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)
All of Zain’s energy wasn’t enough to revive Aquarius.
“Oh, god.” Sydney trembles as she sobs, burying her face in my chest.
I hold her tight, hating her pain but praying it finally makes her see the danger she’s courting. But if this tragedy gets her to drop this transcast madness, maybe some good will come of this nightmare.
Then a groan cuts the silence. My head snaps up to see Aquarius stirring, her eyes fluttering open. She’s disoriented but blessedly awake.
“What is it?” Sydney demands. “Tell me! I can’t look.”
Relief floods me as I see Aquarius’s face, healthy if still somewhat flushed. “See for yourself.”
As soon as I turn Sydney in my arms, she bolts with a squeal. I have to fight the urge to pull her back to safety. But this is her moment, her miracle.
Bram stops Sydney with an outstretched arm. “Gently.”
Nodding vigorously, she leans toward her friend, brushing her cheek. “How do you feel?”
The tears in her voice wreck me.
“If I said terrible, you’d only cry more. I don’t need the bad karma.”
Sydney gives a watery laugh. “You scared ten years off me!”
“Can’t have that. Who else will put up with me at the office?”
The tension bleeds from my shoulders. Aquarius’s story has a happy ending. Now, if I can just keep Sydney from diving headfirst into more danger, maybe we’ll all make it out of this war alive.
“Where am I?” Aquarius looks puzzled.
“My home. Where do you hurt?” Sabelle asks.
Aquarius sends Sydney a quizzical glance.
“That’s Sabelle. You remember Bram from my flat? This is his sister.”
“The cocky one with the angry aura?”
Bram chuckles. “I bet if you look now, you’ll find my aura much changed.”
With a slow turn of her head, Aquarius studies the wizard. “You’ve traded anger for stress. You should learn to meditate.”
“She’s better already,” Sydney jokes, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“Get some rest,” Sabelle suggests.
Sydney pats Aquarius’s shoulder, then urges her back against the pillows.
She touches her cracked lips. “I’m dry everywhere. Water?”
Sabelle waves a hand, and instantly a cool glass of water appears in a delicate crystal cup. “Drink.”
“Nice trick.” Aquarius downs the water in one go, not looking at all surprised by magic. “So what happened to me? To say I feel run over by a train is an understatement.”
“What’s the last thing you recall?” Sydney asks.
“Coming by your flat to talk to you about…” She gasps. “Has anyone found Anka?”
Sydney looks over her shoulder and sends me a silent apology. “No. We’re still looking.”
“She was weak the morning she left. Talked about needing energy. I offered her green tea, but she wouldn’t have it.”
That sends a chill down my spine. Weeks without contact from Lucan… Christ, how desperate must Anka be for power? Without it, she can’t fight back.
The possibilities race through my mind, each worse than the last. Who did she turn to for energy? Or did Mathias get his filthy hands on her again?
Either could destroy what’s left of my brother.
As I watch Sydney comfort her friend, I’m torn between joy for her and dread for what’s to come. This magical world will chew her up and spit her out. The fierce protectiveness I feel for her wars with my desire to keep her safe by pushing her away from all this. She belongs in the human world, far from the dangers that lurk in every shadow of mine.
But I know it’s a lost cause. Sydney’s in this now, whether I like it or not. And here I am, falling for a woman who seems determined to dive headfirst into its dangers.
As the others file out, leaving Aquarius to rest, I catch Sydney’s eye. There’s so much I want to say, so much I need to tell her. About the dangers, about my fears…about us. But the words stick in my throat.
Instead, I simply nod, hoping she can read in my eyes what I can’t bring myself to say. That I’m here for her, come hell or high water. That despite my own misgivings and the looming threat of war, she’s become precious to me.
And as she smiles back, tired but radiant, I realize I’m in far deeper than I ever intended. Magic, Mathias, the whole bloody war be damned. I’ll find a way to keep her safe, even if it kills me.
Chapter
Fifty-One
Sydney
After Aquarius and I hug, cry, and reassure each other, she tells me about Zain’s horrific torture. It fuels the fire in my belly. What Mathias and his goons have done to her and Anka makes me more determined to help protect others, Caden’s protests be damned.
I’m going to push Bram on this transcast thing. After all, he didn’t say no earlier. The Council might be against it, but Bram is itching to spread the word about Mathias. I’m simply going to help him do what he’s dying to.