A Magical Court: Magic and Mischief, #4

By N. R. Hairston

A Royal Slaughter

Rye is called to the royal court of Yezn. What should have been a routine investigation ends up being a fight for her life.

 

A Royal Betrayal

They call her the Destroyer. She tries to keep that part of herself at bay. But when the royal court of Julo plots against her, she releases her fury on them. How will she answer for this slaughter? 

 

A Royal Rebellion

Leah inadvertently offends the crown princess of Gango. The crown princess calls for her head. Will Leah and her crew be able to fight their way out of this one? 

 

A Royal Deception

Kerry and her team are tasked with finding the kidnapped Crown Princess of Halgo. They discover a sinister plot that has them fighting to survive. 

 

A Royal Succubus

Kia's grandmother is the empress of all magical creatures. Kia's team is sent to investigate when her grandmother and all the kings and queens under her go missing. What Kia finds is a deadly plot that has them all fighting to stay alive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fire Ink Media
• Release date: Jul 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223760375

Book preview

A Magical Court

Magic and Mischief Book 4

N. R. Hairston

Copyright © 2023 by N.R. Hairston All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover Design: Lou Harper https://coveraffairs.com/

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Contents

A Royal Slaughter

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

A Royal Betrayal

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

A Royal Rebellion

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

A Royal Deception

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

A Royal Succubus

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Author Note

Other Titles by N. R. Hairston

Acknowledgements

About the Author

A Royal Slaughter

Chapter 1

T hey’re all dead, Rye , my senior agent Drena said to me. Drena was of turtle descent. She didn’t actually look like a turtle, but for some reason, she put me in mind of one.

We both stood five-six, but Drena carried a lot more muscles than I did. She appeared slim at first glance, but I knew her to be pretty thick.

Drena had short, brown curly hair that she was always pushing back from her face. No one would guess she was thirty-eight years old, because she looked ten years younger.

We were in a conference room at the Scope agency. Scope was a law enforcement bureau dealing with special and major crimes. I’d worked here for years, and Drena was like a mentor of sorts.

She was eight years my senior and a superior agent. I’d learned a great deal from her, and I respected her a lot.

But, at the moment, I had no clue what she was talking about. I leaned back in my chair, my eyes going to Garrett. He looked at me and shrugged, a bit of fire whipping around his fingers.

Garrett was of dragon descent. Where Drena was serious and steadfast, Garrett was nonchalant and laid back. There wasn’t much that affected him, but he was still a good agent.

He cared about taking crime off the streets. He worked hard to bring wrongdoers to justice, never slacking for a minute.

But many assumed Garrett loved to party. He had black spiked hair with red tips. The red tips matched the red in his eyes.

Garrett was of medium height and build. He walked with a swagger that said he owned the world and everything in it. Also, he did like to party, but it never came before the job. 

I took my eyes off him because he wasn’t much help at the moment. Drena had called us in the middle of the night and asked us to meet her in the smallest conference room we had at the Scope Agency.

This room didn’t have camera equipment or transmitters. It was a completely private space. That meant, no one would ever know what we talked about. My brows furrowed.

Drena was a very by-the-book agent. She didn’t usually keep secrets from other agents, not when it came to work. It made me nervous because I didn’t understand. But I didn’t mind keeping things private if the case called for it.

Wait! I frowned. Since this was the only private place in the entire Scope Agency, it was said to be a meeting spot for certain agents hoping to get a quicky in during the workday.

I sniffed like I could smell the scent of lovemaking left behind, but the only thing filling my nostrils was a tangy, fruity smell.

My eyes went to the short wooden table we sat around. I snatched my hands from the rough, hard surface, not knowing who’d last been on it. It seemed an uncomfortable place to have sex, but stranger things had happened.

I looked down at the plush black chair I sat in. They wouldn’t have sex on this, would they? I shuddered and suddenly felt the urge to stand. My eyes went to the drab brown walls.

This was such a dim, dull place. No pictures hung on the walls and the carpet was a haughty gray. Why would anyone want to have sex in such a gloomy place? 

Why had Drena called us to such a dreary place? I looked at her. Who’s all dead?

She hesitated. I sat up in my chair, my heart beating a little quicker now. Drena never hesitated, no matter the situation. I thought about it for a second, my mind coming to one conclusion.

My breath caught and nervous orange thiols swirled around me. Thiols was what those of us with skunk DNA used to protect ourselves. It acted on our emotions.

Most people associated it with a funky awful smell, but it was so much more than that. We could turn it sweet, or we could turn it deadly.

We could make it thready like a rope or as smooth as silk. It was the only protection we had, and we learned to fight with it at an early age.

Right now, my thiols was out of control. It swirled around me at a rapid-fire pace. But it wouldn’t give off a scent unless I willed it to. I was scared to ask my next question, but I knew I had to. Is it Albright?

