Free Fire Kissed by Erin Kellison

no.
    And here he’d been trying to make friends.
    Better get it over with. Ferro reluctantly picked up the remote and turned off the TV, then stood and rounded his desk to approach the girl.
    “The first time a mage is indiscreet using Shadow,” he said, leaning back against his desk, “I allow the House to handle it. The second time, I personally touch base with the Head—your father assured me that you would not repeat your behavior. The third time, the errant mage comes here.”
    Damn, he sounded like an old man. It was one thing to think like one, another to act out of touch.
    Her eyes shined, but her face was too tense to quiver. Poor kid. She’d gotten herself into real trouble this time, and now she had to see the dreaded Mr. Grey.
    “Miss Maya—”
    His phone buzzed in his pocket, interrupting. He pulled it out and looked at the number. “Yeah?” he answered amiably. He’d seen a young man in a hot nightclub answer that way. Just “Yeah,” no “Hello.” That’s how the young sounded.
    Shana’s chest hitched for breath. Ferro threw her a smile and a wink, then turned a little to the side to concentrate on the call.
    “Sir, Kaye Brand has moved again—she’s living in Georgetown.”
    “Here? Why?” The woman, one of the broken, never stayed in one place long. She was a boozy, scarred wreck. But to move here while the Houses were meeting had to mean something. Yes, this news was worth bothering him with. An interesting development. “What is she up to?” Was she here to finally say her I dos ? Had to be. The smartest thing she could do was ally herself with Grey. Too bad she was far too late for the party.
    The question was, did he want her? At least Ms. Brand, unlike Shana, was extremely selective about how and when she used her Shadow.
    But no, he’d pass. Kaye Brand had no spine. No one weak could bear the Grey name. Or bear him children.
    “Keep me posted.” He’d have to make certain there wasn’t some collusion afoot. He ended the call and tossed the mobile on his desk next to the mage history book.
    Darshana now. “I trust your father explained where you went wrong?”
    Silence. The girl had stolen merchandise from a shopping mall jewelry store by confusing the minds of the staff. The theft wasn’t the problem, however.
    “Answer me, please,” Ferro said.
    Her chin dimpled with anger, but she recited by rote. “My illusions work on humans, not security cameras. I can still be caught using Shadow in public, and then magic and magekind would be exposed in a negative light and popular opinion could turn against us.”
    She’d clearly heard the lecture many times before.
    Magic and magekind were already exposed, but not to the general public, not quite yet, and certainly not with convenient video proof. Only some human elite knew—those in positions of power and those with great wealth. The rest of the world heard only rumors, rumblings of trouble. For now. The day would soon come, however, when that would change. And when it did, magekind would be seen as saviors, demigods, not petty thieves.
    “Cameras are everywhere.” He gestured toward the television. “Your generation should know that better than any.”
    Her expression went sullen as she anticipated her punishment.
    He lifted the book, her homework. Funny that he studied the present, while she needed to remember the past. The future he would write as he went along.
    “Miss Maya, Darshana. Do you know what happens when mages are discovered by the masses and, by extension, their guardians, the angels?”
    Silence again.
    Perhaps a visual aid. He gestured to the painting over the fireplace to his right. “See that?”
    Ferro couldn’t be sure, but he thought he might have caught her attention.
    He tried for a bigger reaction. “That painting is worth more than your House’s combined wealth. Doubled.”
    Her gaze flicked up, held.
    “That’s our history, Miss Maya.”
    Ferro looked at the Rubens through her fresh eyes.