Magic Binds Read Free

too.”
    â€œI called Roland about it,” I said. “He said, ‘Who knows why harpies do anything, Blossom?’ And then he told me he had two tickets to see Aivisha sing and one of them had my name on it.”
    â€œParents.” Roman heaved a sigh. “Can’t live with them. Can’t get away from them. When you try to move, they buy a house in your new neighborhood.”
    â€œThat’s one thing about having both of your parents murdered,” Curran said. “I don’t have parent problems.”
    Roman and I looked at him.
    â€œWe really do have to go,” I said.
    â€œThanks for the coffee.” Curran put his empty mug on the table.
    â€œNo trouble,” Roman said. “I’ll get started on this wedding thing.”
    â€œWe really appreciate it,” I said.
    â€œOh no, no. My pleasure.”
    We got up, walked to the door, and I swung it open. A black raven flew past me and landed on the back of the couch.
    Roman slapped his hand over his face.
    â€œThere you are,” the raven said in Evdokia’s voice. “Ungrateful son.”
    â€œHere we go . . .” Roman muttered.
    â€œEighteen hours in labor and this is what I get. He can’t even pick up the phone to talk to his own mother.”
    â€œMother, can’t you see I have people here?”
    â€œI bet if their mothers called them, they would pick up.”
    That would be a neat trick for both of us. Sadly, dead mothers didn’t come back to life, even in post-Shift Atlanta.
    â€œNice to see you, Roman.” I grabbed Curran by the hand.
    The bird swiveled toward me. “Katya!”
    Oh no.
    â€œDon’t you leave. I need to talk to you.”
    â€œGot to go, bye!”
    I jumped out of the house. Curran was only half a second behind me, and he pushed the door closed. I sped down the wooden path before Evdokia decided to track me down.
    â€œAre you actually running away from Evdokia?”
    â€œYes, I am.” The witches weren’t exactly pleased with me. They had trusted me to protect Atlanta and its covens, and I had claimed the city instead.
    â€œMaybe we could skip the Conclave tonight,” Curran said.
    â€œWe can’t.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause it’s Mahon’s turn to attend.”
    The Kodiak of Atlanta was brave and powerful and the closest thing to a father Curran had. He also had an uncanny ability to alienate everyone in the room and then have to defend himself when a brawl broke out. He took self-defense seriously. Sometimes there was no building left standing when he was done.
    â€œJim will be there,” Curran said.
    â€œNope.” The Pack rotated Conclave duty between the alphas, so if something happened at the Conclave, the leadership of the Pack as a whole wouldn’t be wiped out. “Jim was at the last one. You would know this if you hadn’t skipped it to go fight that thing in the sewers. It will be Raphael and Andrea, Desandra, and your father. Unsupervised.”
    Curran swore. “What the hell is Jim thinking with that lineup?”
    â€œServes you right for pretending you don’t have parent problems.”
    He growled something under his breath.
    Mahon and I didn’t always see eye to eye. He’d thought I wouldn’t make a good mate for Curran and that I was the reason Curran left the Pack, and he’d told me so, but now he’d come to terms with it. We both loved Curran, so we had to deal with each other and we made the best of it. Although lately Mahon had been unusually nice to me. It was probably a trap.
    â€œWe make it through the Conclave and then we can go home, drink coffee, and eat the apple pie I made last night,” I said. “It will be glorious.”
    He put his arm around me. “The Conclave is only a dinner.”
    â€œDon’t say it.”
    â€œHow . . .”
    I glared at him. “I mean it! I want a nice quiet