Tiana: Wayward Mage Book 4 Read online

  Tiana

  An Urban Fantasy

  Wayward Mage

  Book Four

  Ann Gimpel

  Contents

  Tiana

  Book Description: Tiana

  Books in the Wayward Mage Series

  1. Abria

  2. Blake

  3. Abria

  4. Tiana

  5. Blake

  6. Abria

  7. Blake

  8. Tiana

  9. Abria

  10. Tiana

  11. Blake

  12. Tiana

  13. Abria

  14. Tiana

  15. Blake

  16. Tiana

  17. Abria

  18. Blake

  19. Epilogue, Tiana

  Book Description, Court of Rogues

  Chapter One, Cyn

  About the Author

  Also by Ann Gimpel

  Tiana

  Wayward Mage Book Four

  An Urban Fantasy

  * * *

  By

  Ann Gimpel

  * * *

  Tumble off reality’s edge into a dangerous world fueled by lore and magic

  Copyright Page

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © September 2022, Ann Gimpel

  Cover by Julie Nichols, JMN Art

  Edited by Kate Richards

  Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or people living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, e-mail, or web posting without written permission from the author.

  Book Description: Tiana

  I need more time to train Tiana, but our enemies won’t wait for the young Sidhe Queen to embrace her full power.

  * * *

  At the drop of a hat—seemingly—I became a mother. Not that I’d ever considered the possibility of parenthood. If I had, whatever I came up with would have been far off the mark.

  Tiana had opinions before she was born. Ones she was vocal about.

  She inherited my affinity for animals, Blake’s wings, and his Sidhe royal lineage. In Underhill, they hail her as their queen, which has made raising her far more difficult. If one of us says no, she runs to her bevy of honorary aunts and uncles, one of whom is sure to indulge her.

  Between Tiana’s magic and her position in Sidhe society, I assumed she’d be a target from the moment of her birth. Somehow, a dozen years have passed. I’ve often let my guard down—and kicked myself for my lack of vigilance.

  Steeped in magic, my wild child gets lost in the moment. I need a few more years to entrain her power. But if I know that, so do our enemies. They will come for her.

  When it happens, we must be ready. All of us.

  * * *

  Reader Note: If you enjoy urban fantasy with Celtic goddesses, unicorns, Sidhe, Cailleach, and a magical owl this story is for you. It’s the 5th book in the Wayward Mage series. For the best reading experience, start with the #free prequel, Hands of Fate.

  Books in the Wayward Mage Series

  Hands of Fate (a novella)

  Jinxed

  Hunted

  Salvaged

  Tiana

  Chapter 1

  Abria

  Twelve years after the end of Salvaged, the previous book in this series.

  * * *

  I’ve gotten to know Underhill well since I took up residence here. Or maybe the magical land has gotten to know me. These kinds of things flow both ways. It took me a decade to finally let my flat in Nairn go. Blake was infinitely patient. He said I could keep it forever if it made me feel more secure, but I tired of adopting a glamour to make me appear as if I’d aged whenever I visited the place.

  Since my sojourns—at least to my old flat—grew progressively fewer, I finally gave notice. My landlord was sorry to see me go. Of course, he was. I was likely one of a handful of long-term tenants who always paid the rent on time.

  A sharp knock at the door was followed by it slamming against the stops as someone shoved it open. Irritation blazed a trail through me. Blake may head the Sidhe, but they afforded him little respect and less than no privacy.

  I was dressed this time, a plus. Today’s choice was a flowing silk skirt in muted teal and violet tones. I’d layered a white woolen tunic over it and donned sturdy brown leather boots. I’ve learned to put on the day’s clothing the minute I waken, and I’d been up for a couple of hours.

  So much for my leisurely tea-and-biscuit breakfast while I worked my way through a new scroll Blake had unearthed about my specific type of magic.

  On my feet, I strode from the kitchen. Before I reached the living room, Breanne met me with Tiana in tow. The Sidhe warrior is as broad as she is tall. Her considerable bulk quivered with outrage, making the circle of white curls around her head bounce. Gray eyes zeroed in on me.

  “Do you know where I found your daughter?” she demanded.

  Rather than falling for the bait, I stared pointedly at Tiana. She glared back, defiance dripping from every cell. “You were supposed to meet Kirwan in the library for your studies,” I noted.

  “Ha!” Breanne snorted. “He alerted me she never showed, so I hunted her down.”

  Breath hissed through my clenched teeth. Why in the hell hadn’t Kirwan told me Tiana was missing? How many years would it take before I was more than “the mage married to Blake”? Or Elwyn as many of his subjects preferred to call him.

  “Do you have anything to say?” I asked my daughter.

  A mulish expression marred her features, and she fluffed her wings preparatory to spreading them and flying away. I dropped a magical lasso over her black and indigo appendages and said, “You are not leaving.”

  “But I wasn’t done,” she whined.

  Fuckity fuck. “Done with what?” I asked both of them.

