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Unlike you, Im not one to bury my head in the sand Sydney jerked her arrabbed her arain What does that bloody mean?
These people need you And you plan to turn your back on theht? I never knew Marines were afraid
Cadens blue eyes narrowed Is that what you think? I If I survived two tours in Iraq, I can survive this, I assure you
Then explain why you wont fight with your people
His grip loosened, and he pulled away I left England and everyoneand the like, it isnt normal
Nore that WhatHuift like yours can help take down a madman And you want to walk away from it?
He crossed his arer Why dont you want to follow your parents and join the academic crowd?
Sydney hesitated I just didnt It didnt fit me
Precisely! Caden threw his hands wide
If anyone tried to force her into that tediously dull and pretentious acade She didnt fit there Square peg, round hole But this wasnt about a career This was his heritage! She sensed Cadens reticence was deep
He wasnt being completely honest with her Given that, how could he possibly claim she was important? Hed deness to truly share himself said he didnt love her And it hurt
They need you, she said quietly
He shook his head They need someone passionate about their cause That isnt me
Whats the real reason? She should bloody stop trying to
Caden recoiled I dont want to discuss it
He didnt trust her, not with his story, not with his secrets Not with his heart And he didnt care for her enough to try She had no one to blame but herself Bloody stupid impulse to write in the book
I cant make you Its simplyBram and the others wont survive without able wizards on their side
Caden closed his eyes, and Sydney alretted her wordsalmost But she couldnt skirt the truth Even if he didnt want to hear it, he belonged here He was a wizard By virtue of his brothers illness and his sister-in-laws rape, he had a stake in this fight Heck, she barely knew Anka and had never seen Lucan, but already her heart went out to them And for the people who had tried to help Aquarius, she resolved to help however she could
Caden shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably More Tynans will appear at Brams door as word inevitably spreads
She hoped so Why doesnt everyone know about Mathias and the Dooather Bram wants to keep the Doomsday Brethren hush-hush from the Council so he can operate without their interference, but Tynan has only heard whispers of Mathiass return And people are being attacked Whats going on?
Caden pinched the bridge of his nose Braickind There are seven council theickind about Mathias, but the rest of the Council are controlling bastards who prefer to pretend problems dont exist Bra ical mirrors, for lack of a better description They were established for just such eencies
And the Council said no? Sydneys jaw dropped
They dont see this as an eency So up trouble for the sport of scaring people
Thats insane! If they had seen Ankas conditionthe poor woman could barely speak coherently when I first met her And this Auropha woman; Mathias killed her Hardly a prank!
Despite the fact Auropha MacKinnetts father sat on the Council and the girl was e Bram says they are a traditional lot I think theyre afraid
Magickind should know This is censorship! And very dangerous to people caught unaware I want to talk to Bra she excelled at most Everyone must know about Mathias so they can protect themselves
He frowned Why do you want to talk to Bram?
Ive never done awhat did you call it? Transcast But I aical or entertaining, just informational
He leaned in with a scowl You want to transcast to ickind?
Its the only way I can help Ill never learn to fight or be able to wave a wand But by God, I can keep people inforaped open Did Sydney have any notion of the target shed be painting on herself if she transcasted? All of ickind would see her face Especially Mathias No one he attacked put up a fight, because they were unprepared And for breaking that secrecy, hed want her dead Caden couldnt help but adness but
No Absolutely not
Its not your choice, Caden Youll be returning to Dallas alone, re room and into the hall She was headed to the back door, where shed join all the others and embroil herself deeper into this morass Hed failed Lucan with his inability to return Anka Hed failed Anka by letting her slip through his fingers He would not fail Sydney by letting her place herself in ht of her dyingit flattened his soul
Caden stalked into the hall, then grabbed her ar doesnt bloody mean I dont care
No, the fact you wont be honest about your reasons for avoiding ic tells me you dont
Darabbed her shoulders and brought her against him I wont see you hurt or worse
You , but I I can do for Aquarius, but I can try to make certain no one else suffers her fate Or Ankas Since you and I are through, and youre unwilling to stay and fight Mathias or fight for us, we have nothing to say
A tennis-ballsized lump of apprehension stuck in his throat After a few days here, she didnt have a proper grasp on ickinds real peril He had to stop her If he failedthe thought of Mathias hurting her was so painful, he nearly staggered to his knees
The hell we dont!