My pulse jumped while I waited for her response. Albright was a government law-enforcement agency, several levels above us. They dealt with crimes at a higher level, things we weren’t equipped to handle.

My boyfriend Jax was a senior agent there. He’d been undercover for the last three days and we hadn’t been in contact. The first two days had been okay, but yesterday I’d really started to miss him.

We’d been living together for the last year and a half, and it’d been great. I’d grown used to having him around. I loved having him around. Jax meant a lot to me. My bed and home felt empty without him there and I was ready for him to come back.

Before Jax, I’d been with a different guy every night.

Each man had known their day, and they’d never harped much on the other men in my life. I was the type who liked to take care of my men.

I’d often buy them shoes and clothes. I didn’t mind paying their rent or helping them with the down payment on a new home.

I liked my men to look and live a certain way and I saw nothing wrong with that. But, Jax had smacked all that away. We’d met four years ago on a case, and he’d been the only man in my life since then.

Jax didn’t need me to take care of him. He didn’t want me taking care of him, but he also believed I had a need for control, relationship-wise.

Was that true? Did I need to control things? Maybe. There wasn’t much I could control in my life. I was a skunk, which meant I was constantly hunted.

Drug dealers and drug users alike were a threat to those of us with skunk DNA. If they caught us, they brutally took the skunk oil from the lateral glands in our backs.

It was a painful process, and if they didn’t know what they were doing, we’d be unable to move for days after.

Skunk oil could heal any injury. It was a skin protective and would also help you conceive. If you rubbed it on your sexual organ, you’d be able to climax for hours.

Many used it to heal broken bones or a cold and cough. But the main reason people wanted skunk oil was to get high. When heated to a certain temperature, it got the user so high they didn’t come down for days.

It was a billion-dollar industry. Which meant skunks like me were often captured and held hostage against our wills. Here at Scope, we’d busted up many skunk oil operations.

The offenders would keep the people with skunk DNA in cages until they needed their oil. Sometimes they’d tie them to poles.

My jaw tightened thinking about it. We were hunted and chased because of something we couldn’t change. Skunks were easily recognizable because we all had black bushy hair with stripes of white in it.

We could cut it off, but skunk hair couldn’t be dyed. I should know, I’d tried to change the color of mine many times to no avail.

Right now, my hair resembled Garrett’s. It was black spiked with white tips. I usually wore it in a bushy mess all over my head, so this was an improvement. 

But it also made me a target. That’s why skunks learned to fight at an early age. The law had zero tolerance for skunk oil pushers, but many drug dealers were lured in by the fast money.

They didn’t have to pay for the product, which was of a special appeal to them. They just kidnapped us and took what they wanted for free.

Maybe my need for control came from something else, though. Growing up, I’d watched my grandmother bow to every man she’d ever dated. She’d never had control in her relationships. 

She’d been with a different guy every three weeks, and she’d surrendered to them completely. My mother and I had never understood it. We still didn’t, and she was still that way.

When I’d been younger, I’d vowed to never bow to anyone the way she had. Perhaps I did have a need for control.

But I’d never noticed it until Jax had pointed it out. Jax saw me in a way no one else did. I loved him completely and the thought of him being hurt made it feel like a mountain was pressing on my chest.

It was suddenly hot in here and I could feel my throat closing up. I took several deep breaths, waiting for Drena to answer me. Because she still hadn’t said a word. Instead, she was watching me with a very peculiar look on her face.

Drena, Garrett said. His tone was stern. He was at the end of his patience too. His voice was a deep baritone when he spoke. It seemed to bounce off the walls and reverberate around the room.

She cleared her throat. Her voice was almost as deep as his. Rye, she said, looking at me.

What is it? I asked, tired of her evasiveness. Is it Jax?

Brown curly hair fell into her face, and she swiped it away, brows drawing tightly together. No. Jax is fine. He’s been pulled from undercover for this. Albright will be taking the lead. The only reason we’re involved is because of you.

That weight crushing my chest flew out the window, making it easier for me to breathe. Jax was okay. That’s what mattered the most. He was safe. He was... on his way home? What?

I looked at Drena. Something still didn’t sound right. I waved a hand for her to continue. She’d said, Scope was involved because of me. I needed her to explain what she meant.

She shook her head, a sad look on her face. You won’t like this. I only called you and Garrett because no one else has to know.

What is it? I said through gritted teeth. In a second, I was leaving. I’d call Jax and find out from him what was going on.

It was major, I knew that because Drena had never acted like this. Her responses made my heart leap. It made me think it was personal to me.

My eyes widened and I jumped from my chair ready to bolt. Is it my mother and grandmother? Have they been attacked? Are they alive?

