We thought your honey would appreciate seeing what his employees did in their spare time.”
    Sera looked at Kai. “What did you do?”
    “Nothing you wouldn’t do.”
    She chewed on her lip. “You’re being unnecessarily cryptic.”
    “Actually, it is very necessary, sweetheart,” he told her.
    “I take it that means you did something bad to them.”
    Tony chuckled. “He sent them to sensitivity training.”
    “Really?” Sera asked him. “I didn’t think you were so…so…” She seemed to be struggling for words.
    Alex helped her out. “Forward-thinking?”
    “I was going for something a bit more diplomatic,” Sera said.
    “Diplomacy to the old magic dynasties means dungeons and iron chains,” Alex said, grinning at Kai.
    He laughed. “That sounds about right.”
    “Come on inside,” Alex said, waving them toward the door. “Let’s get this pizza where it’s warm.”
    “You said the magic word.” Sera linked her arm in Alex’s as they stepped inside. “Come on. I’m starving.”
    “You had pizza on the plane,” Dal told her.
    “Yeah, well that was on the plane, and this is here,” replied Sera. “Pizza doesn’t taste as good in the air as it does on the ground.”
    “That’s Sera logic for you,” Callum said, his laughter echoing off the high ceiling.
    “And yet she’s so right,” Alex said.
    The hallway didn’t seem as long this time around. Marek and Eva, who were sitting on one of the sofas, looked up as their caravan entered the living room.
    “You brought back more than pizza,” Logan observed. He was standing with his back to the wall, surveying the new arrivals as though any one of them could be a potential threat.
    Callum set the pizza boxes on the coffee table. He and the other commandos sat down on the enormous sofa