Read Online Mercenary Magic by Ella Summers - Free Book Online

He’s not here. And he’s not your client. I am,” he said. “I want you to call me Kai.”
    “Very well. Kai.”
    It didn’t sound as intimidating as Drachenburg. And that was dangerous. Intimidating was good. It reminded her of what he was: a threat hidden beneath a handsome mask.
    “Good. Mr. Drachenburg is my father. Or it’s what other people—people who revere me, who are scared of me—call me.”
    “I’m too insubordinate to revere people, no matter who they are. And I’m too stupid to be scared of anyone.”
    He laughed. “No, you’re not. You only pretend to be.”
    “I hunt down misbehaving monsters for a living. That’s not smart; it’s pretty damn dumb.”
    “Dumb and desperate are two entirely different things. You took a dangerous job because you needed the money. The fact that you’ve survived all these years proves you’re not just a dumb brute.”
    She crossed her arms against her chest. “I am so. You don’t know anything about me.”
    “I know what Riley told me.”
    “And what was that?”
    “That your mother died when you were very young. That you, your twin sister, and he lost your dad when you were only sixteen. You were only a child. You could have run off, but you took care of your brother. You got a job hunting monsters. And because of that money you brought home, Riley was able to get a proper education. That speaks droves about you.”
    Riley had said too much. He shouldn’t have mentioned that she and Alex were twins. Coupled with his suspicions about her strange magic, it might be enough for Kai to put two and two together.
    “I haven’t seen such devotion to family from most of the world’s esteemed magical dynasties, even though they pride themselves on exactly that.”
    In his eyes, Sera saw something she’d seen rarely—and certainly never directed at her. Respect. He respected her. It felt…good. It shouldn’t have. She shouldn’t have cared what he thought of her. He couldn’t be trusted.
    “You used Riley to spy on me,” she said, crunching that reminder into her mind.
    “If I was going to hire you, I needed to know what sort of person you are.”
    He said it as though he didn’t even realize what he’d done was wrong. And that was the whole problem. That was why she couldn’t trust him. Morality was elastic to him, something that could be wielded as a shield or moved aside when it was too much of an inconvenience.
    “I’m a person who doesn’t like to be spied on,” she told him. “Now, let’s get back to why we’re here. What exactly do you expect to find here, Kai ?”
    His lower lip twitched. “I’m not sure. Whoever or whatever was controlling Finn was hitching a ride in his body. They might not have been sharing their intentions, but they must have left clues.”
    “Finn said he couldn’t read their mind,” she said, chewing on the thought. “But could they read Finn’s?”
    “You mean, was it more than his body they were using?”
    She nodded. “You told me that the only people who could bypass your security are select members of your family. If someone is controlling their bodies and reading their minds, that could be their way in.”
    “Remember the spell I had put on all of us. Myself included. No one with malicious intent can bypass the security. Based on the apocalyptic slideshow Finn caught, I think it’s safe to say this person has nothing but malicious intentions.”
    “Magic is not foolproof. And this wacko is clearly no ordinary individual.”
    “True.” Kai pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket. His fingers swirled and swiped across the screen. “I’m putting a few more guys on Finn watch. If he starts acting crazy again, we’ll know it.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked at her. “My people searched this scene right after you brought Finn in. Besides the damage he shouldn’t have been able to cause, they didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. But I still think someone that