As we all departed the clearing to head back to the Undercover Protectorate, Bree landed next to me, folding her silvery wings back into her body. Her dark hair shined in the moonlight, and sympathy gleamed in her eyes.

“Don’t worry about me,” I said, staving her off. “I’m fine. I’ll get ‘em next time.”

“Jude said she’d never seen someone do so well against that many demons before.” Bree tapped the golden comms charm around her neck. “She told me.”

“I had my magical cat gang.”

“Without them, she said. Though they did help with the end.” She shook her head. “There were more demons than usual, according to Jude. Someone mistakenly hired too many. It wasn’t fair.”

I smiled at her. “Life isn’t fair.”

We’d been driven from our homes as children, hunted because we were Dragon Gods. Our mother had been killed by those who had stalked us—so I was very familiar with how not fair life was.

“Too true.” Bree smiled and looped her arm through mine. “Come on. Let’s go.”

We followed the group back through the quiet streets of Edinburgh, hanging toward the back. Occasionally, I’d glance back to see if the cats were still following me.

They were.

Weird.

When we reached the main street in the Grassmarket, which had nothing at all to do with grass—at least not these days—we made our way quickly toward the portal that would take us to the Undercover Protectorate’s castle. The portal sat within a darkened alley between a bar and a tartan shop, glowing blue and bright. Only members of the Protectorate could see and enter it.

I stepped through the portal last, letting the ether suck me in. It was a wild ride before it spat me out in a small enchanted forest in Northern Scotland. Night birds chirped, and the wind whistled through the ancient, twisted trees. The forest sat within the walls of the castle, and the portal connected it to the city, giving us easy access to everything we could want.

Bree stumbled out of the portal after me, grinning. “I love how close we are to downtown.”

“Me too.”

We hurried down the path that cut between the gnarled trees. Fairy lights danced around us, sparkling and bright, but the fae were long gone from here.

When we stepped out onto the rolling lawn that surrounded the castle, the moonlight gleamed on the massive structure that sat in the middle. Towers and turrets reached for the sky, while the mullioned glass glittered with golden light from within.

“I’ll never get sick of it,” Bree said.

“Same.” The Protectorate had found us a few months ago when we’d been in seriously dire straits, about to be killed by a wizard who we’d run afoul of.

Because of our rare magic, the Protectorate had invited us to work with them—if we could pass their training academy.

“At this rate, it’s going to be years before I pass,” I said.

“You’re doing better than you think,” Bree said.

I hoped she was right, because I really wanted to earn my place here.

The alternative was…unthinkable.

Ahead of us, Jude and the rest of the class hurried across the lawn to the castle, but Bree and I veered toward the old stables that sat near the huge wall that surrounded the castle grounds.

Rowan would be in there, no doubt, and we wanted to check up on her. A month ago, we’d rescued her from captivity. She’d spent five horrible years as a hostage, but she was starting to adjust well. Nothing kept Rowan down for long. There were still shadows in her eyes, but they were fading.

The old stone stables no longer contained horses, though the smell still lingered. Instead, it served as the castle’s garage.

As expected, we found Rowan in the stables with the buggy, our souped-up monster truck that we’d brought with us from our old life. We’d joined the Protectorate back in the summer, leaving behind Death Valley Junction, a remote desert town full of supernaturals where we’d spent most of our lives hiding from the ones who hunted us.

We’d made a living by driving outlaws through Death Valley, and the buggy was the only thing that had helped us make it across safely. It was totally armored, covered with poisoned spikes, and outfitted with platforms from which to fight off the desert monsters who haunted the valley.

It’d been a fun life, but ultimately, we’d wanted more. And living out in the open had been too dangerous for Dragon Gods like ourselves. We were hunted and feared—folks either wanted to use us for our magic or kill us.

This was a safer life, and a better one. Here, we had an opportunity to do good in the world.

As long as I could pass the Academy.

