Cast in Faefire: An Urban Fantasy Romance (The Mage Craft Series Book 3) Read Online Free

motivation.”
    “Not too much a leap. We know for a fact that the servers have put a target on your royal backs.” Heather stroked a hand through the fur of the dead Hound. “The guest you’re about to meet brought an entourage with her, and the Raven Knights already caught one of them snooping in the dungeons. Jolene Chang claimed to be lost, but…”
    The dungeons were so far from the social areas of Niflheimr that Marion couldn’t find them without help of a map.
    “You think she was looking for the servers too?” Marion asked.
    “Guarantee it. The AGC has been trying to shut the darknet down for years. They’re taking advantage of your diplomatic handshake to take another shot at it.”
    “That doesn’t say anything about Arawn,” Nori said. “What can we do about him?” Marion had forgotten that her half-angel assistant was still there. Nori had been lurking near the edge of the courtyard looking miserable ever since Marion and Konig’s intimate greeting.
    “For now, we must attend our meeting and ask about Jolene Chang,” Konig said. “But after that…” He glared at the Hound.
    After that, they’d have to contemplate what a dead Hound meant, and what Arawn might do to their wedding.
    “Let’s go meet with the leader of the American Gaean Commission,” Marion said. “What was her name again?”
    “Deirdre Tombs,” Konig said. “We’re going to meet with Deirdre Tombs.”

3
    N iflheimr’s throne room had changed drastically in the last month, more so than any other part of the palace, thanks to Konig’s mother. Violet had moved in during Marion’s recovery and taken charge of decorating for the wedding. However, many of her touches were clearly meant to be permanent, from the tapestries of nymphs that concealed the cogs of ice to the furniture scattered around the nave.
    The queen herself was seated upon the throne when Marion and Konig arrived. “You’re late,” Violet said.
    “Barely.” Deirdre Tombs offered a smile to Marion. “I’ll forgive you for it this time, I guess.”
    The shifter leading the American Gaean Commission was startlingly young—which said a lot, considering Marion had yet to hit her twentieth birthday. Deirdre wore chunky combat boots, leather leggings, a leather jacket, and a tight leather corset. She looked like she should have been heading to a vampire bar for a night of bloodletting fun.
    Deirdre jerked a thumb at the ornate chair Violet was sitting in. “Good move not doing another ice throne. I’ve got no idea what they were thinking the first time around, making a seat that melts.”
    Marion extended her hand to shake. “I’m so grateful that you were willing to have this conversation here. I know it’s not convenient for gaeans to travel between the Middle Worlds.”
    “Really?” Deirdre looked at her hand, laughed, and pulled Marion into a hug.
    “Oh,” Marion said, surprised.
    Deirdre looked just as surprised when she stepped back. “What’s wrong?”
    Marion hadn’t inferred a friendship with Deirdre Tombs from reading her own journals, which had been written in a code that assigned obscure nicknames to everyone Marion knew. If they were friends, Marion surely would have written about it. She’d have to figure out what she had called Deirdre to know their history.
    At least the AGC chair was greeting Marion with a hug instead of a gun.
    “Wedding planning is overwhelming,” Violet said when Marion failed to think of a response. “I’m afraid my future daughter-in-law has been distracted these past few weeks.”
    “Thanks for the help, Mother,” Konig said pointedly.
    Violet gave him a thin smile and finally stood.
    The Onyx Queen was the obvious source of her son’s otherworldly beauty. White hair flowed around a face shaped like his. Chains dangled from her tiara, just above the delicate bridge of her nose, and the fullness of her lips was the color of roses faded in sun.
    When she slid down the steps from the throne, she was