Scorched by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #7)(9)

We ate a quick breakfast of eggs, bacon, and muffins, then hopped onto my bike and headed to the Port. The sun was hidden behind thick, iron-grey clouds, and a chill wind ripped through my leather jacket. Fall was here, in the turning leaves of the trees lining the streets and the pleasant scent of cedar and pine smoke rising from chimney stacks. Pedestrians were bundled in warm coats and scarves, and they hurried along a little faster than usual in an effort to get out of the cold.

Traffic was heavy at this time of the morning, so it took us a good twenty-five minutes to get to Comenius’s shop. Since it wasn’t open for business, we went around the side and up the stairs to knock on the door.

An uncharacteristically scruffy Comenius answered the door, his cornflower-blue eyes bleary from lack of sleep.

“Well, hello!” he exclaimed, a smile blooming on his face despite the desperation in his eyes. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Hey, Com.” I embraced him, hugging him a little tighter than normal. By the looks of him, he needed it. He let us into his apartment, where Elania was busy cleaning away the dishes from breakfast. My eyebrows rose at the sight of a pile of eggs and shattered ceramic dishes on the floor that she was sweeping up, and she gave me an apologetic smile. At least, I thought that was what it was—it came out more like a grimace.

“Sorry about the mess,” she said, straightening up. “We had a rather…eventful breakfast this morning.”

“I see.” I looked around the apartment. It looked the same as always, but there was an edge of resentment in the air. “Where is Rusalia?”

“In the bedroom,” Comenius muttered. “I banished her there after she refused to clean up the mess.” He scooped a hand through his ash-blond hair. “Her temper isn’t improving at all, I’m afraid.”

“I can hear you talking about me!” a girlish voice called in a thick Pernian accent. Little feet stomped across the floorboards, and Comenius’s bedroom door flew open to reveal a girl of about ten with strawberry-blonde curls to her shoulders, dressed in a flannel frock and stockings. Her large blue eyes, identical to Com’s, flashed mutinously, and her rosebud mouth was turned down into a fierce scowl.

“Hey there,” I said, in as friendly a tone as I could manage. After all, I knew what it was like to lose a mother at a similar age, though I’d never been allowed to express my grief in tantrums and broken dishes. “I’m Sunaya Baine, and this is my friend Lanyr.”

“I know who you are,” Rusalia sneered, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “You’re my father’s hybrid friend. I don’t want to talk to you.” She spun on her heel and made to storm back into the bedroom.

“Rusalia,” Comenius thundered, but Rusalia acted as if she hadn’t even heard him. His eyes glittered with rage and despair—I’d never seen him so angry before, and I couldn’t blame him. This kid had a chip on her shoulder the size of Garai! Unwilling to let it go, I spoke the Words to a spell I’d tried out once or twice and flung out my hand.

Before she could take another step, a golden rope shot from my outstretched hand and coiled around her waist, pulling her to an abrupt halt. A shriek of anger and surprise tore from her throat as she tried to both pull away and turn toward me, but before she could, I jerked hard on my magical lasso, pulling her off her feet and causing her to come sailing toward me.

As terror flashed across her face, I reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, arresting her fall and stopping her in her tracks.

“Now listen here,” I said sternly as the fear on her face turned to anger. She struggled, trying to pull away, but it was no use. I was way stronger than she was, and even if I wasn’t, my magic would hold her tight. “Your father is a good man, and he’s doing his best to take care of you. I don’t like the way you’re treating him, and he doesn’t either. What are you going to do if he throws you out onto the street?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“If he does that, then he’s just as bad as Mother always said,” Rusalia spat defiantly. For a moment, I wondered if she was trying to push her father far enough to confirm her suspicions about who she thought he was. “Let me go!”

“Not until you apologize,” I insisted, ignoring her struggles even though part of me wanted to shake her for being so unreasonable. Didn’t she know how good of a person her father was?

“You can’t leave me tied up like this forever.” Rusalia smirked up at me, all petulant defiance, practically daring me with her eyes to do just that.

She was right, of course. I couldn’t leave her bound forever, but I could do something else. Something she’d never see coming.

As I released my hold on her shoulders, I retreated two paces, leaving her bound by my spell. Confusion instantly replaced Rusalia’s triumphant look as I reached for the beast inside me. As the familiar white glow enveloped me, my body stretched and shifted, reshaping itself until I stood not on two legs, but four. Fangs, claws, and fur replaced my clothing and weapons, and I opened my mouth wide, letting out a fearsome snarl.

Rusalia shrieked, darting behind her father for protection while she struggled against my binding spell. “Get her out of here,” she cried, huddling behind Comenius as best she could with her arms bound.

“I think Sunaya’s still looking for an apology,” Rylan said, and Rusalia stiffened at his words. “She’s a lot more dangerous in this form. I mean, have you seen those fangs? Practically big as daggers,” he said, swallowing hard as he looked from me to her and back again. “You know how shifters are. She might not listen.”