Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy #1)(49)

“Remember, I said we’re experimenting in your training,” Killian said in his velveteen voice.

“Yes,” I cautiously agreed. “What do you have—planned!” I yelped when Killian scooped me up with an alarming amount of finesse. It was a weird sensation. No one had picked me up like this since I was a teenager, and because he tucked me against his chest I was a lot closer to his face than I wanted to be. In fact, I was now so close that I could see the deep red color of his eyes had flecks of black, which is what made his gaze so much darker than any of his underlings. “What are you doing?” I demanded. I didn’t know what to do with my hands—the adrenaline surge said I should grab onto his jacket and cling for life, but instinct told me that would be a horrible idea. Despite my panic I did notice that Killian was cool—temperature wise, I mean. I was starting to get jealous—I was sweating again—until Killian chuckled.

“I just said.” He spoke in that deceptively light tone I didn’t like. “Experimenting.”

And then he tossed me over the side of the patio. As if I was a bad apple he was casually throwing away.





Chapter Thirteen





Hazel





I screamed as I fell four flights, my eyesight turned blurry from the wind, then something hit me with the force of a train, and I briefly lost all my air.

When I could finally see—and breathe—again, I realized Celestina was holding me much the same way Killian had. “W-w-where?” Bewildered, I looked around. Celestina was standing on the ground floor, just under the patio. She must have caught me when Killian threw me.

“You’re safe, Hazel,” Celestina said in a cooing, calming tone.

“I am not safe,” I wheezed as she slowly set me down. I took a few staggering steps, then glared up at the patio.

“Did your magic break free?” Killian called down in a careless tone.

“You could have killed me!”

Killian leaned against the patio ledge. “That was the point. I wondered if a traumatic event would unseal your magic.”

“I was attacked by a mantasp!” I shouted. “That would have counted as traumatic if that’s all it needed to unseal me!”

Killian shrugged. “It was worth attempting.”

“No, it was not!”

“Also,” Killian continued as if he couldn’t hear me, “I was bored.”

“You can’t toss me over a patio because you’re bored!” I hollered.

“I’m starting to understand that—your yelling is more unpleasant than boredom.”

“GOOD!”

Killian’s smirk—its charm inescapable even from several stories away—re-appeared, and he beckoned to me. “Come back up here.”

“NOT ON YOUR LIFE!”

Killian’s laugh echoed across the mansion grounds as I turned, still irate, to Celestina.

She met my scowl with a slight smile. “I would never hurt you,” she said.

“Yeah, super convincing after you let him throw me off a balcony.”

“I knew I could catch you,” she assured me.

“Uh-huh.” I peered up at the tall vampire, and some of my defensiveness left me as I realized Celestina had her thick black hair down for once. “Did you get your hair cut?”

“Do you like it?” She turned in a circle, a beaming smile turning up the volume of her vampire beauty.

“It’s gorgeous.”

“Thank you!” she said. “Now, shall we go upstairs?”

I groaned. “Doesn’t he have better things to do?”

“Yes,” Celestina agreed. “But it’s not often he has something amusing. Come—this time he won’t drop you over the side.”

“No, instead he’ll just dangle me by my ankle.”

“Your words—they hurt, my wizard,” Killian lazily called down in a voice as sure and smooth as ever.

“You’re as convincing as a cockroach right now, Killian. Try again,” I sourly said.

Killian laughed some more as I reluctantly followed Celestina inside.

Internally, I stewed.

Not over Killian dropping me off the patio—that’s pretty standard for what I’d expect from him.

But there was something about this…it didn’t really feel like Killian was trying to weaponize me. He seemed to be having…fun. And weirdly, I was grateful for the hassle he was willing to go through to see me safe.

But was I just being stupid? Or was Felix wrong; could I really make friends with these vampires—as deadly and dangerous as they were?





Since I’d been moved to the floor the vampires lived on, I’d also been…encouraged to eat dinner with them. Breakfast and lunch I had in the kitchen with the other staff members, but the few times I had tried skipping dinner, Celestina showed up to drag me off to the dining room.

It’s not what it sounds like.

Yeah, they insisted on keeping the lights dim so I could only tell about half of what I was eating. But the vampires didn’t just sit there swirling blood in wine glasses—though, for reference, they were served blood in either frosted or heated mugs depending on their personal preference—they actually ate some human food.