Page 138 of Seduce Me in Shadow

Zain’s triumphant leer is the stuff of nightmares. As his fingers close around the Doomsday Diary, I realize with sickening clarity that I might have just doomed us all.

Caden

I jolt awake, heart pounding, sweat-soaked sheets tangled around me. Panting, I sit up in bed and scan the dark bedroom.

Something is wrong.

I leap out of bed, yanking on clothes as I race to Lucan’s room. Empty. Panic claws at my throat as I sprint to the front of the house. Has he gone to challenge Shock? Or worse?

Relief floods me as I spot Lucan sleeping fitfully on the sofa, but the dread remains.

“What is it?” my brother asks, bleary-eyed.

“I can’t explain…this foreboding. It woke me.”

Lucan’s eyes sharpen. “Have you opened your magical senses?”

“My what? No.”

“Close your eyes. Find the spark at your core.”

I try, but panic overwhelms me. “It’s bloody everywhere.”

“Look deeper,” Lucan urges.

Suddenly, I locate it—a sleeping giant awakening, expanding with every heartbeat. Christ, it’s going to overtake me. I fight to contain it.

“No!” Lucan grabs my shoulders. “Don’t fight. Let it take you.”

“It’s too much!”

“Excellent.” Lucan jumps to his feet. “Size matters, magically speaking.”

“I don't want it! I want to be normal.”

“You’re not," Lucan snaps. “This foreboding often involves a mate. If you want to know about Sydney, embrace it.”

Sydney in trouble? Yes, I sense her fear and panic. Her regret. Her cry for help. It pierces my resistance.

For her, I’ll scale skyscrapers and move mountains.

I’ll even embrace magic.

Most of the night I’ve pondered Lucan’s admonishments about embracing my mate. My heart wants to so damn bad. Logic urges me to resist.

But Sydney is in danger. That changes everything.

I look inward again, tentatively reaching for that spark. It explodes through me, burning down my arms, seizing my mind. I stretch outward, searching for her.

Horror washes over me. “He’s got her! Mathias has her!”

“Don’t panic. Can you locate her? Close your eyes and use your magic.”

I concentrate. Vague images flicker—Sydney clutching the book, Mathias barking questions. But no location.

“I don’t know how. You couldn’t do it when Anka was taken from you.”

“He took Anka suddenly,” Lucan explains. “I felt only a vague sense of uneasiness before he broke the bond.”

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