Page 11 of Seduce Me in Shadow

As a surrogate? Bram is a protective older brother, so his reluctance to let her serve a madman is hardly a surprise. But Sabelle has proven she’s a determined witch with the unusual ability to make others feel whatever she wants with a touch. If anyone can provide Lucan energy now, it’s Sabelle.

“Tell your sister I appreciate her.” More than she knows.

“No guarantee it will work.”

“It must.” If she fails… I can’t face that possibility. “If Lucan dies?—

“You no longer care about my cause. That’s the only reason I’m letting Sabelle carry out this ridiculous scheme,” he spits back. “Believe me, as desperately as we need help with this fight, I’ll happily release you from this obligation the moment I can. I want only those committed to the cause.”

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 readOut of this Realmin droves, especially when she publishes that Mathias and his Anarki army are out to dissolve the Social Order and eradicate the Doomsday Brethren.”

“Sheknowsabout us? Who the bloody hell is her source of information? You need to find outnow.”

“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?”

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