Page 252 of Seer Prophet

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I opened my eyes.

More of those pops made me flinch, blinking and wincing against him, holding up an arm to shield his face, hunching my back to shield his body.

Overhead, the lights dangling over the table exploded, one by one.

They just––exploded.

Powder and shards of glass rained down on the metal conference table. I felt flinches and gasps from other lights, heard surprised cries and sharper pained sounds. I smelled smoke, what might have been burning hair and skin.

Something nicked the side of my neck.

The reality of physical pain brought my protectiveness into sharper relief. I threw a cloak reflexively over our light, protecting Revik’s, protecting mine. As I did, I slammed the rest of them out of our space. I felt a flare of relief off Revik’saleimias I did.

I felt it on both of us then. I felt the change almost at once, the heat, relief, and near-calm that rose in both of us once we were finally alone.

Then, I felt the other thing.

I felt someone else retract.

I felt it. I felt the foreign presence there, even as it receded.

Once I let the realization in, rage pounded through my light.

Fear flickered there, briefly, but the energy that filled my heart and light was pure, unbridled fury.

I felt others around the table notice the same foreign presence I had.

Not all of them, but enough of them––and enough of the right ones among them––that I knew I hadn’t imagined it.

I felt the awareness on Varlan, first.

I felt it on Balidor next, then a whisper from Dalejem.

Then Jon.

I felt it on Yumi a beat after those four, then Wreg.

I knew I probably would have felt it on Tarsi first, before any of them, if I could feel her light at all… which I couldn’t.

By the time I focused my eyes, I realized I still sat in Revik’s lap.

We were no longer kissing, not in those seconds after he exploded the lights, but he had a hand wrapped around my hip, and I sat flush against him, my hand on his cock, the only thing between us apart from our clothes. I was still breathing hard, and the pain, once I let myself go there, was bad enough that I had to bite my lip to stay silent.

Revik was hard against my fingers and palm, pressing against me.

His pain, if anything, hurt worse than mine.

Even with all of them watching us, I found myself letting out a low curse, fighting my own light. Even there, with an audience, even withthataudience, with what I’d just felt leaving my husband’s light like a roach scuttling for the shadows, I had to remind myself why I couldn’t keep massaging him where I felt him wanting it.

I looked down at his face, and saw conflict in his eyes, too.

Then he averted his gaze, looking past me to the rest of the room.

Only then did I turn my head, following his gaze to look over my shoulder.

A few of them had nicks on their faces, hands, and arms from the shattered lights.

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