RAPUNZELS AND POWERS

BOOK 10 OF THE FAIRY TALES OF THE MAGICORUM

CHRISTINA BAUER

COPYRIGHT

Newton, MA 02464

www.monsterhousebooks.com

ISBN 9781956114171

First Edition

Copyright © 2023 by Monster House Books LLC

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

DEDICATION

For All Those Who Kick Ass, Take Names

and Read Books

CONTENTS

Collected Works

RAPUNZELS AND POWERS

1. Grayson

2. Dex

3. Grayson

4. Dex

5. Grayson

6. Dex

7. Grayson

8. Dex

9. Grayson

10. Grayson

11. Dex

12. Dex

13. Grayson

14. Dex

15. Dex

16. Grayson

17. Dex

18. Grayson

19. Dex

20. Grayson

21. Dex

22. Grayson

23. Dex

24. Grayson

25. Grayson

26. Dex

27. Grayson

28. Dex

29. Grayson

30. Dex

31. Grayson

32. Dex

33. Grayson

34. Dex

35. Dex

36. Grayson

37. Dex

38. Grayson

39. Dex

40. Grayson

Description - EVIL QUEENS AND GOBLIN KINGS

Also By Christina Bauer

EVIL QUEENS AND GOBLIN KINGS

ANGELBOUND

PIXIELAND DIARIES

DIMENSION DRIFT

BEHOLDER

Appendix

If You Enjoyed This Book…

Acknowledgments

About Christina Bauer

Complimentary Book

Bonus Images

1. Young Dex

2. Crimson Cap Brownies

3. Mayor Primrose

4. Sidhe Academy

5. The Estuary

6. Shoal

7. The Kraken

8. Damascus At Fort Zemni

9. Jocasta

10. Taryn

11. Closing

COLLECTED WORKS

Fairy Tales of the Magicorum

Modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance

1. Wolves and Roses

2. Moonlight and Midtown

3. Shifters and Glyphs

4. Slippers and Thieves

5. Bandits and Ball Gowns

6. Fire and Cinder

7. Fairies and Frosting

8. Towers and Tithes

9. Mirrors and Mysteries

10. Rapunzels and Powers

Witches of the Magicorum

1. Evil Queens and Goblin Kings

2. Mad Hatters and Manhattan Heirs

3. Goose Girls and Ghost Magic

Angelbound Origins

About a quasi (part demon and part human) girl who loves kicking butt in Purgatory's Arena

1. Angelbound

2. Scala

3. Acca

4. Thrax

5. The Dark Lands

6. The Brutal Time

7. Armageddon

8. Quasi Redux

9. Clockwork Igni

10. Lady Reaper

11. Reaper Games

12. Angry Gods

Angelbound Lincoln

The Angelbound experience as told by Prince Lincoln

1. Duty Bound

2. Lincoln

3. Trickster

4. Baculum

5. Angelfire

6. Rixa

7. Mordred

Angelbound Offspring

The next generation takes on Heaven, Hell, and everything in between

1. Maxon

2. Portia

3. Zinnia

4. Rhodes

5. Kaps

6. Mack

7. Huntress

* This is a completed series.

Angelbound Xavier

Xavier’s story

1. Archenemy

2. Archnemesis

3. Archangel

Pixieland Diaries

Sassy pixie Calla loves elf prince Dare. Too bad he hasn’t noticed her. Yet.

1. Pixieland Diaries

2. Calla

3. Dare

*This is a completed series.

Dimension Drift

Dystopian adventures with science, snark, and hot aliens

1. Scythe

2. Umbra

3. Alien Minds

4. ECHO Academy

*This is a completed series.

Beholder

Where a medieval farm girl discovers necromancy and true love

1. Cursed

2. Concealed

3. Cherished

4. Crowned

5. Cradled

*This is a completed series.

RAPUNZELS AND POWERS

1

GRAYSON

SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD

Pop!

A bubbling noise wakes me up. Blinking, I focus my sleepy thoughts. Where am I again?

Pop, pop!

Oh, that’s right. Hours ago, Dex and I dozed off in his cabin. Now we’re resting nose-to-nose under heavy blankets.

