The ebook is currently only available on Amazon, including Kindle Unlimited. It will be sold at other online retailers later this year. And the paperback version is at Amazon now, plus will be available on the Barnes & Noble website in a couple days.
I love all the crazy characters in this book, and I'm itching to dive into the next title in the series. Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it! Here's an excerpt from the novel, dropping you right into the middle of Lila Mandrake's world.
“Marcus is holding my Aura Sniffer hostage.” I crossed my arms under my chest, realizing Ty’s insult fit the bill too well.
Tyler humphed. “Is this official M.E.A. business?”
“Yes.” Marcus peered over his shoulder. “I need to talk to your client, Ash.”
“Uh, that’s not going to happen. He passed out after we hauled him onto Lila’s couch. Kai’s keeping an eye on him for now. Once he’s able to speak, we’ll let you know.”
Though Ty had been at odds with me earlier, his current calm and nonchalant attitude reassured me. Then again, he scorned Marcus -- if faced with a different M.E.A. agent, his approach would have been more cautious.
My ex glared at me. “Then I guess we wait.” He tilted his head, pressed his palm to his temple, and staggered. “Woah. What the heck? What did you do to me?”
I skittered back. “Nothing. Honest!” Sure, I wanted to take credit for whatever was happening to him. I’d dreamed of payback so many times. Gammy’s voice in my head had always stopped me, though.
“Did he drink the ginger ale?” Tyler dodged Marcus, who wobbled and grasped at the air.
“Yeah.” Uh-oh.
Ty cringed. “Magic and mischief, help me. I’ve been experimenting with it.”
Marcus pressed his back to the wall and slid down it. “The room’s spinning.” His words slurred.
“You what?” Tyler loved concocting new potions and improving our drinks. Only a liquor license was required to sell any brews that qualified as alcohol, unlike our emergency potion stash. “And you left it behind the bar?” I always cautioned him about testing his experiments on our customers, though it occasionally fell on deaf ears.
“I told Kai not to use it, and Marcus is the only one who ever drinks the stuff. Didn’t expect him to show up tonight.”
That made both of us. “Well he did, and he drank it. What’s it doing to him, and how are you going to fix this?”
He sighed and extended his hand. “Even?”
Through the years, whenever we’d gotten into a tiff, we squared the odds and then shook on it. Hey, it had worked since grade school.
“I guess.” I accepted the handshake. Now he could no longer hassle me about taking on Ash as a client, but I also wasn’t allowed to give him a hard time about the potion.
“So I manipulated the molecules to equal about six shots of alcohol, while keeping the taste the same.” He rubbed his chin. “Quite a delayed reaction, and the impact of the booze hit him all at once.”
“You mean, he’s drunk?”
Ty nodded. “I call it Insta-Ale.”
I burst into laughter.
“Just had the idea to whip up a countermeasure in case he came calling again. You know, to avoid the situation of you making another mistake.”
The uncontrollable cackling prevented me from responding, only a few wheezes escaping. Maybe I actually owed Ty. Nope, we weren’t even. Best present ever.
Eventually I got a hold of myself. Kind of. “So now we have two drunk guys on our hands?” I giggled. “Once Marcus sobers up he’s going to be furious.”
Tyler glanced at Marcus. “Yeah.”
“What--?” My ex sucked in an unsteady, deep breath. “What iz diz? Tounge’z numb.”
“And that’s not a side effect I expected.” Ty shook his head. “Guess it needs more tweaking.”
I knelt next to Marcus, unable to stop another wave of laughter. “You’re drunk, you idiot. So much for you not drinking while on the job. You better stay here and sober up before you contact your boss, huh?”
He snaked an arm around my neck. “We could zpend da time togeder.” That oh so familiar lust filled his eyes.
I squeaked, snatched the Sniffer from his hand, then wiggled out of his embrace. “Pass.” Hastily backing away to the opposite wall, I wrestled with dialing down my hormones.
“You’re not going to leave him here with me, are you?” Ty planted his hands on his hips and frowned at Marcus. “He’ll be livid if you skip out while he’s in this state.”
I shrugged. “Need to take my opportunities when I can. I’ll deal with the repercussions later. Get him onto a couch in one of the meeting rooms, and make sure he doesn’t have any other adverse side effects.”
Not wanting to start another argument, I hustled down the stairs. I had an elf to track, in between snickering over my drunken ex.
A half-elf walks into a bar...
Sounds like the start of a bad joke, right? Lila, owner of the Magic Morsel, agrees. As a tech mage who manages the only neutral ground in the Triopolis area, she’s skilled at brokering deals between humans, fae, elves, and a range of other magically inclined people.
Mourning the passing of her grandmother, she’s determined to maintain Gammy’s track record of no major incidents. Then Ash walks into the bar, a half-elf carrying a mysterious item that calls to her.
Agreeing to his request for her services, the deal slides sideways, and she feels obligated to hunt down the stolen object. Her decision leads her to the edge of the Ruins, a forbidden, fallen city shrouded in a cloud of wild magic.
Unfortunately, Lila risks losing her mind among the crumbling buildings and chaotic lightning.
Pull a stool up to the bar in the spellbinding world of Morthmagica, where you’ll discover magic, quirky characters, snarky humor, and slow burn romance. What’s your potion of choice?
