Chapter Six
Audiv
She didn’t think she was going to sleep, not after what had happened, but it seemed her body had other ideas. Shortly after Antonio closed the door, her eyes drifted shut. She thought about going to lock her bedroom door, but the unfounded fear that Michael might climb through her bedroom window was far greater than her nerves at having a man—any man, even one she trusted as much as Antonio—in her apartment where he could walk into her bedroom without warning.
When she did wake, it was to a throbbing pain in the back of her head. She wanted to just cover her face and sleep again, but nerves jangled under her skin, not eased for having slept. So, she got out of bed and took a couple Tylenol before heading for the door.
In her living room, Antonio sat on the couch, a book on his lap. Across from him in a chair was Dominique. Audiv’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of her; Dominique had lived in the neighborhood where Anna used to live. She only moved to the palace recently and had been rather clingy ever since. Audiv thought she liked to have the strong personality around her.
Part of her was disappointed to see Dominique there; she would have been disappointed to see anybody besides Antonio. Another part was relieved that it wasn’t him alone. She let out a slow breath as she walked to the couch. Both of them looked up at her approach. Dominique jumped up and started fussing over the pillows on the couch, trying to make it comfortable.
“Can I get you anything? Water, juice, maybe some crackers?”
Audiv shook her head, then groaned when it throbbed pain in the back of her skull. Her magic should have been kicking in by now, dulling the pain—but she didn’t have any magic anymore. Her hands started to shake, and she clutched one of the pillows to her chest to hide it.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? It’s not any trouble.”
“I’m fine,” Audiv repeated. “What’s brought you here, anyway?”
Antonio cleared his throat. “I know that you two spend quite a bit of time together, and I asked her to come. I thought it might be helpful to have a friend around.”
Dominique twisted her hands. “Are you sure you don’t want anything?”
Audiv repressed a sigh. She wasn’t going to stop until she had something to do. “I guess I could use a little water.”
Dominique looked relieved. She scurried off to the water jug in the corner, next to the window, and filled a large glass, which she brought back. As soon as she handed it to Audiv, however, she started to twist her hands and hover again. Antonio shifted in his seat, and Audiv snuck a glance at him. He looked slightly embarrassed.
Suddenly, Audiv was struck by the fear that he was going to leave. She opened her mouth at once to tell him to stay, or to ask if Michael had been found, but those words got caught in her throat. He met her gaze, a brow raised. Dominque actually held her breath.
A shiver ran down Audiv’s spine. She didn’t want either of them to leave, but she also didn’t want to talk about what happened. Maybe it was just the injury and stress… maybe he hadn’t stolen her magic after all…
“How are you doing, Dominique?” she turned back to the younger woman. “Settling in well?”’
It had been three months since she had moved here. Dominique flinched and edged back to her chair, where she perched on the edge, ready to jump up at any request. “Um… I’m okay.”
“Just okay?”
“I miss my home,” Dominique continued, glancing at Antonio with an uncertain expression on her face. “I haven’t finished unpacking yet… I don’t know how long I’m going to stay, it seems like a shame to unpack everything and then pack up again right away. But I’m doing okay. I joined that knitting group like you suggested. It’s nice. They’re all really nice.”
“Good, good.” Hopefully, it meant that she would get some other friends.
“Why did you move here, anyway?” Antonio asked. “I heard that there was something about an attack? But I haven’t heard everything.”
Dominique flinched again. “Oh. Well, it wasn’t really an attack. Somebody started strewing these statues of dragons around with their heads cut off and stuff. And there was a break-in at my house. I was thinking of moving anyway. I lived next to the house where the original portals were,” she added, “and I sort of know Anna and the others. They had me over to dinner sometimes.”
“And so, you were targeted because of casual contact.” Antonio’s eyes flashed.
“It’s not that bad,” Dominique said quickly. “They caught the perpetrators. Just a bunch of kids. But since I was thinking about moving anyway, Anna suggested that I come live here. It’s been… interesting. Dragons are very interesting.”
“You should have had better protection in your own home.” Antonio glared at the book he held before slipping a bookmark between the pages and shutting it. “It’s ridiculous that people who aren’t associated with dragons are being accosted from casual contact. The FBI should be working to protect people! It’s inexcusable. The government keeps blathering on about working with dragons and protecting magical citizens, but what are they really doing?”
