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As another figure strolls in, clad in head-to-toe leather, long hair, and bad attitude, I direct my attention his way. “Shock, you’re late. Do you know about the Brethren?”
Every other wizard turns, their expressions somewhere between stupefied and suspicious. No one likes him. Built big for strength and stamina, he’s a scary bastard on the best of days. On the worst…no one dares to push his limits. Most in his tainted bloodline go mad, and I wonder how close to the edge he is.
“You invited him here? Are you fucking kidding me?” Lucan snarls in my ear.
I ignore him and keep my gaze trained on Shock, who glares hatchets at Lucan behind black sunglasses. Not surprising, given their past.
“I know magical history,” Denzell growls. “I am capable of reading.”
That isn’t all he is rumored to be capable of—but everything is just rumor. Shock, like the rest of his clan, keeps to himself.
Does he know we have his youngest brother in my dungeon?
“Brush the chip off your shoulder. I wasn’t insinuating that you’re not learned about magical history. But you were fairly young when Mathias was last in power.”
“I know what happened.”
“Did your father bounce you on his knee and tell you grand, glorious stories about how they supported the murderous psychopath?” Lucan sneers.
“Did your father do the same to you while he shoved that stick up your ass?” Shock quips back.
I sigh. These two are going to be a problem. “Stop it, both of you. We have far more serious issues.”
They fall blessedly silent.
“After the Brethren defeated Mathias nearly two hundred years ago, they disbanded, vowing that if magickind ever saw dark times again, they would reunite,” I continue.
“All of them have moved on to their nextlife,” Ice points out. “So the brilliant idea of resurrecting them won’t work.”
“I’m not suggesting we find the old Brethren; I’m saying we replace them.”
“Become Brethren warriors to take down Mathias and the Anarki?” Now Ice sounds intrigued.
“Precisely. But unlike the last Brethren, we have another important task, one that goes hand-in-hand with stopping Mathias. We have the Book of Doomsday under this roof, and it’s imperative we keep it out of his hands. So I’m suggesting we pair the old purpose with the new.”
“Protect the book and defeat Mathias?” Ice snorts. “That’s not a fucking tall order at all. Leave it to the prince to demand the world bow and scrape.”
“Since you obviously have a better idea, why don’t you share it with everyone?”
The big, green-eyed brute crosses his arms over his chest and looks away.
“That’s what I thought. Who’s with me?” I ask around the room. “Several of you have already lent your skills to the cause, but who will officially join?”
“I already said I will,” Lucan speaks first.
I acknowledge my friend with a grateful nod.
“Why not?” Duke shrugs. “Vastly more entertaining than watching my parents plan my brother’s wedding to the human girl.”
Relief chugs through me. With Duke comes his powerful connections and a sizable fortune. We’ll need both.
That leaves Ice and Shock—the two hardest sells. After Mathias’s attack on the MacKinnetts, Shock claimed he would lend his support. But other than the night of my party, I’ve scarcely seen him. The wizard strikes fear in others…when he shows up. But in answering this summons, he’s defying his family. I hope that means something.
Shock turns, angling his body away from Lucan. “Look, I have no quarrel with you, Rion. I’m in, as long as I don’t have to deal with the bloody mate thief.”
“Mate thief?” Lucan snarls. “You and I both issued the Mating Call. Anka chose me. I did not steal.”
“You waited to Call to her until after I had, and she considered saying yes. That’s stealing in my book.”
