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)
“It’s a calculated risk I think we must take,” Bram replies.
“What about Anka?” I snarl, frustration clawing my insides. “We can’t abandon her to face this nightmare alone.”
Shock whirls on me, his massive hands viselike on my biceps. “What the fuck are you on about?”
I wrench free, my fist itching to connect with his arrogant jaw. “Don’t bloody touch me, you wanker!”
Duke’s smooth drawl cuts through the tension. “He means that we discovered Anka was staying with her cousin Aquarius all these weeks. She left a few hours ago. Her choice, apparently.”
For once, Shock’s impenetrable mask slips. He’s staggered by raw relief. “She’s alive?”
“Yes, and she belongs with my brother,” I point out.
Shock glowers my way. “They’re no longer mated.”
I lunge in his face. “And it’s your BFF’s fucking fault.”
“Stop bickering!” Bram demands. “Caden, you, Duke, and Ice go out and search for Anka. Marrok, Shock, and I will stay behind to formulate an attack plan. We’ll advise you when it’s ready.”
Exhaustion winds like molten lead through my veins, weighing me down. The adrenaline from the battle is wearing off, and all I want to do is lie down and sleep for a week, preferably with Sydney wrapped around me. But Anka is alone, and Lucan needs her.
“Now that you’ve transitioned, your magic will be helpful to the cause,” Bram muses. “You’ll need a wand. Normally, your family would—”
“My parents are too frail, and I don’t speak to the rest, so no one will be giving me a wand.” Thank god.
“I’ll do it,” Bram offers. “Give me a few hours, and I’ll present it to you.”
As much as I hate to admit it, I owe Bram, especially since he’s lending more warriors to the search. He’s even offered to perform this sacred family ritual for me. But I want as little involvement with magic as possible. Besides, taking a wand from Bram makes both my position in magickind and the Doomsday Brethren feel permanent.
“I don’t need or want a wand. I still prefer to be a man, not a wizard.”
“But you are a wizard.”
“Only if I choose to exercise my powers. And I don’t.”
Chapter
Forty-Two
Hours later, I wake slowly to an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar bed, the effects of last night’s exhaustion slowly fading. A familiar warmth lies beside me. Sydney. It’s reckless, but I snuggle up to her.
After spending fruitless hours looking for Anka, I returned to Bram’s after midnight, fatigued to the core, and found her cozy in a big bed. Wanting her warmth, to reassure myself of her safety, I joined her.
In the past, I would talk to Sydney, argue with her, touch her, worry about her. But I never had the opportunity to simply lie with her and hold her in my arms. Right away, I know I’ve missed something special.
She’s soft, warm, quiet—at least for her. Burying my face in her hair, I smile…until the noises below wake me. Men’s voices. A shout—Bram. The slamming of a door. Then outside the clink of metal on metal, the report of firearms. Marrok is training the others. I frown.
A moment later, Duke pops his head in the door. “Everyone is already outside, being industrious. Well, everyone but Shock.”
Typical. The elder Denzell brother claims to be a double agent, but why would Shock turn against his family, allow his own brother to be captured, and battle the rest of his class to defeat the man who supposedly wants to uplift them? As far as I can see, unless Shock has a hidden altruistic streak, his “loyalty” to Bram makes no bloody sense. If he’s spying on anyone, it’s the Doomsday Brethren.
Briefly, I ponder staying curled beside Sydney. More than once, I’ve wanted to tell Bram to shove his request for training. Got plenty of that as a Marine. But we’d struck a deal when I first arrived: my help in exchange for theirs in finding Anka.
“I’ll be there shortly,” I say, then glance regretfully at Sydney.
I owe her answers—loads of them. Inadvertently, I’ve plucked her from her ordinary world and plopped her down in the middle of a war zone. And given that Mathias’s minions know precisely where she lives, she can’t go back now. Until the threat ends and I can return to Texas, I’ll do whatever necessary to keep her out of harm’s way.
Carefully, I roll away from her, extricating my arm from beneath her neck, unwrapping my legs from hers. Then I sit up, determined not to disturb her. After yesterday’s ordeal, she needs rest. Time to adjust.
A feminine hand touches my bare back. “Where are you going?”
“To help with the combat training. Go back to sleep.”
I glance over my shoulder. She looks so sweet and sleep tousled. Until I stare into her eyes. A million questions lurk there—along with an equal number of worries. The reporter in her is clearly determined to get answers. But the woman in her looks unsettled and, for the first time, afraid.