  “I found her in a wolf’s den,” Breanne growled. “Took gobs of magic to extricate her. Momma wolf wanted to rip into me.”

  Alarm bells ran down my back. “You didn’t hurt her—”

  Breanne cut me off midsentence and stabbed a beefy index finger dead center in my chest. “Of course, not. Sidhe are sworn to do no harm to the natural world. But today is a prime example of why Tiana lacks self-discipline. You taught her your magic first, rather than ours.”

  We’d had this discussion before—many times. I’d be damned if I’d argue with another mage in front of my child.

  I latched onto Tiana’s gaze. It was like looking at a miniature replica of me. She has the same long red hair, the same clear green eyes. I see Blake in her pronounced cheekbones and square chin, but she has my forehead. Womanhood is a ways distant yet.

  Thank all the goddesses who’ve ever walked any world. Hormones will complicate everything. Today, she was in a wolf’s den. Tomorrow, I might find her entertaining the Sidhe youth who trail after her like she’s a bitch in heat. Except “youth” is a misnomer. The next youngest Sidhe had to top 150 years. It didn’t stop them from viewing my daughter as a prime target for sex the moment her moon blood began to flow.

  I pushed that thought aside. Sex might be a problem, but it wasn’t today’s issue.

  I dropped a hand on my daughter’s shoulder. “Go to your room. Remain there until I come to escort you to Kiran’s quarters.”

  “But I hate my lessons. They’re stupid.” She stamped a foot.

  “Not negotiable. Go now.” I added a magical push.

  So did Breanne. Still grumbling, Tiana stomped toward the hall leading to her sleeping chambers. Her wings were still hobbled, and I’d keep them that way for a while.

  To be on the safe side, I shut the front door and sealed it against her leaving. Even absent wings, she could leverage teleport magic, so I closed off her room as well.

  “You have to keep a closer eye on her—” Breanne sputtered.

  I laid a finger over my lips. “Feel like a cup of tea?” I asked.

  A surprised expression raised Breanne’s white brows. When she nodded, I beckoned and led the way back to the kitchen. Once we were seated over mugs of fragrant mint and rosemary tea fortified with mead, I dropped a sound shield over us.

  “The child has ears like a lynx,” I said, exhaling loudly.

  “If I wouldn’t have found her, goddess knows what might have happened,” Breanne muttered.

  I trod carefully. The entire wolf pack would have laid down their lives for Tiana, but this wasn’t the time to mention it. “I appreciate you looking out for her—” I began.

  “Someone has to,” she inserted acidly.

  So much for trying to be nice. My temper has never been my best asset, and I slapped a hand on the tabletop. “She has to develop common sense. She can’t do that if I’m constantly riding herd on her.”

  “Doesn’t appear to be working very well,” Breanne observed.

  I wanted to strangle her. Instead, I agreed, “It could be working better. And it would if the rest of you simply asked her if she’d run this, that, or the other thing past either Blake or me. If she lies, you’ll know. If she says no, we’re as close as mind speech. Ask us if she’s allowed out of Underhill on her own. Or whatever she claims she has a right to do. We’ll set you straight.”

  “She said you told her it was okay fo
r her to visit the wolf den.” Breanne glanced upward as if requesting divine intervention. “There are new pups. They fascinate her. When I arrived, she was mind-linking with them and suggesting they’d grow up to include her in their pack.”

  Like many of Tiana’s assertions, this one held elements of truth. “I did tell her she could visit—so long as Blake or I went with her. By default, she’s part of every animal pack, group, murder, flock. You name it.”

  “I see,” Breanne muttered.

  “As for the other part,” I plowed on, “the one about her learning my side of magic before the Sidhe side. It’s not true. Sidhe magic is complex, more difficult to entrain. Like most children, she picked the simple path, and since animals follow her as if she’s the Pied Piper—”

  “The who?”

  “Never mind. It’s a human fable about a boy with a magical pipe.”

  “I see.”

  She didn’t, since she didn’t know the tale, but it wasn’t critical. “In any event, what child isn’t fascinated by animals? They flock to her the same way they were drawn to me. Blake and I view it as harmless.”

  “Hmph. It is so long as she remains within Underhill’s protections.”

  Finally, a point we agreed on. “Yes. True.” I pressed my lips together. “Do you think she might do better with a different tutor?”

  I expected outrage, but Breanne surprised me. “I’ve wondered the same. Kirwan was a solid choice for the odd youth we’ve produced, but he is getting on, and he’s strict.”

  “Tiana needs strict,” I mumbled.

  “The way she behaves, she’s a prime target.” Breanne lowered her voice.

  “Have you heard anything?” I demanded. Since I was still a second-class citizen in Sidhe-land, I wasn’t privy to much news unless Blake chose to share.

  Breanne shook her head. “All is quiet. Too quiet, if you ask me. In a few more years, Tiana will come into her full magic. No one will want to tangle with her then.”