Maybe it’s from being a wolf shifter, but Dex is an expert cuddler. He angles his left arm so it serves as my pillow. At the same time, Dex cups the back of my head with his right hand. I sense every other place where we touch. Chest. Hips. Thighs. Although Dex remains asleep, he gently strokes the edge of my ear with his thumb. The moment is too perfect to shatter.

So, I won’t.

After all, I probably dreamt those sounds anyway. Closing my eyes, I try snoozing again.

Pop, pop, pop!

Ugh. That was no dream.

Reopening my eyes, I stifle a groan. There’s no mistaking that series of noises. A magic mirror is appearing nearby. And I know this stuff, too. My people are osmos fae. We make the best magic mirrors in all of Faerie.

It almost hurts to remove Dex’s arm from over my shoulder, but I gently slide his limb aside. Dex’s cabin is made from rough-hewn wood. The bedroom is a small space that holds a mattress as well as a few armoires for clothes. Since Dex rules more than a hundred shifter pups, he goes into lone wolf mode sometimes. This place is his retreat.

Sure enough, I spot a new mirror on the far wall. The frame shifts between green and red, which means it’s not only magical, it’s also meant for communication and seeing the future. My guess? Someone from the past wants to reach Dex. Which makes sense, considering how he’s the Alpha of the Wulfhelm pack.

A memory appears. I picture a painting from the house of Professor Tallon, the Wulfhelm Rune Druid: it shows the pack during a werewolf commitment ceremony. In other words, a shifter wedding. A shiver twists down my back. Since Dex is a werewolf—and I’m his mate—this ritual requires that Dex and I bind our souls by biting each other’s shoulders.

And that’s just for starters.

As leaders of Wulfhelm, Dex and I must also recharge the pack lands with magic. Otherwise, our population of young shifter orphans will be destroyed by a nasty elf called the Prism Master and my just-as-evil sister, Lady R. Worry tightens up my neck. Fighting evil fae? Casting mega spells? That isn’t me. I’m the girl who spent her life locked up in a cabin-prison. Icy alarm chills my soul.

Stay calm, Grayson.

This new mirror must be another message from Professor Tallon. What’s the harm in that? Once Dex takes a look, it will all vanish.

Which means I need to wake Dex up. Such a shame.

Dex opens his right eye. “Don’t worry about disturbing me.”

“How’d you guess?”

“When you’ve been with your fated mate as long as I have, you just know.”

I smile. “It has been all of ten hours.”

“Nine hours and forty-seven minutes since we agreed to official coupledom, but who’s counting?”

Dex is a wolf shifter. Although I’m osmos—that’s part fae and troll—I’m still Dex’s fated mate. Although I do feel wolfy sometimes, I won’t take my beastly shape until Dex and I exchange bites. Every once in a while, that idea seems exciting.

As of this moment? Not so much.

“A new mirror has appeared,” I declare. “I think it’s from Professor Tallon.”

“Better check it out.” Dex slides out of bed. He looks beyond handsome in a pair of leather pants and nothing else. Dex is tall and broad-shouldered with long dark hair, a full mouth and a strong jawline. I’m still in my calico dress from yesterday. I’ve red hair, green eyes, freckles, and a slight frame. In elf-world, that makes me hella plain.

Rising from bed, I move to stand before the mirror. Once there, I realize my mistake. Because of a blindness spell, Dex can’t see where I’ve gone.

“Do you need help finding the mirror?” I ask.

Dex shakes his head. “Lady R may have taken my vision, but her spell doesn’t block anything magical.”

Sadly, my awful sister cast a blinding spell on Dex. Although you wouldn’t know it based on how Dex confidently strides across the room. When he pauses before me, Dex is so tall, I must tilt up my head to see his face.

Little by little, Dex reaches out to touch the pendant around my neck. “I detect more than what hangs on the wall. This mirror pendant holds your magic. I can see it, too.”

Part of me is thrilled that Dex can detect my spell. More is freaked out that I made this jewelry in the first place.

