Under Her Spell Read online

  “You don’t look happy, sweetie,” Athene said, rising from her knees and walking over to where she’d dropped the silver bag.

  “What, you thought I wanted a man’s torso to go along with the stubble and Adam’s apple? A hairy man’s torso?” Her voice came out a fair number of octaves lower than usual—a male voice, of course, to go along with her brand-new male body. She looked down at her boob-less, icky chest, giving it a very well-deserved scowl.

  “The spell kind of comes with one, I’m afraid. I didn’t want to tell you, because…I thought you would react pretty much like you are right now. If it helps,” Athene said, unzipping the garment bag and taking out an expensive-looking three-piece suit and emerald-green dress shirt, “I decided to make you nice and muscled.”

  “Yeah, like having a more manly chest is going to make me happier. Well, in for a dime, in for a dick, I guess.” Then she quickly grabbed at her crotch. Thank the Goddess, she still had an entire, fully working cunt. If Athene had decided to give her a dick along with everything else, she would have…she would have…Well, she would not have been happy, at the very least.

  Athene laughed. “Since your work shoes are already super-butch, I thought I’d just give them a magic polish and have you wear them tonight. I made sure your feet are the same size as usual.”

  “How will anyone know how well-endowed I am if I have tiny lady-feet?”

  Terra was grinning now, but she stopped the moment she saw Athene start turning toward the door. She couldn’t help it. She had to have one last kiss. She shuffled her way over to where Athene stood and said, “Change me back, just so I can kiss you.” Athene touched her arm, and Terra felt her body changing again, back to its normal form. She gave Athene a hard, passionate kiss, one that also had a fair bit of tongue thrown in. “So that’s what I taste like today,” she murmured as she slowly pulled her lips away.

  “Anyone ever tell you how good of a kisser you are?”

  “I learned from the best.”

  Athene let go of her arm then, and her body grew and changed back to that of a man. When the room held only her once again, a lump rose in her throat and she tried to swallow it, hoping no tears would come. She had to keep herself together tonight, because this was a huge risk, these actions she was taking. A huge risk, yes, but a very, very important one. She stiffened her shoulders and straightened her back, cracking her much larger, much hairier hands. Then she walked over to her closet and got out her lady-shoes. This shit was on.

  Chapter Four

  First she had slipped out a mostly ignored door near her first-floor bedroom, and then she’d come around to the front doors of the mansion. Straightening her silk tie—which was something she’d never done before, so was she doing it right?—she rang the doorbell and tried to put an entitled expression on her face. She was pretty much certain that the other six men who would be attending this shindig and competing against her would be rich, spoiled brats. After all, each of them came from one of the most powerful families in the Magic Ones’ world, because Zeus and, of course, Cer, obviously wouldn’t settle for anything less. Not for their gifted, beautiful daughter, no sir, no way.

  But none of the other men were already in love with her, and none of them had received her love in return. If only that had been enough, Terra thought. But no, they had to have this ridiculous quest put in place, blocking her from Athene…and Athene from her.

  The door opened, and there stood the butler, Eshu. She had always thought him to be handsome, and he was less rude to her than most of the staff, so she almost liked him. But now, shockingly, he bowed his head slightly, a move that stated that, for once, he thought she had the upper hand. “Saturn, I presume?”

  “Y-yes, that’s right.” Of course. It wasn’t her that had the upper hand, but Saturn, a man who, before this night, hadn’t even existed, until Athene had planted him and his life story into the head of everyone who would be in the mansion and at this night’s incredibly important event.

  He opened the door wider and gestured toward the entryway. “Enter, if you please. May I take your jacket, sir?”

  “Sir”? Terra could easily get used to being treated with respect around here, but she never, ever wanted to get used to being called “sir.”

  “Thank you, Es…esteemed butler of the Werths.”

  Eshu cocked an eyebrow at her strange words, but he clearly decided to ignore what she had said, because he bowed even more deeply as she walked past him. She handed him her coat, and as she entered the house’s main living room and saw six sets of male eyes focus on her, she started to wish she’d come in a coat of armor instead. She might not have had any magic to back it up, but at least she would have looked tough to those six creepily assessing sets of eyes. And those sets of eyes belonged to six very attractive young men, all of whom, she realized now, happened to be her competition.

