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)
I don’t care if Bram boots me from the magical army I never wanted to join. Being back among magickind merely reminds me of its worst. This gut-wrenching madness of Lucan’s merely underscores all the reasons I’ve loathed it for decades.
“Rion, do you honestly believe that you and a handful of ragtag wizards can defeat the most powerful magical figure in a millennium and his growing army?”
“Perhaps not, but we’ll fail if we don’t try. Tell me your news.”
He’s right. This argument is wasting time. “Sydney is guarding the name of her information source like it’s a bloody national secret.”
Bram curses. “We’re running out of time, and every word she prints about this story puts a fresh target on her back. Make her stop.”
“How?”
“I don’t care. Seduce her.”
I grit my teeth. How the devil am I supposed to bamboozle the woman I’m completely enthralled with? I’m far too serious to have Bram’s sort of charm. If I get any closer to Sydney, I’ll strip her, bury every inch I have inside her, and ask questions later. On the other hand, if something happens to her, I’ll come undone. Unhinged. It’s possible I alone stand between her and Mathias’s wrath.
I can’t fail her.
“It’s too late for that. Sydney’s next column will blow the lid off the magical war story. Before the bodies were removed from the tunnel following the battle with Mathias, Sydney’s previous photographer took a few pictures. Grainy and fuzzy, which works in our favor, but no one else managed to snap any, so she still scooped every other news source. For that photo alone, people will read Out of this Realm in droves, especially when she publishes that Mathias and his Anarki army are out to dissolve the Social Order and eradicate the Doomsday Brethren.”
“She knows about us? Who the bloody hell is her source of information? You need to find out now.”
“Don’t you think I’m fucking trying? Unfortunately, the news gets even worse. Sydney acquired the Doomsday Diary fifteen minutes ago.”
“What?” Bram’s shock reverberates over the phone before he curses a stream of loud, ugly words. “You’re absolutely certain?”
“I know of only one old red book bearing Morgana Le Fay’s symbol.”
“Fuck. Buy it from her. Steal it from her. Now.”
“I doubt she’ll part with it. The blasted thing was a birthday gift from a dear friend.”
“Who?”
“Aquarius.”
“The astrological sign?”
“Sydney’s assistant. Is she your missing mate?”
“That wasn’t the name—” Bram sighs. “Describe her. Perhaps my missing ‘wife’ is using an alias.”
“Short, almost fey looking. Brown, wavy hair to her waist, green eyes—”
“That’s not her. Which raises the question, if Sydney acquired the book from this woman—”
“Aquarius.”
“Who is definitely not my mate, how did she get her hands on it?”
“I was hoping you could shed some light.”
“No idea. Ask her. Maybe she’ll know how to locate the minx who answered my Call, then skipped out.” Frustration oozes from Bram’s every syllable. “After you recover the diary. That’s our first—and most important—priority.”
“If we don’t, Sydney is a smart, tenacious reporter. And she’s determined to write ‘fresh paranormal stories.’ Her words.”
“You think she’ll write about the diary?”
“I don’t merely think. She will.”
Bram groans. “Dear god, she has no idea—”
“None. That’s the only good news. But once she figures out the actual purpose of the Doomsday Diary…”
“If that bloody story hits the internet, she’ll be dead.”
The thought sends me into a cold panic I don’t understand. I barely know the woman. I’m here to save my brother. But I’m consumed by thoughts of Sydney and her safety. I’ll protect her—or die trying. “She’s been told the book will grant her sexual fantasies. She seems skeptical. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
“At least until you wrest that book from her.”
“I’ll work on that and the name of her source. You’re coming to help, right? Use a bit of magic and—”
“Can’t. There was another Anarki attack two hours ago. I’ve just returned from the Pullmans’ estate. Well, what’s left of it. Burned to the ground. Their newly transitioned daughter is missing. Everyone else is dead. I have to report to the Council.”
That’s grave news. If the Anarki are attacking again, that means Mathias is on the mend and his power is rising once more. I don’t want to care, but… I rub at my tired eyes. After seeing so much war and death in my life, attacks on families, especially on women, trouble me.
What if he finds Sydney?
“What can you do?”
“Only what we have been: search for Mathias while trying to locate Shock, whose loyalties are annoyingly questionable.”
Not as far as I’m concerned. He’s as dodgy as the rest of the House of Denzell.
“And his brother, Zain,” Bram continues. “The little prick appears to be Mathias’s right-hand lackey.”
“Have you considered telling other magical families about these attacks so they can protect themselves.”
“Are you going to pretend you care about magickind now?”