  Our enemies had misjudged me—and rather badly. They could easily do the same with someone they considered a mere child, but I didn’t give voice to that thought because it rattled me.

  “Do you still post spies?” I asked.

  Another surprised expression. “Doesn’t Blake talk with you?”

  I fought the same irritation that cropped up whenever the Sidhe closed ranks leaving me on the outside. “Sure, but not about everything.”

  “Aye, we have spies, but they can scarcely cover every world.” A hesitation before she added, “And we’ve had no luck posting anyone anywhere near Satan’s realm.”

  “He wasn’t who we fought last time,” I reminded her.

  “Others like the ancient vampire exist,” she muttered darkly. “We can’t keep tabs on them all.”

  “Don’t get defensive.” I set my cup down and refilled it, resettling the pot between us. She could pour her own tea if she wanted more.

  “I wasn’t. We need a better plan for your daughter.”

  “And your queen.” I probably shouldn’t have added that jab but couldn’t help myself.

  Blake chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. Because of the sound shield, I hadn’t heard him enter our rooms. His mouth was moving, but of course I couldn’t hear him.

  No matter how many years we spend together, he still steals my breath. Tall and broad-shouldered, he has dark hair cut to shoulder level, penetrating dark eyes, to-die-for facial structure, and gorgeous black wings with jewel-toned inserts. Today he wore black linen trousers and a Western-style button down pale-blue shirt with cutouts to accommodate his wings. Shiny black loafers peeked from beneath the trouser cuffs.

  I held up a finger and reeled in my spell.

  “Where is Tiana?” he demanded. “Kirwan told me she’s missing.”

  “In her room,” Breanne and I said in unison.

  “Why can’t I sense her?”

  “Because I sealed her in there,” I told him and girded myself for a barrage of criticism. His baby, his princess, shouldn’t be confined. Especially, not against her will.

  Instead of censure, he asked, “Why?”

  Breanne offered a decent encapsulation of the last hour.

  He hooked a chair with his foot and plopped into it. After reaching for the teapot, he realized he didn’t have a cup. I pushed mine in front of him. I was done, anyway.

  “We need a better approach,” he said and drained half a cup of the mead-saturated beverage.

  We sure did. What we’d been doing was an abysmal failure. “Mind if I haul her in here?” I glanced from Blake to Breanne.

  “Why would you do that?” Breanne looked thunderstruck.

  “If she’s a part of decision-making that relates to her, maybe she’ll be more compliant.”

  “Might work,” Blake said and pushed to his feet.

  I waggled a finger his way. “Uh-uh. I don’t want you fussing over her or her whining about how badly she’s been treated.”

  A corner of his mouth twitched; he reclaimed his chair while mumbling, “Guilty.”

  Reaching with magic, I removed the barrier around her room and told her, “You will come to the kitchen now. If you deviate, you will be very sorry.”

  “Oh? What would you do to me?” It’s tough to project sarcasm along with telepathy, but she managed it.

  Besides hang her upside down in a cave for a hundred years? Rather than reacting to her insolence, I said, “You have thirty seconds to get your behind in here.”

  On the thirty-first, she sauntered through the kitchen doorway and stopped. I could see devious little wheels turning in her head as she made a beeline for Blake.

  “Father. You’re home.” She tried to fling herself into his arms, but he didn’t uncross them.

  “I’m usually home,” he commented and pointed to a fourth chair. “Sit down.”

  Her eyes widened. Usually Blake was the softest of soft touches.

  “Don’t make me tell you again.” Steel sat behind his words.

  Tiana walked around the table and sat in the indicated chair. She made a grab for the teapot.

  “Put it down,” I said. “You can have tea later, and not this batch.”

  “I’ve had mead before,” she announced.

  “Keep your mouth shut and listen,” Breanne thundered.

  Defiance bled out of Tiana’s expression. She looked at the tabletop, waiting. Because I could, I delved into her thoughts and found confusion. Her take-no-prisoners attitude had always worked well for her. Why was it suddenly failing?

  Breanne was glaring at Blake, urging him to take his daughter to task.

  He got the picture. “Tiana, look at me,” he commanded. Because his words were punctuated with compulsion, she scraped her eyes upward and met her father’s gaze.

  “Better,” he said. “One day, you will be queen to your people. I have afforded you latitude because you’re a child, but today’s events convinced me your childhood should have ended long since.”

  “What does that mean?” she mumbled.

  “For one thing, it means you will do what you’re told. If you do not,” he went on, “there will be consequences. Ones you find unpleasant. For starters, I will separate you from the animal mage part of your power if you ever repeat a stunt like the one you pulled today.”

  She was on her feet in a trice. “You can’t do that,” she shrilled and turned to me. “Momma. Tell him he can’t do that.”

  I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. “You’re appealing to me?” I got out between bouts of mirth. “Talk about too little and too late, child.”

  Anger shot from her in hazy red waves. I neglected to mention she also inherited my temper. To her credit, she didn’t say anything that would have sunk her deeper into Blake’s bad graces.