This little mirror pendant magically entraps two people: First, there’s Dex’s Beta, Taryn, who’s perma-stuck in a half-shifted state between man and wolf. Second, there’s the witch, Jocasta, who always waits in the shadows. I didn’t mean to imprison them—and I’m not sure how to get them out—but at least they’re alive. Otherwise, Taryn and Jocasta would’ve died in a fire.

Where the pendant should show a reflection, a small scene plays out instead: Taryn sleeps in what looks like the Bartlebee—that’s the cabin-prison of my childhood—while a dim figure sets bandages on his many burns. Jocasta. Not sure where this version of the Bartlebee came from, but then again, I don’t know how I got these two into a mirror pendant to begin with

Pop, Pop!

The new wall-mirror grows larger until it’s almost as big as Dex himself. The reflective surface shows white mist, which means the mirror is still forming.

“How much longer before we see anything?” asks Dex.

Growing up, the Prism Master forced magic mirrors to appear in the Bartlebee. Tutors showed up in the reflections… eventually. I’ve a lot of experience in waiting for mirrors to come into focus.

“Every mirror is different.” I scan the surface. “This one has a way to go. Either the caster is very junior… or they’re really far away.”

Dex brushes his fingers along the mirror’s heavy frame. “I can see the magic inside the wood—it keeps changing from green to red. What does that mean?”

“Osmos mirror magic has four levels. The first and easiest type is colored saffron yellow. It lets you see the past.”

“And that only makes mirrors?”

“Saffron power can also make a kind of mist bomb. When you chuck it at someone, you’ll erase their memory.” A weight of sorrow settles inside my bones. When I next speak, my voice breaks. “That’s how Lady R wiped out my life before the Bartlebee. I don’t remember a thing before six years old.”

“You’ll get those recollections back,” says Dex, his voice low and soothing. “Just like I’ll regain my sight.”

My throat tightens. Lady R is so powerful and determined. Even worse, she’s set on destroying me and taking Dex as her so-called prince. How can we hope to stop her, not to mention her partner in crime, the Prism Master?

Focus, Grayson. Think about the mirror.

I clear my throat. “The second level of osmos magic is colored emerald. This green power makes mirrors which allow you to talk to someone in the present. You can also them to spy on people.” I can’t help it. My face burns red at the memories of all the times I spied on Dex. He can’t see that, though.

Dex inhales. “You’re embarrassed.”

Then again, maybe Dex doesn’t need to see—his shifter sense of smell does all the work. I’m not used to someone reading me so closely. I clear my throat again and keep going. “Level three is crimson magic. It shows the future. The fourth and final level is silver power. It can be used for almost anything. Only the osmos king or queen—the quintessence—can wield that energy.”

A long pause follows while Dex keeps inhaling. I sense he’s debating whether to push me on the spying thing. In the end, he keeps with my change of subject.

“So, flipping between green and red means the magic is moving between the present and future… for whoever’s casting this mirror. How long before we see them?”

Inside the mirror frame, the white haze gets heavier. “If my guess is right, they’ll show up in a few seconds.”

Sure enough, the haze clears. An image comes into focus, showing a great green door in a darkened room. Inch by inch, the entrance swings open. A girl peeps out. She’s a fae whose red hair is tied back into puffy pigtails. There’s no missing her special combination of green eyes and a heart-shaped face. My pulse thuds so hard, I feel the beat against my rib cage.

The mirror shows me. And I’m six years old.

My skin prickles with shock. I don’t remember anything before I woke up in the Bartlebee. And the green door in this mirror? The Bartlebee doesn’t have anything like that.

An electric realization moves through my mind. This is no message from Professor Tallon. It’s outreach with my younger self. Questions zing through my mind.

How could I wield any magic back then, let alone cast something so complex?

Someone must be helping Young Me create this mirror…who?

And most of all, why am I seeing it now?

2

DEX

TWENTY YEARS OLD

A young Grayson appears in the mirror’s reflection. She’s all knobby knees, puffy hair and a determined gaze. I can’t help but smile.

“That’s you as a child.” I state. “You’re perfect.”

Grayson takes a half-step backward. “I don’t understand. The mirror should show Professor Tallon.”

Inhaling, I catch the tang of sweat on the air. Grayson’s afraid.

