Title: Magic & Mirrors
Author: LM Brown
Series: Gay Ever After #4
Genre: M/M Romance, Fantasy
Release Date: November 2, 2019
Only the assassin sent to kill him can free him from the mirror.
When King Lucius is imprisoned in a magic mirror by an evil wizard, he is forced to watch as his life is destroyed and his kingdom brought to the brink of ruin. Trapped in his own reflection, he only has the freedom to move and talk when the wizard sleeps.
With his subjects under the dark spell of the wizard, Lucius is forced to rely on the most unlikely of heroes if he hopes to get his life back.
Harry comes from a long line of assassins and prides himself on being one of the best in the kingdom, but when he is hired to kill King Lucius he discovers that all is not as it seems in the Kingdom of Cinders.
Harry agrees to help Lucius in return for a full pardon for his crimes, but to complete his quest he may have to give up everything, including his freedom and the king he has come to love.
King Lucius sat in the chair in his bedchamber, reading the book he’d started the previous year. He was making slow progress since all the text was a mirror image of the writing he had grown up with.
On the other side of the barrier, his body slept. The evil wizard who had taken over his life four years ago had finished his dastardly deeds for the day, freeing Lucius to wander through the world of mirrors, instead of being stuck reflecting the actions of the wizard.
It was a frustrating existence and one he was eager to escape from.
Unfortunately, he could see no way out of his miserable prison.
A noise from the bedchamber in the real world tore his attention away from his book, and he set it aside. It wasn’t the wizard who had stirred. That was the one thing he knew for sure. He was always the first to know when the wizard woke to start the day.
Creeping towards the barrier, Lucius peered out into the darkened room. The only light came from the candle on the bedside table, the counterpart of which Lucius had been using to read by.
A movement near the balcony caught his eye. Someone was stealing into his chambers, and considering they had decided not to enter by the door, he had to assume they had mischief on their agenda.
Lucius waited in silence, observing the intruder as he stumbled about in the dark. He was lucky the wizard was such a heavy sleeper. Had Lucius been in his own body, the uninvited guest’s bumbling around the bedchamber would have woken him for sure.
Stifling his amusement and keeping as still as possible, Lucius watched as the intruder tiptoed closer to the bed. He clearly hadn’t spotted the living reflection in the dressing table mirror, but few people did. In the dark hours of the night most people chalked it up to imagination, or having mixed up the portraits and mirrors adorning the walls.
The flash of metal in the candlelight doused his amusement in an instant. This was no thief. This was an assassin.
“Stop!” Lucius ordered. He tried not to raise his voice too loud, lest the wizard woke.
The assassin ducked and rolled under the bed in a move that Lucius couldn’t help admiring.
“You can’t stay there all night,” Lucius said. “You might as well come out before he wakes up.”
“Who said that?” the intruder whispered from under the bed.
“I did,” Lucius replied. “Are you going to come out from under there, or are the contents of the chamber pot that interesting?”
“Who are you?”
Lucius sighed heavily. “I’m King Lucius the fourth, and you won’t be delivering the killing blow to me this night.”
The assassin crawled out from under the bed. He stood up and looked at the sleeping figure. “Are you awake?” he asked.
Lucius rolled his eyes. “Behind you.”
Finally the dagger-wielding idiot turned and saw who had spoken. “What magic is this?” he whispered.
“The blackest kind,” Lucius replied. “Would you mind going through the door behind you and following the corridor to the left?”
“Why?”
“So we can talk properly without him waking up,” Lucius explained. “You seem to be quite a resourceful chap, and I think maybe you can help me with a little problem I have.”
“What sort of problem?”
Suddenly, voices shouted from outside in the castle grounds. “Intruder! Call out the guards!”
“Dammit,” Lucius swore.
A grunt and snort from the bed caused the assassin to startle and Lucius sensed the king was about to wake. “Hide in the closet,” he said, pointing to another door.
The assassin didn’t argue with him this time. He ran for cover, only just sliding the door closed when the wizard sat up, awake.
Lucius, trapped in the mirror, lost control of his body the moment the wizard rose. He was a reflection once more, albeit a conscious one.
On the other side of the barrier, his body slept. The evil wizard who had taken over his life four years ago had finished his dastardly deeds for the day, freeing Lucius to wander through the world of mirrors, instead of being stuck reflecting the actions of the wizard.
It was a frustrating existence and one he was eager to escape from.
Unfortunately, he could see no way out of his miserable prison.
A noise from the bedchamber in the real world tore his attention away from his book, and he set it aside. It wasn’t the wizard who had stirred. That was the one thing he knew for sure. He was always the first to know when the wizard woke to start the day.
Creeping towards the barrier, Lucius peered out into the darkened room. The only light came from the candle on the bedside table, the counterpart of which Lucius had been using to read by.
A movement near the balcony caught his eye. Someone was stealing into his chambers, and considering they had decided not to enter by the door, he had to assume they had mischief on their agenda.
Lucius waited in silence, observing the intruder as he stumbled about in the dark. He was lucky the wizard was such a heavy sleeper. Had Lucius been in his own body, the uninvited guest’s bumbling around the bedchamber would have woken him for sure.
Stifling his amusement and keeping as still as possible, Lucius watched as the intruder tiptoed closer to the bed. He clearly hadn’t spotted the living reflection in the dressing table mirror, but few people did. In the dark hours of the night most people chalked it up to imagination, or having mixed up the portraits and mirrors adorning the walls.
The flash of metal in the candlelight doused his amusement in an instant. This was no thief. This was an assassin.
“Stop!” Lucius ordered. He tried not to raise his voice too loud, lest the wizard woke.
“You can’t stay there all night,” Lucius said. “You might as well come out before he wakes up.”
“Who said that?” the intruder whispered from under the bed.
“I did,” Lucius replied. “Are you going to come out from under there, or are the contents of the chamber pot that interesting?”
“Who are you?”
Lucius sighed heavily. “I’m King Lucius the fourth, and you won’t be delivering the killing blow to me this night.”
The assassin crawled out from under the bed. He stood up and looked at the sleeping figure. “Are you awake?” he asked.
Lucius rolled his eyes. “Behind you.”
Finally the dagger-wielding idiot turned and saw who had spoken. “What magic is this?” he whispered.
“The blackest kind,” Lucius replied. “Would you mind going through the door behind you and following the corridor to the left?”
“Why?”
“So we can talk properly without him waking up,” Lucius explained. “You seem to be quite a resourceful chap, and I think maybe you can help me with a little problem I have.”
“What sort of problem?”
Suddenly, voices shouted from outside in the castle grounds. “Intruder! Call out the guards!”
“Dammit,” Lucius swore.
A grunt and snort from the bed caused the assassin to startle and Lucius sensed the king was about to wake. “Hide in the closet,” he said, pointing to another door.
The assassin didn’t argue with him this time. He ran for cover, only just sliding the door closed when the wizard sat up, awake.
Lucius, trapped in the mirror, lost control of his body the moment the wizard rose. He was a reflection once more, albeit a conscious one.
L.M. Brown is an English writer of gay romances. She believes mermen live in the undiscovered areas of the ocean. She believes life exists on other planets. She believes in fairy tales, magic, and dreams. Most of all, she believes in love.
When L.M. Brown isn’t bribing her fur babies for control of the laptop, she can usually be found with her nose in a book.
EMAIL: lmbrownauthor@gmail.com
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