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

And it showed him a thread of connection he had never contemplated before. Between his body and Kustaa’s ran a gauzy filament. It had always been there, dimly present in Nev’s awareness, and he assumed it was an artifact of Kustaa’s spell that had created him. Yet…


The energy flow that Kustaa had utilized time and time again to rip life force from Nev didn’t have to proceed in only one direction. It could be manipulated. The direction could be changed…and so he changed it.


The dark primitive force from the earth could be used, or it could be fed. Nev fed it. He sucked energy from Kustaa, drawing it faster and faster, changing the tone, altering the texture and the color. With harsh, thorough efficiency, he removed Kustaa’s magic, allhis magic, every facet, every nuance, every single capability.


Now Kustaa was the one who screamed, in frustration, in pain, and then in terror. He fell to the ground. “You can’t! It’s not possible. No! No!”


Chapter 29