Rise of the Magi by Jocelyn Adams Page A

me do my job.”
    Liam came in and put his hand on Andrew’s arm, leaning down to his ear. I was tempted to listen in through the bond, but didn’t since they seemed to be having a guy moment.
    I moved back toward the coalition portal to give them some privacy, watching not so subtly from behind hair I’d left unbraided for a change.
    After a minute or two, Andrew calmed, though a hard determination remained in his eyes.
    “He’s so mad that he let himself be taken in Freymoor,” Neve said as she eyed Andrew with concern. “He needs to prove himself to you again.”
    My heart fell. “It wasn’t his fault. I would never judge him.”
    “You and I know that, but he’s a guy’s guy. He had a job to do, to protect his queen, and in his eyes, he failed.”
    “I trust him with my life. How can he not know that?” Was he another I’d been neglecting? He always seemed so strong; it hadn’t occurred to me he might need my ear once in a while, too.
    “This isn’t the time, but there’s more to this. Ask me when he isn’t around, okay? He’d probably take my head off if he knew I was talking to you about him at all.” Neve made a sudden turn as footsteps approached.
    “Let’s get this done.” Andrew strode by me with purpose, and all I wanted to do was hug him. That was new. Smack him, yes. Hold him, definitely not.
    Brígh sighed as she followed after him, linking hands with Gallagher since Cas had turned guard and needed his. “I’d rather be doing just about anything else than this,” she said.
    I rolled my shoulders, afraid my arms would break off with the tension settling in. “Wouldn’t we all, but this is important, and we all know how good I am with politics. They actually need to listen to us, or they’re all toast.”
    Liam returned and lavished me with a kiss, his eyes unreadable. Gallagher appeared stricken, dropping his gaze to his shiny loafers.
    Neve cleared her throat, reaching for me. “You’re getting good at these speeches. I know they’ll listen to you.”
    I squeezed her hand and hoped to high hell she was right.
    Neve and Cas led the way to the last portal. Both were alert, entering first so they could do their final security sweep.
    Brígh and Gallagher went after, followed by Liam and me.
    Andrew brought up the rear while cursing quietly to himself.
    A new thread of worry for the badass guard had begun irritating the back of my mind. I asked Liam, silently, to fill me in later on the Andrew situation.
    We waited in a hallway paneled with frosted glass, raised voices tumbling into the space from the far end.
    “Looks like they started without us.” Liam slipped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me close to his side, while Andrew continued to appear like a rocket about to launch beside me.
    Gallagher twisted a few strands of his dreads together over his shoulder. “Throw too many different species into one room, and the differing cultures, races and religions are sure to make for an explosive concoction. This will not be an easy task.” The sad shine on his eyes made my pulse jack up. “You will not save them all, Lila, and there is nothing you can do to change it. Resolve to save who you can and accept the losses of those you can’t.”
    I tried really hard to kill him with my glower. “You know I can’t do that. I won’t.”
    His slow nod allowed me time to survey the puffiness under his eyes and the hard lines of his mouth—the face of a weary man. “Yes, I know. It kills me that I cannot do something to prevent this.” With that, he strode off down the hall as if trying to flee his own fears. Halfway, his glamour rose, suppressing his Light completely. It was a subtle difference, more a change I could sense rather than see on him. If I walked past him on the street, I would have taken him for a human by feel alone.
    With Liam’s hand firmly tucked against mine, I started after my aide. “Tone down the faeness, boys and girls, so we don’t freak anyone out.”