Your family’s fine, she said, and I sagged against the wall. They were the only family I had, and I’d die if something happened to them.

Many skunks didn’t have families because we’d always been hunted, captured, and taken away from our loved ones. More than a few skunks had grown up alone. So, for us, family and community meant everything.

I felt a deep kinship with other skunks, but my family meant everything to me. As skunks, we shared a bond because few others knew what it was like to be hunted every second of your life. They just couldn’t relate.

Drena reached into her bag and pulled out a silver oval message pod. It was only slightly bigger than an egg. A message came into the Albright Agency. They were looking for you. They asked for you personally, Rye.

She pushed a button on the side of the message pod, and a holograph image popped up. The image was about the size of two adult hands put together.

A woman in a long black dress was covered in blood, a long sword in her hand. She was a skunk. I could tell from her hair.

It was black with white stripes throughout it. Right now, it was tangled and crooked, looking like it would fall from her head at any moment.

The woman had dark black skin, and silver eyes. She was breathing hard, her breath coming in short gaps.

She was surrounded by bodies, at least six that I could see. Every one of them had the black and white hair that marked them of skunk descent.

Guards dressed in silver and black uniforms stood around her. They too seemed to be of skunk descent. My interest was piqued, and I squinted, trying to get a better look at the message.

As skunks, we didn’t usually gather like this because it made us easier targets. We also didn’t trust easily. A lesson I’d learned four years ago. My former best friend Cam was a skunk.

He’d been a Scope agent. For years he’d also been the biggest skunk oil dealer on this side of the hemisphere. He’d kidnapped other skunks, kept them in cages, draining them of their oil.

I bit my bottom lip, pushing images of Cam away. At one time, I’d loved him more than my own life and it still hurt so much what he’d done to his own kind.

Because we were often skittish, we didn’t trust easily. So, I was really curious how so many skunks had come together.

The woman ran a hand down her face, wiping away sweat, blood, and tears. The entire royal family of Yezn has been slaughtered. I suspect the royal court of Qzon! You must send help now!

She reached into her bra and pulled out a message pod. She swiped at it and then pushed a few buttons. A huge picture of me popped up. My eyes widened and I took a few steps back.

I was surprised to see my face. I didn’t know this woman and I didn’t understand what she was talking about. Royal family? What? Also, how did she have a picture of me?

She pointed to my photo. Her heritage is Zyzn. Zyzn was a more official name for those of us with skunk DNA. She’s an investigator. She’s solved many cases dealing with other Zyzn. We need outside help. Send all your best agents. No one in the entire Xyzen can be trusted right now.

She heard a noise and looked off to the side. When she turned back, her eyes had a nervous tint to them. These interlopers—

A sword came for her face! She dropped the pod, and we heard the clash of metal on metal before the message faded away.

I stood in stunned silence for about ten seconds before I spoke. Drena, I said, trying to piece it all together. I didn’t recognize any of the names used in the message. Were they cities? Countries? Small towns?

Drena gripped the back of her chair. Her skin had a slight tint to it now, telling me that her shell was close to the surface. It only got that way when she was in defense mode.

I didn’t know about this. She held up a hand, stopping me from responding. No one knew, but apparently there’s a whole other realm of sorts called Xyzen. It’s a whole other space. It’s ten countries and the dominant race is Zyzn. Each country is ruled by skunk royalty.

Garrett hopped from his chair. He had a strange glint in his eyes when he looked at me. You mean to tell me, there’s an entire world where those with skunk DNA rule it all? What do you say, Rye? You want to live there?

I ignored him, my mind spinning. Was this real? How come I’d never heard of it? Skunks died on these streets every day. We had no protection. But there was an entire realm where skunks ruled it all?

My pulse sped up. I was confused and intrigued. I did want to go there. But I wondered if my mom and grandmother knew about Xyzen. Probably not.

But apparently, two of the countries there had turned on each other. It made me anxious to find out what was going on. Orange thiols swirled around me, my eyes on the conference room doors. When do we leave?

Chapter 2

We didn’t have much information, so we had to go in strong in case it was some elaborate trap. I went over the notes I’d been given. Xyzen was the name of the realm where the ten skunk countries existed. 

It was completely hidden, and only those with skunk DNA could find it. It was fifteen thousand miles away from anything else. It was an entirely separate space. Apparently, it’s where all those with skunk DNA first came from.

If this was my origins story, it was all new to me. An entire world filled with countries where skunks ruled it all. I’d dreamed of such things growing up. I never imagined it was real.

On the one hand, it made me happy. I was excited. I couldn’t wait to see what a world built completely by skunks looked like. But I was also apprehensive.

A sliver of fear worked its way down my spine. An entire family had been slaughtered. Just what type of world was this? 

From reading the information we had, it seemed that