Magic Kingdom (Dragon Born Alexandria Book 3) by Ella Summers Read Free Book Online Page A

for herself, was much cozier, and the suite of rooms in the north wing occupied by Marek and Eva looked like a photo spread in an interior design magazine. Well, Alex was too busy to play interior decorator—and she didn’t know anything about design either.
    When they reached the end of the hall, Logan opened the door to their bedroom. He did enjoy opening doors for her. Inside, a massive canopy bed draped with thick golden curtains filled up one side of the room.
    “Home sweet home,” Alex said, setting her sword on the antique dresser opposite the bed. “At least for this week.”
    Logan began peeling off the straps of knives buckled to his body. “Where would you like to go if you could pick any place in the world?”
    “Oh, I don’t know. Somewhere nice and tropical, I think.”
    “Tropical climates are a breeding ground for monsters,” replied the practical assassin.
    She hung her leather jacket over the back of a chair. “Logan, in my experience, everywhere on earth is a breeding ground for monsters.” She slid her pink-stained tank top over her head and headed for the sink in the bathroom.
    “I suppose that’s true,” he said, following her.
    “You bet it is. That’s why monster-hunting mercenaries will always be in demand.” She turned on the tap and icy water gushed into the basin. She poured a generous helping of fabric cleaner onto a brush and began scrubbing it into her shirt.
    “But what if you were to retire?”
    She turned the knob to make the water hotter.
    “Retire? At the age of twenty-four?” She glanced up at the mirror, the laugh on her lips spluttering out when she saw his face. “God, you’re serious.”
    “You are too close to the Magic Council. It’s only a matter of time before they figure out what you are and turn on you.”
    “That’s a pretty pessimistic outlook.” The regular fabric cleaner was having no effect on the stain, so Alex switched to the heavy-duty stuff.
    “Not pessimistic. Realistic,” said Logan. “You and your sister pretended to be human for over two decades. Twins, hiding their magic. Eight years ago, the Council sent an assassin to northern Washington to chase rumors of Dragon Born mages. All they have to figure out was that you and your sister were living exactly there at that time, and then all the pieces of the puzzle will come together. It’s not a matter of if they’ll find out. It’s a matter of when . All the evidence is there. You can’t wash it away.” He glanced down at her stained shirt, which had defied even the heavy-duty cleaning solution. “We could disappear, Alex. Now, before they come.”
    “No,” she said stubbornly, grabbing a crystal bottle from the cabinet beside the sink. Just a few drops of the pale green liquid inside the bottle could dissolve magic instantly.
    “If the Magic Council comes at you with their full power, I will fight them with you, but I’m not sure we will survive.”
    “No.” She shook her head. “I can’t leave my family. My friends. The Magic Council will hurt them to get at me.”
    “We will take them with us.”
    “And if they don’t want to go into hiding?” she asked.
    Logan said nothing. Apparently, he didn’t have an answer for that—or at least not an answer he knew she’d accept. Knocking out everyone she cared about and abducting them to some remote corner of the world was not the solution to her problem.
    “Maybe we can find a way to make the Magic Council see the Dragon Born are not a threat,” Alex said.
    “Maybe,” he replied. “But are you willing to stake your life—your sister’s life—on the off-chance that the Magic Council will abandon a belief they have held for centuries? We may be able to sway a few individuals to our side, but the institution remains.”
    “Wow, you’re sure cheerful tonight.”
    “I’m not trying to depress you, Alex. I’m trying to keep you alive. Promise you’ll at least think about what I’ve said. I just want to