My heart sinks. My vita has been through so much. For years, the Prism Master and Lady R teamed up to bring Grayson down. Now my vita must help save Wulfhelm. I know Grayson can handle it, but that isn’t enough.

She needs to know it.

Inside the mirror, Young Grayson steps into a massive dome-shaped room. The floor is a large cross-section of a tree trunk, while the dome itself is all packed dirt accented by thorny roots. A mismatched collection of mirrors lie embedded in the walls.

I remember this place. It’s the same ceremonial chamber where pack Alpha Ishir and Osmos Queen Xao tried to recharge the magic of Wulfhelm. Sadly, Lady R and the Prism Master sabotaged the ceremony. Both Xao and Ishir died.

Why is young Grayson in such a dangerous spot?

The ceremonial chamber looks intact. Young Grayson must be visiting before Lady R and the Prism Master destroyed everything. The realization makes my inner wolf growl with anger. Young Grayson could still be at risk.

I gesture to the mirror. “That’s the ceremonial chamber we saw before.”

Grayson’s eyes are glassy. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

Grayson’s scent of sweat and fear grows stronger. I move to stand behind her. Inch by inch, I wrap my arms around her waist, guiding her back to rest against my chest. Leaning in, I whisper in her ear. “You don’t know this yet, but you’re a match for anything.”

Grayson exhales. “Keep talking like that, and I just might begin to believe it.”

In the mirror’s reflection, Young Grayson clears her throat. “Hello.”

A voice sounds in the distance. “How did you get in here?”

My shifter hearing makes it easy for me to recognize the second speaker. “That’s Queen Xao.”

Grayson’s spine stiffens against me. “You’re right.”

While the mirror focuses on Young Grayson, Queen Xao continues to speak from a distance. “You may return to the practice room, Grayson. I’ll join you there to look at your casting.”

“But the mirror’s in here with me.”

“What?”

Queen Xao steps into the mirror’s reflection. She’s a tall woman with strong limbs and pointed ears. Each scar on her face represents a powerful mirror that she’s created. In her right hand, Xao holds a rose. Life in the Faerie Realm is strange, but that rose is especially odd.

Why would Xao tote around a flower? I make a note to ask Grayson about that later on.

Xao leans around the mirror’s frame, as if she’s looking for hidden wires. When she next speaks, it’s half to herself.

“However did you manage that?”

Young Grayson screws up one side of her mouth. “Manage what?”

“Getting this mirror in here.”

“Oh, I got tired of waiting so I asked it to follow me.” Young Grayson stares at Xao in the way children do when they think their elders are missing something that’s beyond obvious. “Isn’t that what you do?”

“Not exactly.” Xao places her palms on the mirror. “You cast this. You.”

Young Grayson shrugs. “Me.”

Xao’s not the only one who’s surprised. I can’t believe what I’m seeing, either. Somehow, Young Grayson conjured a mirror that cut through time in order to send her older self a message.

This changes everything.

Based on the failed ritual by Ishir and Xao, I figured we’d need a group of osmos and shifters in order to recharge the magic of Wulfhelm. That could take years. But, if Grayson’s a magical prodigy, then anything is possible and soon. Pride and excitement churn through me. My inner wolf wants to howl with joy.

The Faerie Realm is already filled with wonders.

Yet Grayson rises above them all.

3

GRAYSON

My head feels woozy. I cast a complex spell when I was six? There must be another reason why this mirror was following Young Me around.

Some part of me whispers that actually, I wield a ton of magic. It’s got a high-pitched and musical voice. Must be my elfy side. Then, the part of me that’s a troll grumbles that if I’m so powerful, then why didn’t I cast a spell to escape the Bartlebee?

Good point, inner troll.

Back in the reflection, Xao finishes inspecting the mirror. “Who cast this?”

A better question I couldn’t ask myself.

Young Me gives Xao the side eye. “I did.”

Minutes pass as Xao does more tests. Some involve tapping her rose wand against the mirror frame. Other times, Xao puts her hand right into the reflection itself. After a while, the queen steps back and makes an announcement.

“Well, that settles it.”