Page 86 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

But Seth lived with him. Seth worked for him. No, he was too close to Alex.

Aaron?

Aaron liked her a lot. Every time he and Alex had gotten together since that night at the ballet, his friend had talked non-stop about her. Yes, Aaron would be good. He was an honorable guy who wouldn’t shy away from the truth about her. They had a history.

Alex tamped down the jealousy and nodded to himself. Yes. He would encourage Aaron to ask her out. Alex could use his dating Kirsty as an excuse for why he wouldn’t ask Anna out. The two of them would date for a while, Anna could learn about freedom, and then they’d break up at some point—because all first relationships did—and Alex could pursue her.

Yes, that would work.

He hoped.

Okay, so it wasn’t the smartest of plans, or even a good plan. But he didn’t have a better one. And Anna needed a good guy in her life. It couldn’t be him. She needed someone outside The Brotherhood.

He parked his car in the garage, got out, and leaned against the door, arms crossed, deep in thought.

“How did the morning go?”

Alex jumped at the voice and spun around to see the Immortal, Sebastian, leaning against the wall on the far side of the garage. His crystal-blue eyes studied Alex for a long moment. His white-blond hair and golden skin glowed, indicating he’d just transported into the garage. Must be nice to be able to pop in wherever you wanted to be without having to travel. “You’re okay? What are you doing here?”

Sebastian pushed away from the wall and walked closer. “Waiting for you. And, yes, I’m fine. No one knows I helped you during the ritual.” All Immortals could speak to humans in their minds, and read them as well. After hearing Alex’s silent plea for help—when Alex realized what Devin was doing—Sebastian had guided Alex step-by-step through performing the forbidden ritual.

Alex let out a breath and nodded. “Good. I was worried.”

“How is she?”

Alex ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, I think.” He shook his head. “Seb, she’s...” His mind whirred with conflicting thoughts. “She’s amazing, and so strong, but...” He shook his head again. “So damaged. Broken.”

Sebastian nodded. “I suspected as much.”

“Did you ever find out why we couldn’t find her?”

“No. Not yet. I am still investigating.” He pursed his lips. “It’s difficult. You know the Immortal Father doesn’t like it when one of us interferes with another’s country.”

“I know.” Alex frowned.

“I wanted to be sure you remembered you can’t kill Devin.”

Alex huffed. “It’s the only reason Devin’s still breathing this morning.”

Sebastian chuckled. “That is why I told you last night.”

“Too bad I can’t hope someone runs him over in a parking lot somewhere.”

“Oh, he can still die. So can you. You just can’t kill each other, or be involved in any way of the other one’s death.” He gave Alex a pointed look. “You can’t ask your father to have him assassinated.”

Alex sighed. “Why not?”

“It’s the bond. You two are bonded through Anna.”

Alex wrinkled his nose at the thought of being bonded to Devin. He chewed his lip. “Is wishing for it to happen considered ‘being involved’?”

Sebastian laughed. “No.” He paused. “You also can’t smuggle her away to Germany. She was born here and must stay here.”

“Why? She’s mine as much as Devin’s.”

The Immortal shook his head. “She is, but her bond with him—and her home city—is stronger than yours. If that changes in the future, things may be different, but I don’t know exactly. This hasn’t happened in a very long time and I can’t go around asking how to undo what Devin has done.” He gave Alex a pointed look. “You are the one who interfered, not Devin.”

“He performed a forbidden ritual!” Alex frowned. “And you helped me.”

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