Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy #1)(30)

“I’m sorry to say it doesn’t give a reason why.” The Paragon thoughtfully tapped his ledger.

“I don’t care why they did it,” Killian snarled. “What’s important is the seal. Can you remove it, or must it be broken?”

“Um,” the Paragon said.

“Um?” Killian repeated in an icy voice.

I was barely aware of their argument. I bent over, my head hanging between my knees as I just tried to breathe.

“It doesn’t give any conditions for breaking the seal, or any instructions,” the Paragon said.

“Your predecessor was so sloppy he didn’t make any notes?”

“We Paragons take pride in our work!” The Paragon preened, then almost jabbed himself in the eye when he tried to push his glasses, which were still on the desk, up his nose. “We don’t often take private clients, but when we do all is done to their specifications. In this case Rand and Rose of House Medeis signed a silence clause. Only they and my predecessor know the details of the seal, and they are all unfortunately dead.”

“If you cannot break it, then remove it,” Killian ordered.

“If a lesser fae had made the seal I could, but I’d not risk it on my predecessor’s work. He was a wily, shifty old man,” the Paragon said, sounding not very Paragon-like. “It’s unlikely to work, and far more likely that she’d die—which would do you no good.”

Killian growled, and I finally managed to sit up.

I was still shocked—this changed everything in my life for the good, but I was dimly starting to realize what it meant.

My parents had lied to me about my magic for years. They saw me get bullied and picked on for my lack of magic, and they never told me the truth. Even now, when I was an adult!

But I also realized that my present situation—with Killian Drake and his “interest” in me—was pretty treacherous, and I needed to be aware of what he was saying—or about to do to me.

“How, then, can she remove it?” Killian asked.

The Paragon retrieved his ledger and snapped it shut. “Based on my predecessor’s limited notations, it seems that the seal has a condition on it—a requirement she must meet or perform. If she meets that condition, her magic will be freed.”

Killian raised one dark eyebrow. “You don’t know what the exact condition is?”

“The ledger doesn’t say, no.”

“Exactly what good are you?”

“That was hurtful!”

“You seem to be under a delusion that I care.”

The Paragon sniffed and stuck his nose in the air. “I’ll see that I remember this whenever you ask me for a favor.”

“You have yet to actually be helpful,” Killian said. “All you did is confirm Medeis has more magic. You can’t break her seal, and you won’t take the Night Court in hand and get them under control—”

“I am the top fae representative, not the fae emperor!”

“There hasn’t been an emperor in at least 50 years,” Killian impatiently said. “You’re as close as it gets.”

The Paragon looked like he wanted to rip Killian a new one—he seemed a bit taller and wider in the shoulders than when we first met him, so he probably was wearing a disguise—and as much as I would like to see that, the seal did concern me.

“Could you make a guess?” I asked.

The fae swiveled around to face me and blinked. “Pardon?”

I forced myself to stand and took in a deep breath. I had to handle this—I didn’t have my House at the moment, and it was possible the Drake Family would make things worse. I needed to be calm—even though my head still buzzed. “The seal.” I said. “Could you make a guess what its breaking condition is?”

“Oh. Well. Stereotypically, if a seal is placed on a person who is not a criminal, the breaking condition is that their life is in danger, or that they are being attacked. There’s a chance…” He trailed off when he saw my face.

I shook my head. “I’ve been attacked twice in the last week.”

The Paragon glared accusingly at Killian. “Are you doing a crappy job of taking care of your servants?”

Killian folded his arms across his chest with the grace of a panther. “I did say she sought me out.”

“And they say we fae are evasive,” the Paragon grumbled before facing me. “True love’s kiss is a popular seal in fae culture, but given your age I’d guess it wasn’t yours. Taking into account the secrecy, it’s fairly likely the condition was set by your parents, in which case your guess would be better than mine. I assume you know them well, which makes you more likely to guess what sort of condition they would set.”

An hour ago I might have agreed, but I didn’t know anymore. Did I really know my parents? I mean, how could they hide something like this from me? What other secrets did they have that I never knew about?

“Can you tell how much power she has behind the seal?” Killian asked.

The Paragon retrieved his glasses and rubbed them off on his robe. “Want to be sure it’s worth the investment, eh?”

“Yes,” was Killian’s flat reply.

The Paragon glanced at me, but I just shrugged again.

At this moment I’d rather have Killian’s brutal honesty in his motives than my parents’ kind lies.