In the stable, Rowan’s booted feet stuck out from under the front of the buggy. It was my baby—I’d helped build every bit of it. If I could operate from this thing, I’d ace the Academy.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t allowed.

Rowan rolled out from under the truck and grinned up at us. “How’d it go?”

“Not great.” I winced at the memory of coming in last.

She stood, her black hair shining. She wore all black, too, looking stark and beautiful. “That’s okay. You’re still doing better than me.”

Ever since her escape a month ago, she hadn’t been able to access her magic. It could have been a result of trauma or something else, but we had no idea.

“You’ll get it back.”

“Maybe.” She walked toward the side table and set down her wrench. “I’m working on it.”

I needed to quit whining about my own problems. Rowan had it far worse than me, and she managed. True, she was up at three a.m. and working on the truck, so obviously she had some demons. But she wasn’t a whiner.

Her gaze traveled past Bree and me, landing on the open door behind. “Who are they?”

I turned, spotting the Cats of Catastrophe. “My new friends, I think.” I looked back at Rowan. “How’s the engine? Making progress?”

“Yeah, it’s tricky, but I’m almost there.”

“I can help tomorrow.” I wanted to. Working on the buggy was one of my favorite things. It was soothing. Made me feel in control.

“We should all get some sleep,” Bree said.

“Yeah.” Rowan’s jaw tightened.

“Nightmares?” I asked.

“Sometimes.”

Always. It was unspoken but clear.

Footsteps sounded behind us, and I turned.

Caro appeared in the doorway, her short platinum bob gleaming. She was a water mage, and one of the members of the PITs, Jude’s investigative team. She’d become our best friend here, along with Ali and Haris, who were behind her. The two dark-haired djinn’s weren’t kicking their usual hacky sack between them. That, combined with the worry on Caro’s face, made nerves flutter in my stomach. She was usually smiling and peppy—albeit murderous with her water power—so this wasn’t going to be good.

“Meeting time,” Caro said. “We’ve got to hightail it to the round room.”

“The round room?” Crap. That meant it was a big deal. I looked at the massive clock on the other side of the garage. Past 3 a.m., but if it was in the round room…

“Come on.” Caro gestured for us to follow, and we did, flipping off the lights and shutting the door.

The round room was the equivalent of the Protectorate’s war room. When something was really bad, all hands gathered in there. Most of the people were full-time staff who lived at and worked out of the castle, solving magical crimes and protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves. There were only a few students at any given moment.

As the six of us walked across the lawn toward the castle, Caro chatted about castle gossip, with Ali and Haris chiming in occasionally. I glanced behind us. The cats were keeping up. As we stepped onto the stone-paved courtyard, the massive wooden doors swung open to permit us entrance.

I stepped through, glancing behind me one last time.

The Cats of Catastrophe strolled along behind us, eyes keen on me.

“Are you seriously following me all the way home?” I asked.

The sphynx gave a low, deep meow that sounded a heck of a lot like a yes. I turned back to enter the main hall, having no idea what to do about the cats.

“You’ve got sidekicks,” Bree said.

A ghostly blue pug flew into the entry hall, transparent wings holding it aloft. The little creature had a big ham gripped in its teeth, but as soon as its gaze landed on Bree, it gave a yip of delight, managing not to drop the ham.

“Speaking of sidekicks.” I pointed to Mayhem, who was most definitely Bree’s sidekick.

Bree grinned at the little pug, who flew circles around her head. We headed toward the round room, with Mayhem leading the way down the stone corridor. The castle was huge, with many different construction styles from all periods in history. This hallway looked ancient, but others looked new—like a fancy mansion.

It was a long way from our old rundown place in Death Valley, that was for sure. We’d barely survived there, so this was a major upgrade.

I felt a prickle at the back of my neck, and I looked behind me.

The Cats of Catastrophe followed along, my silent shadows. I stopped and turned, putting my hands on my hips. “I really appreciate your help, guys. But I don’t know if you’re supposed to be here. I’m kinda new myself, so I can’t really vouch for you.”

