Magical Midlife Meeting (Leveling Up 5)

“But you killed him,” I said softly, my mind whirling, my gut saying one thing, and my logic saying another. “You killed Sebastian.”

His right lid peeled open to reveal a pale blue eye, followed by his left. He didn’t move any other part of his body. “I killed Kinsella because you can’t be in bad standing with the Mages’ Guild. Not yet. I put the glamor you know as Sebastian over Kinsella’s face. Sebastian isn’t dead. I am the mage you knew. Elliot Graves is my stage name.”

I shook my head. “Fat chance. If that’s the case, why did you want to trade me for Austin?”

“I needed to get you down here so we could talk. But when that big shifter wakes up, it won’t take him long to get out of that cage, and I do not want to be on the other side of his wrath.”

I stared down at him, horribly conflicted, knowing this was a trick. Elliot Graves was great at manipulation.

But now that the idea was in my mind, it blossomed. Elliot and Sebastian, Sebastian and Elliot. Several of his tics were the same.

“If you’re Sebastian, how did you act around the shifters? How did you stand?”

He huffed out a laugh and closed his eyes. “You’re so freaking clever, Jacinta. If I had cracked someone’s mind open for their secrets, there’s no way I would have thought to ask that question.” A smile drifted up his face, a little crooked, and my heart beat faster. “How did I stand? I hunched, unable to help it at first because I kept wondering what I would do if one of them attacked me, delighted by my fear, and then on purpose to make sure no one thought I was challenging them.” He licked his lips and opened his eyes again. “I have a lot to tell you, Jacinta. I have a lot to explain.”

“Elliot Graves has a lot to explain.”

“Yes. But so does Sebastian. Two halves of the same coin. I meant what I said last month. I will never hurt you, Jessie. I want to be your instructor. You need one. I would be a great one. We worked insanely well together.”

“You’d never hurt me? You just tried to kill me!”

“I challenged you, and that was ordained. I knew I wouldn’t hurt you. I just didn’t know if our…contest, if you will…would result in my death, or a nice, long chat. I still don’t know.”

“Where did you set up your lab as Sebastian?”

“My table and camping stove, you mean? Do you still have those? I’d like them back if you do. That stove had a really good control of the flame. I’ve gotten the same brand, but it doesn’t work as well. Or maybe it’s that crystal room.” He hesitated. “I’d like to work in there again. Within Ivy House. I have so many ideas for some of those spells.”

“I don’t…” I took another step back. I didn’t know what to say. What to do. I freaking believed him! It wasn’t his words so much, either. It was the way he was talking. The down-to-earth, chill vibe. The unassuming look in his eyes—when they were open.

But all of that was so different from the Elliot Graves I’d met in this place. The smug, arrogant guy who’d been dogging my steps.

“Please, Jessie, let me explain,” he said. “Let me tell you my history. You can lock me in that cage if you want. For God’s sake, let your mate out. I approve, by the way. I thought he would be perfect for you even before you mated. He’s perfect for an heir. The only reason I brought him here like this was so I could get the chance to talk to you without ending up like Chambers. You can let him out and put me in. Whatever will give me some time.”

He sat up, his hands clasped in his lap. Eyes wary, he stood, moving just as slowly. “I’ll just go let him out, okay? Will that work?”

“Why don’t you just wake him up? You can sit in the chair, and he can sit beside you…”

“I’d rather not. I think I’d be safer in a cage.”

I let out my breath. It was the kind of thing Sebastian would have said.

“Open it, wake him up, and sit in the chair.” I pointed at one in the back corner.

“You drive a hard bargain.”

With a snap of his fingers, the cage sprang open. Another wave of his hands and Austin jolted to consciousness, his eyes blinking open, rage immediately surging through him. Elliot practically sprinted to the corner and quickly sat.

“Please don’t let him kill me,” he said. There was no disgust or condemnation in his tone—just the fear of someone who deeply respected what shifters could do.

Austin practically jumped out of the cage and stalked toward me, his fingers wrapping around my upper arm. Assured I was okay, he turned and stared Elliot down.