The Spell Realm (The Sorcery Code #2)(7)

Gala felt her own skin heating up. The feeling she was experiencing now was akin to the tingling, pleasant sensation she’d felt previously at his touch, only magnified a hundredfold. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, and she felt like she was on the verge of losing control, of casting some random magic again. She tried to steady her emotions, but it was futile. Something about the beautiful lake, the fresh mountain air, and the proximity of their naked bodies intensified her feelings. As though sensing her reaction, Blaise began to lean in toward her, his breathing accelerating as well.

Suddenly, there was a scream from the shore. Startled, Blaise turned, releasing Gala. “Stay here,” he ordered curtly, and dove under the water, heading quickly for the shore.

Gala ignored his instruction and began swimming back as well. As she got closer, she could see that Esther and Maya were not alone on the shore anymore. Instead, they were surrounded by a group of strangers. Gala counted twelve people—eleven men of various ages and one young woman dressed in boy’s clothes. They were holding bows and arrows aimed at Maya and Esther.

Gala’s heart started racing. Had the soldiers found them here, or was this some new threat?

She started swimming as fast as she could, passing Blaise on her way.

As she reached the shore, she could hear growling. One of the lions had come out of the forest, apparently attracted by the women’s screams. Standing near the trees, he looked like he was about to pounce on the intruders.

Perceiving the animal as the bigger threat, the archers swiftly pointed their weapons at the lion. Gala could see from the tiny muscle movements of their hands that they were about to release their bowstrings.

“No, don’t hurt it,” Maya yelled, apparently arriving at the same conclusion.

Gala was on the shore now, and she came out of the water.

At the sound of splashing, the strangers turned towards her, their eyes wide with shock at the sight of a naked woman emerging from the lake.

“Put down your weapons,” a voice boomed from some indeterminate direction, distracting the archers. Gala recognized the sound as the magically amplified voice of Blaise. She could see his head coming up out of the water near the shore as the archers started scanning the surroundings, searching for the source of the voice.

Gala used their distraction to hurry over to her clothes and start putting them on. For some reason, she was not particularly afraid of these people. Despite their threatening posture, she didn’t think they came here with the intent to cause them harm. They didn’t seem to recognize her; instead their aggression appeared to be more of a defense mechanism.

At the same time, Gala sensed a spell forming around her and felt a faint vibration in the air. As far as she could tell, it was a protective bubble of some kind. Blaise must have just cast it over her and the older women.

Turning back toward the shore, she saw Blaise standing waist-deep in the water, his broad chest and shoulders bare. Despite the danger of the situation, Gala’s breath caught in her throat—and apparently she wasn’t the only one having that reaction. Glancing back at the intruders, Gala saw the female archer staring at Blaise with avid fascination.

Two of the male archers pointed their weapons at Blaise. “Who are you?” one of them demanded. “What are you doing here?”

Blaise gazed at them steadily. “I am Blaise, son of Dasbraw—”

“Blaise?” the man interrupted. “The Blaise? As in Blaise from the Council?” Upon hearing that, the other men’s faces darkened. They didn’t seem pleased by the idea of a Council member in their midst.

“I am no longer on the Council,” Blaise said flatly. “And who might you be?”

“Don’t tell him anything,” an archer with a scar on his face said grimly. “He’s one of them—”

“Let me do the talking, Shram,” the first man said, stepping forward, his bow and arrow still tightly drawn. He was shorter than the others, but there was something commanding about the way he held himself. Gala could see that the others subtly deferred to him. He was most likely their leader, she decided.

“Put down your weapons,” Blaise ordered again, looking at the short man. “We mean you no harm.”

Shram sneered. “Right, sure. None of you sorcerers ever mean harm—”

“Shram,” the leader said warningly, and the man fell silent.

“Finally, someone with brains,” Esther muttered, speaking for the first time. Gala noticed that she seemed much braver now that Blaise and Gala were there. Raising her voice, the old woman told the leader, “You better do as Blaise says, or he’ll make you disappear with a few words.”

The short man stepped forward, ignoring her. “I am Kostya,” he said calmly. “If you are Blaise from the Council, then what are you doing here in our mountains?”

“Why don’t I get dressed, and then we’ll talk?” Blaise suggested, coming out of the water completely. Out of the corner of her eye, Gala could see Esther and Maya averting their eyes. Gala, on the other hand, couldn’t help but stare—and she noticed that the female archer couldn’t tear her gaze away either. The archer’s staring was starting to annoy Gala, though she didn’t know why.

“Stop moving,” Shram said, his arrow still pointed at Blaise. The man looked both angry and frightened, his scarred face creased in a grimace.