  Zeus and Cer were seated on a royal-purple loveseat, each of them holding a stemmed glass of what must have been champagne. Both Zeus and Cer had always dressed impeccably, and the same was true tonight, Zeus in a sleek pinstriped suit and Cer in a lavender-colored, satin sack dress, with matching shoes that had red soles. Those must have cost a pretty penny, Terra thought, and then that thought went poof as her body tightened, and not in a good way. There was her least favorite person in the world—Isis, the head of staff—whose not-very-well-hidden dislike for her had only grown with time.

  She walked up to Terra as soon as they made eye contact, her stilettos clicking against the tile floor in a rather ominous way. But instead of berating Terra like she usually did, Isis handed her a glass of champagne and said, “Welcome to the Werths’ home. You must be Saturn. It’s a delight to meet you, sir.”

  Even if it was the wrong word, Terra thought, she was really starting to like this “sir” business. Now, if only she could run into Thor tonight, too, she wouldn’t mind him calling her “sir.” Maybe if she did see him, she’d pinch his ass for good measure, as he’d done the same to her a few very unpleasant times.

  Cer turned her dark eyes toward Terra as she walked farther into the room. She smiled. It was a cold smile, but the first one Terra had ever received from her. She watched Athene’s mother as she gracefully rose from the loveseat and walked over to her. “Saturn, it’s a delight to finally meet you. I’ve heard so many good things about your family, the…the…oh my, I can’t believe I’m forgetting your last name! How embarrassing!” Cer looked like she was attempting to look embarrassed, too, but she didn’t quite pull it off.

  Then Cer put out her hand, but instead of shaking it, Terra brought it to her mouth and gently placed her lips against it. “What a delight it is to meet you, Madame Werth.”

  “Please, call me Cer. After all, we might be family soon!” Cer tittered. Terra attempted to laugh too, and a manly chuckle, albeit a fake-sounding one, roared out of her mouth. It was a little too loud, she realized, as a few people turned toward her as soon as it left her lips.

  She coughed into her fist, then cleared her throat. “Ahem. A delight to meet you, Cer, then. And would that beautiful woman in the corner be your daughter?”

  “Yes, that’s my darling Athene, talking to Pan Humphries, in the white, embroidered shirt, and Eros Flint, the man with the gorgeou…with the wavy brown hair. He may wind up being your main competition, from what I know of his family and their abilities.”

  “Well, I’ll be sure to introduce myself to him, then. And Athene, as well. After all, I want to see if her personality matches her looks.”

  “Oh my, Saturn,” Cer said with a forced-looking grin, showing off her far-too-perfect teeth, “you are too bold!”

  Terra walked over to where the two men stood talking to Athene. Mine, Terra thought as she made eye contact with her girlfriend. Or, at least, she should be.

  Eros and Pan turned toward her as she walked up to them. “Hello, Athene. My name is Saturn. You look beautiful in that dress.” She took Athene’s hand in hers and kissed its back—an actio
n she thoroughly enjoyed with this particular person’s hand.

  “Thank you. You must be Saturn. I like your manners, so old-school.” Athene gave her a gentle smile, very different from the one that had been on her face before they’d made eye contact.

  “Glad you approve. And you must be Pan…and Eros?”

  Each man nodded at her as she said his name, and she felt an instant liking toward Pan. He had a warm smile, with a touch of crow’s-feet around his eyes, and he was wearing the best shirt in the whole room, with what looked to be the Blue Willow pattern embroidered across its front in dark-blue thread. “I like your shirt,” Terra told him. “My mother used to have a whole set of Blue Willow china she used for special occasions.”

  “Thanks. Mine prefers chintz, which I find a little flashy for my taste.”

  No wonder she had liked him. She could tell now, almost for sure, that he was “part of the family.” Great, so now the lesbian was competing against a gay man for a supposedly straight woman’s hand in marriage. “Just ridiculous,” Terra muttered under her breath.

