Page 113 of Seduce Me in Shadow

Bram stops Sydney with an outstretched arm. “Gently.”

Nodding vigorously, she leans toward her friend, brushing her cheek. “How do you feel?”

The tears in her voice wreck me.

“If I said terrible, you’d only cry more. I don’t need the bad karma.”

Sydney gives a watery laugh. “You scared ten years off me!”

“Can’t have that. Who else will put up with me at the office?”

The tension bleeds from my shoulders. Aquarius’s story has a happy ending. Now, if I can just keep Sydney from diving headfirst into more danger, maybe we’ll all make it out of this war alive.

“Where am I?” Aquarius looks puzzled.

“My home. Where do you hurt?” Sabelle asks.

Aquarius sends Sydney a quizzical glance.

“That’s Sabelle. You remember Bram from my flat? This is his sister.”

“The cocky one with the angry aura?”

Bram chuckles. “I bet if you look now, you’ll find my aura much changed.”

With a slow turn of her head, Aquarius studies the wizard. “You’ve traded anger for stress. You should learn to meditate.”

“She’s better already,” Sydney jokes, wiping tears from her cheeks.

“Get some rest,” Sabelle suggests.

Sydney pats Aquarius’s shoulder, then urges her back against the pillows.

She touches her cracked lips. “I’m dry everywhere. Water?”

Sabelle waves a hand, and instantly a cool glass of water appears in a delicate crystal cup. “Drink.”

“Nice trick.” Aquarius downs the water in one go, not looking at all surprised by magic. “So what happened to me? To say I feel run over by a train is an understatement.”

“What’s the last thing you recall?” Sydney asks.

“Coming by your flat to talk to you about…” She gasps. “Has anyone found Anka?”

Sydney looks over her shoulder and sends me a silent apology. “No. We’re still looking.”

“She was weak the morning she left. Talked about needing energy. I offered her green tea, but she wouldn’t have it.”

That sends a chill down my spine. Weeks without contact from Lucan… Christ, how desperate must Anka be for power? Without it, she can’t fight back.

The possibilities race through my mind, each worse than the last. Who did she turn to for energy? Or did Mathias get his filthy hands on her again?

Either could destroy what’s left of my brother.

As I watch Sydney comfort her friend, I’m torn between joy for her and dread for what’s to come. This magical world will chew her up and spit her out. The fierce protectiveness I feel forher wars with my desire to keep her safe by pushing her away from all this. She belongs in the human world, far from the dangers that lurk in every shadow of mine.

But I know it’s a lost cause. Sydney’s in this now, whether I like it or not. And here I am, falling for a woman who seems determined to dive headfirst into its dangers.

As the others file out, leaving Aquarius to rest, I catch Sydney’s eye. There’s so much I want to say, so much I need to tell her. About the dangers, about my fears…about us. But the words stick in my throat.

---