Mage's Choice (Familiar with the Warlock #2) - Viola Grace
Chapter One
Krys was nearly done with her shower—all the important bits were done—and she was facing the spray and letting the day wash away when everything went silent. Everything. The rush of water was gone, her music was silenced, and the world went dark. The cold came whooshing in and wrapped around her. Her body turned to ice.
The sound of chanting was the first thing that she noticed. Shivering uncontrollably was her next realization. In the distance, she heard sobbing, but she was mad. Heat wrapped around her and lifted her off the ground while the chanting took on a frenzied tone.
The heat ran in through her open mouth and inside via other available orifices, and her rage at taking place in a supernatural porno rose to the surface. She screamed, and the chanting stopped. She was dropped to the hard floor and got up on her knees, looking around at the figures in hoods and cowls with glowing staves. Of course, they were. She didn’t hallucinate halfway.
She looked at the man in front of her. “What the actual fuck!”
He chuckled and walked toward her, crouching down and touching her chin. “Excellent. They brought sheep; I found a wolf. At the very least, he will have a selection to choose from. Come along.” He held out his hand.
She looked at his hand and did an assessment of her situation. Her limbs were rubbery, so it would be best if she had help, but she hated help.
She slapped her hand into his, and he pulled her upright. He blinked in surprise when she was only a few inches shorter than he was. “Very nice.”
Krys made a fist and plowed it into his abdomen. He gasped, and the other guys in hoods rushed forward. He waved them off.
“It’s fine. It’s fine. Miss, come this way. You are the last to arrive, and so you will need a quick round of grooming, and then, you will be dressed for the trials to begin.”
“Trials?”
“Our world is in danger, the stars are falling, and we only have one reliable weapon to destroy them. He’s currently asleep in the throne room, so we need to make him an offering to wake him.”
“Offering?”
“We have acquired fifty women from across the stars. One of them is likely to appeal to him. When he accepts the selection, we will have our defense.”
She frowned and walked next to the weird guy in the odd robes. “So, you are in acquisitions?”
“Stellar magic. We can see through the stars and study other worlds. Your world is in a remarkable state of conflict between ancient and advanced. It is amusing to observe.”
“Lovely. So, you are a magician.”
“Of sorts.”
“Great. So, what kind of trials?”
“Nothing invasive. Just stand there, sit there, lie there. That kind of thing.” He waved it off.
“Doesn’t sound like much of a trial.”
“It is up to the candidates to determine how complicated this process gets.” He smiled.
“Uh-huh.” Krys could feel warm, moist air blowing toward her. “Uh, I just had a bath.”
“That is as may be, but you will be properly groomed from head to toe, and then, you will be dressed. I will be waiting for you on the other side of the grooming chamber.”
She blinked. “What the hell is the monster you are trying to wake up?”
He smiled. “Oh, he’s a drake, more or less. A drake in human form. Mostly human form. You will see.”
“I had better not see. So, you can send me home, right? I mean... when this is over.”
He looked surprised. “Of course. If you are not chosen, you will be delivered back to the moment in time and space where I found you.”
She smiled. “Great.”
He opened a door, and two women were standing there, apparently waiting for her. “Make sure that she is thoroughly prepared.”
Krys was about to turn and ask him what that meant, but she was hauled into the baths and strapped to a chair with her legs spread. She cursed them out when they waxed her brusquely, then oiled her skin, scraped it, and then they put on manacles before stretching her arms up to a hook in the ceiling.
One of the women murmured, “Apologies, we have been told to hurry.”
Krys was on her toes and spun around so that they could make sure that everything below her collarbone was completely hairless before she was pulled to another chair where her nails were trimmed to a neat length and buffed to a glowing silver.
Her toenails were tinted the same silver, and the