  “What was that?” Eros asked. His eyes were full of intelligence, which in the magic community usually meant the person was full of power, too.

  “Nothing. Just wondering when dinner will start.”

  “Oh, are you not enjoying this lovely young woman’s company?” he asked, his tone mirthful.

  “Of course I am, Eros. It was just a long drive from my home, and I have heard the Werths’ chef is exceptional at her craft.”

  “If you say so.” Eros’s playful smirk turned to a slight sneer as he turned back toward Athene, but she was looking at her parents, and Pan was looking at his feet, so only Terra saw a glimmer of lust in his hazel eyes. He might have been good-looking, but that was no excuse for him to think he was handsome enough to get away with looking her girlfriend up and down like she was a delicious piece of meat.

  Terra pretended to stumble and slammed her petite foot down onto Eros’s.

  “Ouch!”

  “Oh, excuse me! My lack of food and this delightful champagne seem to have gone straight to my head.” She downed the last of her bubbly and bowed slightly at Athene. “It was very nice to meet you, Athene. Now, I believe I’ll ask the lady of the house where the bathroom is, so I can freshen up before dinner.” Terra turned and walked away, smiling a little as she headed back toward Cer.

  Chapter Five

  The dinner that night was the first time Terra had eaten the same meal as the Werths. The exact same meal. She couldn’t help the small bit of jealousy that rose when she compared her normal dinner to this…this exceptional feast.

  First came a beet salad, with hazelnuts, a delicate—but still pleasantly assertive—dressing, and shaved black truffle on top. Then there were fig-prosciutto turnovers, topped with a thyme-laced béchamel sauce. After that came foie gras with dried cherries and Brie, which was a little rich for her taste. As were the Werths, admittedly, she realized. If this plan worked, if they accepted her into their family, would she really want to live the way they did? Their every wish and desire fulfilled by their staff? Endless amounts of money? Daily meals of this quality and abundance?

  Admittedly, the food part sounded okay to her. But the rest? No, it was all—ha ha ha—too rich for her commoner blood. Some people would weep at their distance from this level of opulence, were they to work for the Werths, but although she wouldn’t have complained about receiving a fair bit more respect from the people surrounding her, she didn’t want deference and “Yes, ma’am,” and “Whatever you say, ma’am,” and “Of course I’ll walk over hot coals barefoot for you, ma’am.” No, she really liked being a commoner, and when she glanced at Athene, who was laughing at something Pan had just said, she hoped Athene wouldn’t mind stepping away from all this luxury and living a simpler life. She’d never asked Athene about their future, as, until they’d hatched this plan together a number of weeks ago, they’d never imagined they had one. But perhaps they would be able to discuss it someday. Someday soon, because the quest started the very next morning, Terra reminded herself, a thought that came with a slight tightening throughout her entire body.

  “So,” Eros said, as he cut into his Kobe steak, “what does your family do, Saturn? I’ve heard of them, of course, but I can’t seem to recall what the…the…your family’s business is.”

  Fuck. Not only had they forgotten to work a last name into the spell, but they’d also forgotten to work in the way “Saturn” and his family had come by their wealth. She quickly shoved a large bite of meat into her mouth to stall while she invented whatever it was they did. After all, the Magic Ones thought they should come by their money honestly. It was a surprising shared belief among their kind, probably started by their first two members, Anshar and Kishar. They were two Mesopotamian villagers who rose to be thought of as godly because of their magic and, apparently, their rise from destitution to great—and almost immeasurable—wealth.

  But all good things must come to an end, as did Terra’s large bite of beef, and so she had to give him the answer he had requested. She told him the only lie she’d been able to come up with. “They’re in the sheep business.”

  “Sheep? Really?” Eros laughed. “That sounds like a very baaaaaahd joke, to me,” he said, still laughing away.

