Magical Midlife Meeting (Leveling Up #5)(35)

“Thank you, corporal.” Nessa hung up the phone. There weren’t ranks within the staff—there was one captain, and the rest were corporals. It was a little absurd, but it enhanced the eccentricity of Elliot Graves, so Sebastian had never commented on it. “They made a swap right before go time and clearly didn’t care if we noticed.”

“Seems that way.”

“He’s fit, too.” Nessa was looking harder at the screen. “I’ll take a boy named Sue. How do you do?”

“Okay, that’s enough. Don’t chase the shifters until after you’ve met them face to face. You might change your tune.”

“I’m not trying to marry one of them, Sabby. I just want to take one of them home and play with him for a little while.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes with a grin. Nessa had been friends with Jala, Sebastian’s sister, which was why she sometimes called him Sabby when she was being silly. It grounded him. “Explosive action with a heavy side of danger? Yes, please. ”

Sebastian watched Jessie follow the attendant down the largest tunnel to the plushest collection of rooms Sebastian had, save his own quarters and Nessa’s rooms. The alpha was just a little behind, his hand on the small of her back, his eyes straight ahead but his senses probably on overdrive, sussing out danger. The rest of the crew followed them.

“They are lining up according to power level, then,” Nessa asked, studying them, no longer ogling Broken Sue. It was time to do her job.

Sebastian rifled through his memory. “Looks about right. Except the shifters aren’t in the rear because they’re weak. When a shifter expects danger from behind, one of the strongest will take up the last place. An alpha or the next best thing, I think.”

“Broken Sue is clearly the next best thing.” Nessa bit her lip. “It’s impossible to gauge how the heir’s people will fare against the magical might you have coming in here. I’ve read up on the various creatures, but…” She shook her head. “How they will do here is a blind spot for me.”

“They’ll be a blind spot for everyone. So will Jessie. Honestly, wait and see. I wasn’t telling tall tales.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, sure.” She checked her watch. “We have our first mouse landing at the airstrip in thirty minutes. Have you decided how many of these mages you’ll leave alive?”

“No. It depends on how the week unravels.”

“Well.” Nessa straightened up and headed for the door. “Don’t get soft. You have a reputation to uphold. That reputation is your safety net. Keep it taut.”

“Yes, captain.” He was supposed to be some evil overlord, but he constantly got pushed around and told what to do by his underling. He was pretty sure he was doing it wrong.

He noticed the tension in Jessie’s eyes as she passed from camera to camera. She didn’t understand why any of this was necessary. But it was. Sebastian was only setting her up because he hoped to save her life.

He just hoped, when the time came, she’d return the favor.

The attendant stopped in front of her door, explaining some details about the quarters she’d been given. When she was finished, she left them to it.

Jessie opened the door, but the alpha stopped her, wrapping her in his body and his protection. Sebastian doubted any of the other heirs had found a man like him. A man who wouldn’t hesitate to put her safety over his own. That was why the Ivy House magic was designed to be shared between the heir and her chosen protector: he could fight for her safety if need be.

It was said that Tamara had built that little “safeguard” into her magic at her lover’s insistence, and the loophole had accidentally been passed to the house along with the magic. At that point, it was impossible to remove.

Sebastian wondered about that, however. From his readings, Tamara had seemed like a whip-smart woman who’d made a youth’s mistake in love. At the end of her life, she could have struck out at her attacker, her lover, and died in the process, but instead she’d chosen to protect the magic. Stripping herself—and him—of magic and transferring it to the house had taken time. She’d had enough of it to consider abolishing the protector’s role. But she hadn’t. She’d chosen to keep the magic sharable. And in so doing, she’d ensured a long line of heirs followed her fate: going for the wrong guy and paying the ultimate price.

Maybe Sebastian was just a hopeless romantic at heart, but he didn’t think Tamara had done it out of bitterness. He believed with all his soul that she had transferred the magic that way—sharable—out of hope. He believed she had wished for a future heir to find the kind of partner she’d always wanted—and to give him the magic with an open heart and solid trust so that he might use it to protect her in a way no one else could. In a way she couldn’t protect herself.

The other heirs had all been young, however, and young people were more liable to make mistakes when it came to love.

Miss Jessie Ironheart was in a different phase of her life. She’d learned from her mistakes and had the wisdom to show for it. In her new life, she was more discerning, which was why she’d found what the other heirs had not—a partner who was worthy of her.

Austin Steele was everything Tamara would’ve wanted. He was designed for the protector’s magic, and he’d know exactly how to use it, Sebastian was positive. Austin probably wouldn’t even want it, or think he needed it. Which, of course, meant he was exactly the right person to wield it.