A Kind Of Magic by Donna Grant Page A

feet out from underneath you, and I pray I’m there to see it.” Val put his hands over his heart and let his head fall back. “Ah, never say such words.”

    “It’ll happen. That I promise you.”

    Val sat up and studied him. “Has it happened to you?” Roderick shook his head. “Hasn’t yet, and I hope it doesn’t. At least not until I’ve vanquished the evil here and can help my own realm. If it still exists.”
    “It
    does.”

    Roderick clenched his jaw and gripped the counter top, the rooming spinning at Val’s words. “What?”

    “You might not want to ask Aimery for fear of discovering bad news, not to mention you have a hard time dealing with why you left, so I asked for you.”

    “Well,” he prompted the Roman. His patience fast running out.

    “Thales still stands. It is being ravaged, but not as severely as Earth.” Roderick breathed a sigh of relief. He had desperately wanted to know how his realm was doing but couldn’t work up the courage to ask.

    “Why did you leave?” Val asked.

    Roderick had told no one the reason for his departure of Thales, but Aimery knew. Thankfully, the Fae never said a word, and the other Shields hadn’t asked since each of them carried their own secrets and demons.

    “You’ve never asked me that before.”

    Val shrugged. “’Tis always been an unspoken rule that we leave the past behind.”

    “So why ask now?”

    “I’m curious. I saw the pain on your face when I mentioned Thales. You are a prince there, Roderick. What could have made you leave?” Roderick bowed his head and took a deep breath. There was no way he could tell his friend and fellow Shield just what he had done. “Something so awful I’m trying to redeem myself in my family’s eyes.”

    Val said no more, and for that Roderick would be eternally grateful. Talking of his home and his parents brought him so much pain that he rarely did it. One day soon, however, he would return to them and hopefully be forgiven for the most unforgivable of sins.

----

    Elle woke slowly, the sun shining brightly in her room. She glanced at the clock, saw she would be terribly late for work, but didn’t care. Her hand snaked out of the sheets and reached for the phone. A quick call letting them know she was sick—which wasn’t a lie, she was sick in the head for believing Roderick—and she could face the day and the horrors that waited.

    She sat up and stretched her arms over her head as she heard mumblings from the kitchen. It was easy to determine which one was Val and which was Roderick as they talked. Val’s voice was deeper, rougher, while Roderick’s held a refinement that she would almost compare to royalty.

    Try as she might, she couldn’t make out their conversation without getting out of bed, and since she wasn’t an eavesdropper, she decided to make a quick trip to the bathroom to take care of business before heading into the kitchen. As she walked past her mirror she saw her silky chemise she wore to bed and hastily tugged on a robe.

    When she walked into the kitchen, neither man was speaking. Val spared her a glance and a nod as she walked past him.
    “Morning,”
    she
    mumbled.

    She wasn’t what was considered a morning person. It took her a bit to wake up and start functioning properly to go out into the real world, which is why she hated having company.

    “Did you sleep well?” Roderick asked from beside her.

    Elle covered her mouth as she began to yawn. “Not really,” she answered and reached into the fridge for a Diet Dr. Pepper. All she needed was a little caffeine in the mornings, and she was fine. She didn’t even need the whole bottle, just a few swallows and she was set.

    “You?” she asked as she replaced the can and shut the fridge door.

    “Well
    enough.”

    As Elle leaned against the fridge, she couldn’t get the image of the Harpies out of her mind. They had plagued her all night. “Will the Harpies attack during the day?” Both Roderick and