Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Horror washes over me. “He’s got her! Mathias has her!”
“Don’t panic. Can you locate her? Close your eyes and use your magic.”
I concentrate. Vague images flicker—Sydney clutching the book, Mathias barking questions. But no location.
“I don’t know how. You couldn’t do it when Anka was taken from you.”
“He took Anka suddenly,” Lucan explains. “I felt only a vague sense of uneasiness before he broke the bond.”
“Sydney and I aren’t mated. How can I find what isn’t technically mine?”
“Mum said for years that your magic would cross rare lines. Try.”
I push harder. Fear, anger, determination—Sydney’s emotions flood me. My firecracker is resolved. Then… “A house. Remote. But I don’t know where.”
“Have you teleported on your own yet?”
“No.”
Lucan curses. “Remind me when this is over to beat you within an inch of your stubborn life. Close your eyes. Focus on your sense of her, not the location. Let instinct guide you.”
“If I fail?”
Lucan winces. “Best not to dwell on that.”
A fresh wave of Sydney’s terror slams into me. No more time.
“I’m off.”
Lucan grabs my arm. “I’ll get Bram.”
“Don’t bother. I joined the Doomsday Brethren temporarily in exchange for help finding Anka. After flubbing a mission a few days ago, he booted me.”
“I think he’ll surprise you. But if I’m wrong, I’ll go to Shock.”
His offer stuns me. “Even though he has your mate?”
“To keep you with yours, yes. Shock may well work for Mathias, and if so—”
“He claims to be a double agent.”
“If he’s truly on our side, then getting him to find Sydney should be easy. Go.”
Suddenly, Sydney’s scream tears through my mind. Pain and fear scrape my nerves raw. No more talking.
I close my eyes, focusing on Sydney with every fiber of my being. Then I’m plunging into darkness, praying I’m not too late.
Chapter
Sixty-Two
Sydney
“How lovely of you to bring me the Doomsday Diary,” Mathias purrs, his smile razor-sharp. “I’ll reward Zain later. But now, my dear, you must tell me how the book works.”
I stagger as the teleportation fades, the unfamiliar room spinning. I blink, trying to get my bearings. But all I see is an unfamiliar house. And Mathias.
Fear slices down my spine. Facing him alone is a far cry from our previous encounter. I have no protection at all.
I clutch the book to my chest. “What will you do with it?”
His fingers sift through my hair, and I fight a shudder. “Unite magickind, of course.”
Under the banner of false equality and his cruel thumb? Not bloody likely.
“How does the book work?” he presses.
My best defense is to play dumb. “I don’t know. I’m not a witch.”
“Precisely.” Mathias leans closer, his icy blue eyes alive with malevolence. “How can a human control such a powerfully magical object?”
Why isn’t he reading my mind? Different powers? I’m not questioning my luck.
“I d-don’t know.”
The sofa slides closer, seemingly of its own accord. Then Mathias grabs my arms menacingly. “It’s attached to you. It dissolved from my hands back to yours. Why?”
I shrug, feigning ignorance. “Something Bram did?”
His stare pierces me, dragging my fear to the surface. “Do you know what I did to one of the Doomsday Brethren’s mates?”
I shrink back. “You raped her.”
He smiles as if reliving a fond memory. “I rent her bond from her mate and stole most of her life essence. She was a strong witch, so it took time. Many delicious nights. You, I can decimate in three minutes. Then make your cowardly wizard watch while I steal the last of your energy under my pounding cock.”
“You vile bastard. Stay the hell away from me!”
Mathias laughs. “Or what?”
My mind races, searching for escape. Why did I ever think that Zain locked up without a wand was harmless? That I understood magic enough to know what was safe? Caden told me that it’s unpredictable and dangerous. I didn’t listen.
“Let’s try again,” Mathias suggests. “Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll spare you.”
“Let’s be honest. You’ll kill me anyway.”
“Perhaps. But you’re excellent bait for the Doomsday Brethren. Once they’re dead, then it will be your turn. Unless you’d like to cooperate for some of my mercy?”
He has none. But if we’re still talking, I’m still alive. “I don’t know anything helpful.”
“I tire of this game.”
Mathias flicks his hand. Agony explodes inside me, as if my organs are boiling. I scream, certain I’m dying.
Caden! my mind wails. I love him. I wish things between us ended differently. I would have liked to kiss him and know one perfect night as his mate. But even dying like this, I don’t regret him. I’m only sorry that I don’t know how to fight this evil.
“Didn’t like that?” Mathias smirks. “Maybe you’ll cooperate now. Right, Shock?”
My eyes fly open. Shock stands beside Mathias, his ever-present sunglasses hiding his every thought. He smirks at me, his look suggesting that I’m getting what I deserve. He helped Bram and the others attack Mathias’s warehouse, and that was a success. Or was it? Mathias still escaped with that terrible glass sphere he used to make Anarki soldiers at will.