Page 254 of Seer Prophet

The whole situation might have been funny, but for the expression on Loki’s face, and the glimpses I got of his light. The pain he was in because of Gina and the confusion about how to handle Dante were all too real for him. He wanted to protect her without alienating her, and he didn’t know how to do either.

Luckily, he didn’t have to be the one to do it.

Vikram did it for him.

“Dante,” Vikram said, his voice hard. “I thank you very much for your services, cousin, but we no longer need you here. I would like very much for you to go back to the tech room now and finish the work you’ve been doing to prep us for Dubai.”

Vikram glanced at her, his expression neutral, despite that harder edge I heard in his voice and the pain I saw in his violet eyes.

“…Now, please. Kindly take Jaden with you.”

Dante, who normally would have pushed back, at least in my experience with the young comp-head, didn’t so much as open her mouth. Nodding, her cheeks still pink, she rose to her feet, the hand-held clutched to her chest. Once up, she glanced at Jaden, who sat behind her at the comp desk. She motioned with her head for him to follow.

Jaden didn’t seem to see her, not at first.

He was staring at me.

I saw his eyes focus on Revik’s arm wrapped around me, right before they rose to my face, to whatever he could see in my expression.

Unfortunately, as I caught that deer-in-headlights look, I recognized the rest of the expression there, above and beyond his obvious shock at whatever he’d seen after Revik and I went into that trance. I should recognize it; we’d lived together for almost six years. I’d seen him turned on before. I’d seen it when it was aimed at me, and I’d seen it aimed at other people. I’d seen it aimed at porn, and, more than once, I’d seen it aimed at Cass.

Not like everyone didn’t look at Cass now and then.

Revik had looked at her.

Forcing the thought out of my head, I started to pull away from him, subconsciously that time, but he tightened his grip, holding me against him. I let him, willing that other pain to subside, to unravel around me as I let the echo of those thoughts fade.

I focused on Jaden again, somewhere in that.

Feeling the sexual desire emanating off his light, I realized I’d been noticing that for weeks with Jaden, and ignoring it. It was there when I’d stayed with Sasquatch, Frankie, Jaden, and Angeline. I’d known that; I’d just refused to acknowledge it, especially with Revik.

I didn’t let myself look at Jorag at all.

Or Dalejem.

Or Jon.

It hit me then––my parents had been in the room.

Looking around in a half-panic, I realized I couldn’t feel them anymore. My eyes found where they’d been seated next to Balidor and Tarsi. Both chairs were empty. I stared at the empty chairs, and felt a profound relief.

Revik held me tighter.Your father left. Kali followed him.

He sounded relieved. He also sounded nervous.

It hit me in those few seconds that he was afraid of my father––meaning my biological father, Uye.

The thought might have been funny under other circumstances, but after everything, it only brought back my anger. I remembered us all sitting together on the beach. I remembered Uye’s wariness around Revik. That protectiveness definitely hadn’t been aimed at me, but at his wife. I also didn’t get the sense Kali was the one my father didn’t trust.

I felt a pulse of heat off Revik at that, but I pushed it away.

That’s not true anymore,Revik sent anyway, ignoring my attempts to push him off.It may have been true once, but it’s not now. He’s worried aboutyounow, Allie.

I didn’t answer.

My eyes shifted to where Dalejem had been sitting, only to discover he’d also left.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I wasn’t sure how I felt about all of these people walking out because they hated the idea of Revik touching me.

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