Princess Snowflake III glared at me, the little orange one raced ahead to try to catch Mayhem, and Muffin licked his butt.

“You sure told them,” Bree said.

I huffed a laugh. “As if I have any authority over cats.”

I gave them one last look, then sighed and turned around.

As we approached the round room, a strange sense of power rolled out from it. Someone in there was strong.

Stronger than almost any of the supernaturals here, besides Bree—who’d fully come into her Dragon God power—and her boyfriend Cade, a Celtic war god.

I gasped. “Do you feel that?”

“Yeah.” Rowan turned around to look at us, eyes wide. “Mega powerful.”

“Must be part of the problem,” Bree said. “Power like that always comes with problems.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” Our massive power—or at least, our potential for power, in my case—had kept us on the run for over a decade.

I slowed as I neared the entrance to the round room, drawing in the heady sense of magic that flowed out. There were dozens of magical signatures. Each type of supernatural had their own, and they generally correlated to one of the five senses. Or more than one sense, if you had a lot of magic.

But one person in there was seriously powerful and wasn’t afraid to let it be known. While it was possible to hide your magical signature if you had the skill, this person clearly felt no need.

The room was crowded when we entered. The big round table had been removed, and the space was filled with people sitting in folding chairs. A crowd had gathered near the front, so I couldn’t see who was standing up there, but I craned my neck to get a look at the person with the powerful magic. All I saw was a sea of heads and horns and wings—the Protectorate was full of all sorts.

We found a seat in the back, and the three Cats of Catastrophe joined us, each taking a seat for themselves.

“What the heck?” I muttered.

At the front, Jude clapped loudly and shouted, “Take your seats!”

People sat, and I got my first glimpse of the person with the power. My breath whooshed out of me.

Thank fates I was seated.

The man standing at the front was insanely beautiful—in a raw, powerful kind of way. He had to be well over six feet tall. Though he wore dark jeans and a black jacket, it wasn’t hard to see that he was built like a boxer.

But his face…

Like a fallen angel, here to deliver justice. But a dark angel, with black hair and eyes. Handsome, yet a tiny bit scary in his perfection.

I swallowed hard.

Next to me, Rowan whistled low in her throat. “Who’s the hottie?”

His eyes shifted toward us, passing over Rowan and landing on me.

Where they stayed.

Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. Not because he had some kind of power over me, but because I was some kind of infatuated moron. Which was a power in itself, actually.

And that annoyed the crap out of me.

I scowled at him, giving him my best hairy eyeball.

His brows rose.

With our gazes locked, it was impossible not to notice his magical signatures. Despite the dozens filling the room, his signatures cut through the others, rolling over me in waves.

His magic sounded like the low roll of distant thunder and smelled like leather and pine. It tasted of caramel and surrounded him in an aura of silver light. But the feel of it…

Like a caress against my skin. Or a warm hug. Touching.

Lots and lots of touching.

Heat filled me.

“Quit it,” I mouthed at him.

He just stared at me, a curious look in his dark eyes.

Jude stepped forward, her starry blue eyes sparkling in the light. The Undercover Protectorate was made up of different divisions—the Demon Trackers Unit, Interspecies Mediation, Research and Development, and the Paranormal Investigative Team—but if she was taking the lead, this must be some kind of issue that needed the investigative team.

“Lachlan Munroe has a job for us,” she said. “The biggest one in recent history, which leads to this all-hands-on-deck situation. But I’ll let him explain it.”

“Shit,” Rowan whispered. “He’s the Arch Magus.”

“The most powerful mage in the world?”

She nodded. “The very one.”

I’d heard of the Arch Magus before—he had command of more magical gifts than any other Magica. This was him?

I couldn’t say I was surprised. If not the Arch Magus, I’d have assumed he was some sort of god.