  “Yes, sheep. Sheep, which just happen to have the finest wool and meat in the country. In any country, actually. They ship our meat and wool worldwide, from here in the States all the way to Europe and Asia. Our wool is so superior we could practically sell sweaters in the Sahara Desert midsummer.” She wiped the sides of her mouth and took a small swallow of her wine. “Haven’t you heard of Carrigan Sheep?”

  Eros looked confused for a moment, but then Athene reached past him for the salt, brushing against his arm as she did. He looked down at his arm, then back up at Terra, and said, “Oh, yes, I suppose I have.” He still looked mildly confused, but at least he believed what she’d said.

  Close call, Terra thought, almost wanting to sigh in relief.

  Dessert consisted of a delicious chocolate torte, decorated with shaved dark chocolate and gold leaf. Terra had seen the tortes being made, of course, as she and Freo talked and she shined piece after piece of stupid silverware. She couldn’t believe that every utensil at the table she now sat at had been cleaned and put in place by her and one of the maids. Nor could she believe that she was passing for one of “them” and being allowed to use the Werths’ finest silver to eat their finest food.

  Once everyone’s dessert plates were empty, Zeus rose from his chair and tapped his wineglass with his dessert fork. “Men—shall we adjourn to the living room for some of my finest cognac? And perhaps some…Cuban cigars? Don’t tell anyone,” he added with a wink.

  Terra hated cognac almost as much as she hated cigars, but she choked down a small glass of the first and puffed away at the second. She had to blend in, after all. Also a little unpleasant for her was being in a room full of men—or at least these particular men. Eros was the least pleasant, of course, and Pan the most, so she stayed away from Eros and stuck near Pan, chatting with him about his love of sailing and how he wanted to take off for a year and go around the world.

  “With…with Athene, perhaps?”

  “Yeah, something like that,” Pan replied, a slightly wistful look flickering across his face.

  Just then, Zeus rose from his chair and placed his empty snifter on the table beside it. “I think we should all retire to our rooms now, as it is getting late and I want you all well-rested when it comes time to take off tomorrow. Your cars will be brought around to our driveway at seven a.m., and I will make sure you all have one of our chef’s wonderful croissants and a cup of nice, strong coffee as well. You’ll be needing all the help you can get, I’m sure!”

  Then Zeus raised his arms into a V-shape, looking much scarier than he usually did. His voice boomed out with his next words, and she watched, mouth agape, as a small, dark storm cloud appeared over his head,
flashes of lighting and booms of thunder emanating from it. In a deep, intimidating voice, he called out, “Your quest will be thus: you will vanquish a foe with wings, find a river of great power and drink from it, make it rain in the desert, and lastly, locate Zeus’s hidden goblet.”

  Zeus’s hidden goblet? It almost seemed as if he was someone else in that moment. And perhaps he was.

  The storm cloud gave one last, loud boom of thunder and disappeared. Zeus’s arms dropped then, and his normal smile returned to his face. “That must have been the quest’s requirements for you lot, because I was somewhere else for a few moments. Ha! One last thing, and then it’s time for you to sleep…if you can,” he added with a slightly sinister chuckle. “While some of you may already know this, your quests may differ. Slightly, vastly, who knows?” He shrugged in what seemed to be a playful way, and then he turned and began to walk toward the stairs that led to his bedroom.

  Terra glanced around at the six men still in the room. She’d learned most of their names by now, and it sounded like she might be seeing some of them again. Eros seemed like the one to watch out for, but so did a slender, dark-haired man named Zao Jun Sòng. He didn’t make her skin tingle the way Eros did, but Zao Jun was still the only other man in the room who put off a noticeable amount of power. Besides Zeus, of course, but he kept his power contained better than the two young men, and Terra only felt it whenever he was angry at one of the staff and began to tear them down for a perceived fault in their performance. A perceived fault that was usually real, so at least he got angry for, mostly, the right reasons. Terra might have been a little afraid of him, but he treated Athene well, from what she’d told her. Much better than Cer did, as Athene had also told her of Cer’s noticeable standoffishness when it came to her. The fact that she loved Athene barely showed, she had said, and when it did, the signs of her love were gone just as quickly as they had appeared.