Magical Midlife Meeting (Leveling Up #5)(38)

“Damn him,” I murmured, my stomach fluttering despite my best efforts not to react.

I wouldn’t accept any of this. I couldn’t. He’d invaded my house, attacked my people, hired people to kidnap me, and killed my trainer. My friend.

He could not buy me things so I would forget. I would not forget.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t at least look, though. I was only human.

I pulled the cream-white ribbon from the blue Tiffany box and gently lifted the cover. Inside was a rose-gold cuff with a ring of diamonds on each end. In the middle sparkled an infinity sign, rendered in diamonds. A tiny square of paper lay within the hollow of the cuff, and on it read, You’ll be the only heir to live forever.

The breath left me, and I nearly threw the box and contents across the room. Instead, I lowered it to my lap and looked at it for a moment longer. It wasn’t just a costly gift—it was thoughtful, too.

He’d seen one of my fears, somehow, and thought to settle it.

He was good.

I replaced the cover and set it aside, lifting the long Gucci box. This one proved to be a black clutch with a diamond insignia. The note read, In case you don’t have any high fashion for dinner.

This will go with everything.

I had high fashion. Mr. Tom had insisted on it and also called me ridiculous for worrying about the price tags when I didn’t ever have to worry about money again. Old habits died hard.

An Apple box was next. I expected some sort of high-end electronic, but a glittering gold and diamond iPhone case stared up at me.

“I’d break this in a heartbeat,” I muttered, picking up the note inside and turning it over to read it: A ridiculous display of wealth. I’m guessing you’ll re-gift it to someone you have to impress. Like I did.

I stared at the note for a second and thought about laughing. And then thought about crying. Why did he have to seem so human? To do what I needed to do, I had to think of him as a monster.

I opened a small black velvet box, and a note fell out and fluttered onto my lap. The white-gold ring boasted a translucent, emerald-cut ruby bracketed by two diamonds. I bent to grab the note.

Red diamonds are the rarest in the world. They are absolutely priceless. Just like your magic.

Full disclosure: I stole this one. The owner was a real dickhead. Don’t worry, someone else has killed him since. You’re free and clear.

I looked closer. I hadn’t even known red diamonds existed.

The box with the name I didn’t recognize, Piaget, yielded a gorgeous watch with a deep blue face marked with what looked like white-gold numbers, surrounded by white-gold casing inlaid with baguette diamonds. The deep blue leather band matched the face. It was probably ungodly expensive, but it looked simple and elegant.

The note: Just a pretty, everyday watch I thought you might like.

There were notes with each and every thing, explaining why the gift was in the basket. They were all thoughtful. They all implied he knew me.

Bose earphones. To drown out the others while you are confined in this tiny cave.

A box of Swiss truffles: This is the best chocolate I’ve ever had. I am submitting it to you for your assessment. Everyone knows women are the chief experts in these things.

The last thing I pulled out was a fountain pen shaped as a quill, its stand designed to look like a bottle of ink. The note: I confess, I got carried away. I thought it was cool until I got it. Online ordering, what can you do?

“Hey…” Austin poked his head in. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I placed the—actually quite cool—fountain pen back into the basket and started loading everything else up. “What’s up?”

“Did you get any good stuff?” He walked in, cool and confident, the swagger of a king. “You should see the watch I got. It’s a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime out of his personal collection.”

He searched my blank face. “No? Well, trust me, it is a helluva watch. He somehow knew I was a watch guy.”

“You’re not freaked out about that fact?”

“No. He just wants us to know he’s done his homework. He has the home-court advantage, and he’s showing it. I’ll wear it to dinner tomorrow night.”

“You can’t wear it to dinner tomorrow! It’ll look like he has the upper hand. Or like he’s buying us. We can’t accept this stuff.”

“Wearing it will show that I am taking all of this in stride. Which I am. I don’t care about these little things. The food, the accommodations, the note in the room next to yours, where the watch was waiting for me, suggesting I place the second most powerful person in our crew there, since I’ll be sleeping with you…” Austin looked around the room and then shrugged out of his jacket. “This is much nicer than I was expecting. More spacious and defensible, too. We’re trapped in here—there are no exits save the door we came through—but there is a limit as to how many people they can send after us. The bodies will pile high before they can get through the door. They’ll create their own barricade.”

“Gross.”

He laid his jacket across the back of one of the chairs and undid the cuff link on his right sleeve.

“We’re going to be okay. We’re going to get a good night’s sleep tonight, we’ll explore a little in the morning, looking for exits and places we can sneak the gargoyles in, and tomorrow night we’ll assess the danger with the other mages. You might actually be able to make a few connections while you’re here.”