Magic Runs Deep

By Alex Whitehall

For the last five years, Veier has been chained to a king’s throne in his bear form. When a neighboring kingdom overthrows the crown, Veier’s imprisonment ends, but true freedom is not so easily earned. With blood on his hands, he needs someone with patience, strength, and trust to help him become the person he was before and prove to the invaders that he isn’t the monstrous king’s loyal pet.

Elrid, the invading king's brother and a powerful mage, is everything Veier despises. He’s also the only thing between Veier and execution, because he thinks he can help Veier change from an aggressive bear shifter into a reasonable man. While the pair have a rough start, with long talks and mutual leaps of faith, they begin to care for each other.

However, the closer Veier gets to his freedom, the closer he is to losing Elrid. He must find balance in his heart and his life if he wishes to truly claim the freedom he’s been given—and the man he loves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riptide Publishing
• Release date: Apr 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781626497474

Alex Whitehall

Alex Whitehall is forever searching for their happy ever after, but in the meanwhile strives to give everyone else theirs. They hop between writing fantasy and contemporary, sometimes shuffling them together when the mood strikes.When they aren't chained to the keyboard, they ride horses, knit, watch anime, and play tabletop role-playing games. They live with a forest of aloe plants in Pennsylvania, and are just as cool as they thought they'd be in high school.

Book preview

Riptide Publishing

PO Box 1537

Burnsville, NC 28714

www.riptidepublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All person(s) depicted on the cover are model(s) used for illustrative purposes only.

Magic Runs Deep

Copyright © 2018 by Alex Whitehall

Smashwords Edition

Cover art: Shayne Leighton, parliamentbookdesign.wordpress.com

Editor: Carole-ann Galloway

Layout: L.C. Chase, lcchase.com/design.htm

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, and where permitted by law. Reviewers may quote brief passages in a review. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Riptide Publishing at the mailing address above, at Riptidepublishing.com, or at [e-mail].

ISBN: 978-1-62649-747-4

First edition

April, 2018

Also available in paperback:

ISBN: 978-1-62649-750-4

ABOUT THE EBOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED:

We thank you kindly for purchasing this title. Your nonrefundable purchase legally allows you to replicate this file for your own personal reading only, on your own personal computer or device. Unlike paperback books, sharing ebooks is the same as stealing them. Please do not violate the author’s copyright and harm their livelihood by sharing or distributing this book, in part or whole, for a fee or free, without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner. We love that you love to share the things you love, but sharing ebooks—whether with joyous or malicious intent—steals royalties from authors’ pockets and makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to be able to afford to keep writing the stories you love. Piracy has sent more than one beloved series the way of the dodo. We appreciate your honesty and support.

For the last five years, Veier has been chained to a king’s throne in his bear form. When a neighboring kingdom overthrows the crown, Veier’s imprisonment ends, but true freedom is not so easily earned. With blood on his hands, he needs someone with patience, strength, and trust to help him become the person he was before and prove to the invaders that he isn’t the monstrous king’s loyal pet.

Elrid, the invading king's brother and a powerful mage, is everything Veier despises. He’s also the only thing between Veier and execution, because he thinks he can help Veier change from an aggressive bear shifter into a reasonable man. While the pair have a rough start, with long talks and mutual leaps of faith, they begin to care for each other.

However, the closer Veier gets to his freedom, the closer he is to losing Elrid. He must find balance in his heart and his life if he wishes to truly claim the freedom he’s been given—and the man he loves.

About Magic Runs Deep

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Acknowledgments

Also by Alex Whitehall

About the Author

More like this

The heady aroma of destruction hung in the air. Smoke wafted through the throne room, carrying undercurrents of blood and charred flesh. The noise beyond the heavy wooden doors was terrific, but inside the stone walls, only Bora’s growls and the clink of his chains broke the silence.

Bora’s nose twitched as the side door to the throne room swung open. Briefly screams, shouts, and the clash of metal echoed off the hallowed walls. They were silenced by the door clanging closed behind the Almighty and his council. Bora rose to his feet so he could properly bow his head.

