The Immortal Queen Tsubame: Awakening Read Online Free Page A

offer to Nina, MaLeila spied Bastet in the living room ahead, siting on one of the couches. She opened her mouth to greet the woman, who was sitting straight up with her legs crossed at knee and her arms lying crossed in her lap, but then saw the young man sitting across from Bastet with a cup of coffee in his hands. He had tanned clean shaven skin with thick messy dirty-blonde hair and even seated, MaLeila could tell he was around Devdan’s height, with broad shoulders and chest and a slim waist, accented by his perfectly tailored suit. Unlike Bastet who was tense and guarded, he was the picture of relaxed, leaning back on the couch with his coffee and the top buttons of his shirt undone.
    “Who’s this?” MaLeila asked Bastet.
    “Pardon my rudeness,” the young man said as he sat his coffee down and stood to his feet. Just as MaLeila had predicted, he was around Devdan’s height.
    He approached her and reached out a hand to her. MaLeila warily took it. When he let go of her hand, he reached out to Devdan, who looked at the man’s hand and then back at the man’s face before nonchalantly grasping it and letting go. It was as he was letting go of Nina’s hand that he said, “I’m Marcel Brandt.”
    MaLeila raised her eyebrows while saying, “And that’s supposed to matter to me because?”
    “He’s from the Magic Council,” Bastet said. “They got your report about Tsubame.”
    MaLeila looked from Bastet to Marcel in surprise. He certainly wasn’t the usual representative that the council sent. Most of the representatives the council sent were stuffy old looking average powered sorcerers who looked down on her because of her lack of connections in the magical world and because they were racist and didn’t think a black girl who grew up around the hood deserved to be the heir to the legacy one of the most powerful white sorcerers in history. Marcel didn’t seem condescending or uncomfortable, nor was he old—or at least he didn’t look it, because the more powerful the sorcerer, the slower they aged. Some could even simply stop aging after a while. MaLeila would be able to, if she wanted to. She still hadn’t decided how much she wanted magic to intrude in her adult life yet.
    “Oh,” MaLeila said as she went to sit next to Bastet. Nina came to sit beside her while she felt Devdan stand behind her, eyes undoubtedly on Marcel.
    When Marcel was settled back in the arm chair again, MaLeila said, “I didn’t expect the council to respond right away.”
    MaLeila hadn’t expected the council to respond at all.
    “Well, when a sorceress supposedly drops out of another dimension and we have no record of putting her there, nor of her ever existing, that’s a problem we have to look into.”
    “Glad they were so concerned,” MaLeila replied dryly. “They usually aren’t.”
    “Try not to take it too personal. If it doesn’t directly affect them and the magical world isn’t about to be exposed to the general masses, the council doesn’t care about anything but themselves and their power. In fact, you should be flattered that you ruffle them so much. It means you’re special,” Marcel said flashing a quick smile.
    Nina and MaLeila snickered. While Nina didn’t have many experiences with the Magic Council because most representatives preferred that she leave the room when they wanted to talk to MaLeila, MaLeila’s encounters with the council always consisted of brainwashed representatives who thought the council could do no wrong, so Marcel’s jibe at them was a welcome breath of fresh air. It did cross her mind that he was trying to get her to drop her guard, but that’s what Bastet and Devdan were there for. Bastet hadn’t cracked a smile and MaLeila knew Devdan enough to know that he hadn’t either.
    “Now, describe her again for me,” Marcel asked.
    “We did that in the report,” MaLeila pointed out.
    “I know. But see if you can remember any additional details. We want to ensure that