Lachlan stepped forward, his presence filling the room. All eyes were riveted on him, and if I had super hearing, I’d guess that plenty of hearts were racing.

Not mine, of course.

Though it was embarrassingly hard to forget the caress of his magic.

“There’s been a theft.” Lachlan’s voice rolled over the room. It was rich and deep, and tinged with a Scottish accent that sent a shiver across my skin. An embarrassing shiver.

Something touched my thigh, and I looked down to see that the sphynx, Muffin, had pressed his foot to my leg. I met his green gaze.

Get it together.

I scowled at the cat and hissed, “I have it together.”

Sure you do.

I shot him a glare, then turned back to Lachlan.

Whose eyes were on me. He moved his gaze along and continued speaking. “Two days ago, I finished production of a spell that is highly dangerous. During transport to the buyer, it was stolen. My friend Decker was abducted along with it. Both need to be recovered quickly—which is why I’m here.”

Man, he was short on words, parsing them out like they were made of gold. I searched his gaze for some emotion linked to his friend’s abduction, but saw nothing.

And how did someone get the drop on the Arch Magus and manage to steal from him? Shouldn’t this guy be strong enough to protect the stuff he made?

He certainly looked like it. And his magic felt like it.

I raised a hand, but didn’t wait to be called on. Something about this guy made me throw caution to the wind. “What was the spell?”

He was being real cagey about that.

“An ancientus spell.”

Holy fates. Ancientus spells could bring back magic from the past, dangerous magic that had been locked away for good reason. They were insanely rare spells. Even I’d heard of the time an ancientus spell had been used to bring back the Black Death. It could kill thousands if used the wrong way. Or it could save lives.

But if it had been stolen and a person kidnapped…that didn’t sound like people who wanted to use it for good.

Who the hell had he been making it for?

I leaned toward Rowan and muttered, “Sounds to me like the spell never should have been made.”

Lachlan’s gaze lingered on me before he continued. “We have one clue about where the magic was taken. The City of Lights, The City of Invaders. But that name could be interpreted in many different ways, and so I need more help. I know that the Protectorate has the best trackers for the job, so I’ve made an offer to Jude and the rest of the directors.”

Jude stepped forward. “We will divide up into teams. The spell could be anywhere in the world. It’s stored in a crystal sphere the size of a man’s fist. Each team can interpret the clue as they wish, but the one to recover the spell will be paid a prize by Lachlan. Half a million pounds.”

Whew. My jaw just about hit the floor.

This spell was that dangerous? He had to know that the Protectorate would search for the spell for free—it was our duty. But to add that kind of incentive?

I looked at Rowan and Bree, who were equally intrigued. We’d never had that kind of money. Hell, we’d always been poor, given that we’d funneled every penny into protection charms to conceal us from the ones who hunted us.

Five hundred thousand pounds was a lot.

I looked down at the Cats of Catastrophe. They looked equally interested—even the goofy orange one had his crossed eyes glued to Jude and Lachlan.

“You guys could buy a lot of fish with that kind of dough,” I said.

Muffin gave a low meow of agreement, his tail quivering in delight.

I couldn’t believe I was having a conversation with a cat. Especially a cat wearing an emerald earring. I turned my attention back to the front of the room, unable to look away from Lachlan.

He was riveting. And suspicious.

I listened with half an ear as Jude explained that they would divide us into teams tonight and give us our partners. The City of Lights, the City of Invaders. Something tugged at my mind, but I couldn’t place it. It was a strange feeling though—sparkling like bubbles in my head. Weird.

When everyone got up to leave, I found myself drawn to the front of the room.

“What are you doing?” Bree hissed.

“I have a question.”

“Of course. Only way to come up with plans B and C is to ask questions.”

“Exactly. Gotta be prepared.”

She leaned against the wall and watched. I weaved through the crowd, headed for Jude and Lachlan. As if he could sense me, he turned.

When he pinned me with his dark gaze, I almost regretted my boldness. Almost.