The Almighty had left earlier in the day with his council, talking of barbarians attacking, but Bora had remained chained to the Almighty’s throne. Despite being the Almighty’s protector, he was never set free to prove his worth.

They feared giving him freedom. Afraid a bear would turn his claws and teeth on the Almighty’s people. Or the Almighty. As if he would attack his creator, who loved him.

The Almighty hurried across the room, clearly focused on his councilmen.

My liege, Lord Gorr urged, right on the Almighty’s heels, if you leave through the kitchens, no one will be on guard. We can dress you as a servant, and our fleeing will not draw their attention. The Right Hand can cause a diversion and—

No, the Almighty said. "I will leave as my position warrants: on my horse with my things. I will not sneak away from my own palace!"

But—

The Almighty’s fist cut the air. Silence! You will either help me or be considered a traitor. Now. To the rooms!

The door on the other side of the room slammed closed behind the Almighty and his entourage. Stillness settled around Bora for a moment. He waited on tenterhooks for something. Anything. But there was nothing. He was about to hunch back down when the main doors opened and a flood of invaders poured in. Swords drawn and bloody, their armor oddly shaped and scarred, they stank of strangeness and destruction.

Bora roared and surged forward, only taking a few strides before the chain ran out of length and the attached collar choked him to a stop. The metal dug into his neck and cut off the noise, but it didn’t matter. The men who’d charged in pulled up short and turned to face him, clearly recognizing him as the threat he was. Perhaps not as large as other of his bear brethren, but on all fours he was nearly to their waists, and larger still if he rose on his hind legs. Not to mention the sheer heft of his weight.

One of the men cursed in the Common Tongue, and then the rest of the words were lost in a foreign babble.

Bora watched their gestures and yanked hard against the chain, snapping his jaw at the air, daring them to come closer. Even if he could not fight them, he could distract them from their prey. He lunged again. The chain held strong, but the throne he was tied to screeched as it slid an inch across the floor.

Now, they watched him. He pulled again, and another squeal of metal pierced the air.

The first man gestured and spoke in their strange language, then turned to cross the room. The others joined him, heading toward the door the Almighty had taken.

A few heads turned at his warning roar, but it didn’t stop the soldiers from breaking down the door and following the Almighty’s path up the staircase beyond it. And then the men were gone, and for a moment, silence hung in the air again.

Too soon, more men came. All strangers, all battle worn. All yelling in a confusing language, gesturing, giving orders, taking orders, and then dispersing. Most startled at him when they first arrived, but few stayed, except a handful of common soldiers, their armor dull and ill-fitting at best.

One man, boasting about his own greatness—Bora could tell, although the words were meaningless—approached with a spear. He stank of sweat, filth, and pride. Bora snarled and hunched to the ground, then slowly slid backward to slacken the chain. The man sneered and thrust the spear at him. Bora fell back farther, luring the savage in closer to the throne.

When the man advanced and thrust a second time, Bora leapt. He’d spaced it right. The chain pulled taut, but he had already felled his foe, small bones crunching beneath his weight. Screams echoed in the large hall when his claws dug in. A single swipe of his paw and there was victorious silence.

Shouts and cries from the other soldiers echoed in the hall, but it was too late. He’d made his point. After that, the rest of the invaders left him alone. He crouched beside the corpse and snarled when anyone came near. But they kept outside the length of his chain, eyeing him and his prize warily.

Bora returned his thoughts to the Almighty, praying for his safety, and then he felt it.

A loosening.

He shuffled, grumbling, and stood, then shook out his body. The feeling stayed. It sprouted between his shoulders like an itch that didn’t itch, and spread through his forepaws, down his spine, along his hindquarters, and into his brain. Until the collar around his neck was only metal, a weight bearing him down. Gateways in his mind opened, and he shook again, trying to dislodge the new feelings, but they overwhelmed and settled into him.

Disgust.

Hatred.

Anger.

The Almighty had―

No, he was no god. He was a man. A king, yes, but a man. Now that man was dead, and the spell tying Bora to him was broken. A snarl curled Bora’s lips, and he lunged at the corpse. He tore his teeth and claws into flesh, wishing it were that vile king, rendering the entrails into pulp.

