Querteshan guardsman Jamal Fayed is on a routine patrol through the desert area known as the Burning when they discover an injured and unconscious man who looks to be from a nearby country, Perathea. Their two countries have a long history of animosity.<br><br>When Nev ran from his master, he was fleeing for his life and any outcome seemed better than the death he was promised. But Nev has secrets, complicated secrets that involve both magic and his physical form. Can he build a relationship with Jamal amidst politics and military dealings?

Born Magic

Jamal felt his face flush with heat. “I made it and gave it to Nev as a gift.”


Reza held the chain and let the bird hang suspended. He murmured some syllables that made no sense to Jamal. The chain and the bird angled outward to the left, and Reza moved his hand over the map until he appeared to be satisfied with a position. “He’s here currently, but travel is still occurring.”


The general peered down at the map location. “He’s passing out of the edge of Kanamaly, going northeast. That’s a somewhat indirect route if he was being taken to Draeven.”


“There’s no guarantee that’s where he’s being taken,” Reza commented. “Or that they aren’t going somewhere else first.”


“Acknowledged,” General Mengal conceded. “If I give the order to send a team after him, can you continue to track him?”


“Unless they’re capable of magically masking their path, yes. And before you ask, no, they haven’t shown any signs of doing so.”


Chapter 28