It was the most passionate she had ever heard him speak. Audiv curled her legs beneath her, considering him. She knew that he had quit his job with the FBI after he came to Byrelmore and the reasons behind it. Technically, people weren’t allowed to be fired for being mages or dragons in the US, but that didn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Audiv wished that they had gone a little further north when they reattached Byrelmore to Earth. She had a feeling that Canadians would be a lot politer in their prejudices. Although, maybe that would be even worse. One thing was certain, though. Mages and dragons were having trouble where they sprung up all around the world, and Byrelmore wasn’t able to retrieve or hold all of them.
“It’s not that bad,” Dominique protested weakly. Her pale skin turned bright red as she shook her head and held out her hands. “The police were very helpful, and the FBI, they have so much to do already. They don’t deal with stuff like that anyway.”
“When it’s something that is country-wide, they should. But you’ll find as many biased idiots within the FBI as without it.” Antonio glowered at the floor.
“Oh.” Dominique cleared her throat. “Well… well, it was all fine. I wasn’t hurt, and I didn’t lose any property or anything. I was just surprised that people knew that I knew Anna and the others, or that they thought I was important enough to start bothering.”
When it came to fear, logic was never a large factor. Goosebumps rose on Audiv’s arms as she remembered the hatred in Michael’s eyes. He blamed her for everything that had happened to him, even though she couldn’t have prevented him from getting magic if she wanted to. And he thought that the correct response to being labeled a monster by his wife was to become one. Or had he already had that darkness inside of him? Were there other victims in his past… Had he done that to his wife, and his absence, more than his magic, was what gave her the excuse to leave him?
“Angstrom isn’t in the palace anymore.”
Audiv flinched as she glanced at Antonio. “What?”
“He’s not in the palace.” He leaned forward, eyeing her. “Hendric’s men weren’t able to capture him. He used some magical… thing, I’m not sure what the word was that Hendric used. Angstrom got away, though. But he was running. I very much doubt that he’ll come back. I don’t think that you’re worth that much to him. It was a strike of opportunity, nothing more.”
She wished she could believe that. Her stomach churned as she rubbed her arms. Dominique reached for a blanket, but Audiv shook her head. Blankets and getting wrapped up weren’t going to help at all. Not when it was something other than being cold that was making her shiver like this. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. The beating of her heart against her ribs like this was an alien feeling.
If he came back, she would have nothing to defend herself with. A sick, hollow feeling twisted in her chest and she closed her eyes, trying to make herself think of something—anything—else.
“We need to contact the human authorities,” she said, bringing her mind to what she could do. “His wife left him and took their children, that’s what triggered all this. They need to be put into protective custody. There’s no telling whether they’re in danger or not.”
She also needed to go to Indulf and tell him what she knew. Warn him and whoever was going after Michael that he was a warlock. He wouldn’t be able to do anything against dragons—while they had magic, it was a specific brand that a warlock wasn’t able to touch—but any other mages that went with them were vulnerable. And the more magic he stole, the stronger he would become.
The thought of going to the king and relating what had happened, though… it made the hollow ache in her chest worse. She breathed deeply again, tears starting to burn in her eyes.
“Audiv.” Antonio reached slowly out and rested his hand on her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. I know it doesn’t feel like that right now and that you’re still frightened, but it is going to be okay. I’m here and Dominique is here. You’re not alone.”
His comfort helped to ease the twist inside, but not the hollowness. She nodded, trying not to let out the bitter laugh that threatened to bubble up her throat. After all these months dealing with people who didn’t choose to be mages, of not understanding what it was like for them to have their whole lives changed so dramatically… now she did. Now she understood what it felt like.
Am I a mage still? Or am I nothing but human now?
“Dominique,” she blurted, turning from Antonio. “I am feeling a bit hungry now. Can you go get something?”
Dominique jumped to her feet, nodding. “What would you like?”
Just for you to leave so I can talk to Antonio alone. “Um… how about some ice cream? Raspberry, if they have it. Cherry if they don’t.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Dominique assured her, then headed for the door. She paused right before exiting, glancing back as though she wanted to say something else, but didn’t.
Audiv let out a sigh when she and Antonio were left alone.
“Sorry.” He moved a little closer, slowly and making his movement obvious. “I didn’t realize that you wouldn’t want her around.”
“That’s not it. I just wanted… to be alone with you right now, I guess. I don’t know.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Does she know…?”
“I didn’t tell her. Just that you were attacked.”
Audiv nodded. “Okay. Okay, thank you. I don’t know if I’d be able to take her pity… Gods, what a day.” She forced herself to laugh even as tears started to fall. Antonio opened his mouth, concern in his expression, but she didn’t want to start talking about what happened. Not right now. So she blurted out the question that had been on her lips the previous night. “Why did you say that waiting for marriage wasn’t the right choice for you?”