Beyond the walls, the noise muted and a cry was heralded. King Numeir is dead. Surrender and you will be spared!

He clenched an arm in his jaws, blood dripping down his chin, and tossed it across the room. It hit the wall with an unsatisfying splat. Beneath him, the rest of the body was a slushy puddle littered with bones. Blood and gore matted Bora’s black-brown fur, staining the white pattern on his chest.

This time when he roared, he had their attention. Faces twisted in horror. But the noise felt strange on his lips. When had he been taught to roar? He huffed instead. Snapped his jaw. Then stepped away from the pile of filth and lumbered back to the spot he’d always taken by the throne.

It was familiar and horrific. Bile rose in his throat. He swallowed it down and buried his muzzle under his bloody paws, closing his eyes. His heart pounded with the footsteps of soldiers; his brain buzzed with their voices. He still couldn’t make out their words.

Bora didn’t raise his head when the grand doors to the main hall swung open. He didn’t check when a hush fell over the men milling about or when the creak of leather and chink of metal told of people bowing. Kings, leaders, gods, whatever. It didn’t matter to him.

Poor thing.

At that, he did look up, to the one who spoke in the royal tongue that his captor had used. A man stood surrounded by soldiers, staring at Bora. He was probably their leader if the finery of the armor indicated anything. The men around him were bowing or keeping their gazes lowered. Did they think him a god?

He killed Klaudius, a man said in the royal language, his heavily accented words muffled against his armor. The man didn’t explain that this Klaudius had attacked him with a spear, Bora noted. But perhaps it didn’t matter. He was an animal to them, after all. And these men were monsters like his captor had been. Like Klaudius had been.

A pulsing cry rose in his throat, and Bora drew to his feet, daring the leader to come closer—but the man wasn’t a fool. Another man was though. He stepped around the leader and took three measured strides toward the throne. He was a slim, mousy-looking thing with sturdy leather armor covering only his torso and forearms. Red stained his hands, the pale-blue sleeves of his frock, and the knees of his trousers. His raven-black hair was tied back in a braid.

Bora lunged.

The man’s fine brow rose, but he didn’t move away, didn’t flinch, as Bora’s claws swiped through the air, brushing past the delicate, upturned nose without a scratch. Interest sparkled in the dark eyes.

Bora retreated, galloping back to the throne, only to turn and run full-force, dragging the throne another inch closer to the fool.

The man simply stepped back with a nod.

He is not safe, the leader said, and Bora must have imagined the regret in his voice when he added, He shall be put down. Cray, see to—

No. The raven-haired man paused, turned toward the leader, then dropped to one knee, his head bowed. If I may have my liege’s leave.

Oh, for— the leader said, snapping his teeth on the unsaid words. Hold on.

He spat a series of orders in the other language, and men started moving around. Bora eyed them all, waiting for one of them to come close enough. Their attention seemed to be elsewhere, though, most dispersing from the room at once.

So what is it, Elrid? the leader asked, his voice low—private words in the royal language for the raven-haired man only. But Bora could hear despite the noise surrounding them. Did they think he couldn’t understand that language despite being tied here so long?

Yllth, he’s a shifter. Ursinai, Elrid said just as quietly, leaning closer to the leader. Bora could see some similarities beyond the exhaustion of battle. The same fine-featured bones in their faces. The same shiny black locks. But the leader was taller, broader. A warrior where this one was a scholar. There is a man in there.

Yes, a man who is loyal to the filth we’ve washed out. He is obviously unwilling to stand down now that the battle is over. His life is forfeit.

"Stand down? Battle? Yllth, he’s chained in here. Do you really think the king saw him as a loyal subject?"

Maybe he likes it.

Bora huffed and stalked closer. Both men glanced at him—the leader with pity, the scholar with curiosity. Yes, he wanted to tell them, I can hear you talking about me. No, I do not like being chained to this throne. Yes, I will tear you apart if you try to touch me.

I’m going to guess not, the smaller man said, smirking.

This isn’t a stray cat, El, the leader said in exasperation. You can’t take him home and nurse him back to health.

"Rosie catches many mice in the stables, I’ll have