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“Unlike you, I’m 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”

Caden’s 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 won’t fight with your people”

His grip loosened, and he pulled away “I left England and everyoneand the like, it isn’t 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 don’t you want to follow your parents and join the academic crowd?”

Sydney hesitated “I just didn’t It didn’t fit me”

“Precisely!” Caden threw his hands wide

If anyone tried to force her into that tediously dull and pretentious acade She didn’t fit there Square peg, round hole But this wasn’t about a career This was his heritage! She sensed Caden’s reticence was deep

He wasn’t being completely honest with her Given that, how could he possibly claim she was important? He’d deness to truly share himself said he didn’t love her And it hurt

“They need you,” she said quietly

He shook his head “They need someone passionate about their cause That isn’t me”

“What’s the real reason?” She should bloody stop trying to

Caden recoiled “I don’t want to discuss it”

He didn’t trust her, not with his story, not with his secrets Not with his heart And he didn’t care for her enough to try She had no one to blame but herself Bloody stupid impulse to write in the book

“I can’t make you It’s simplyBram and the others won’t survive without able wizards on their side”

Caden closed his eyes, and Sydney alretted her wordsalmost But she couldn’t skirt the truth Even if he didn’t want to hear it, he belonged here He was a wizard By virtue of his brother’s illness and his sister-in-law’s 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 Bram’s door as word inevitably spreads”

She hoped so “Why doesn’t 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 Mathias’s return And people are being attacked What’s 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 don’t exist Bra ical mirrors, for lack of a better description They were established for just such eencies”

“And the Council said no?” Sydney’s jaw dropped

“They don’t see this as an eency So up trouble for the sport of scaring people”

“That’s insane! If they had seen Anka’s 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 MacKinnett’s father sat on the Council and the girl was e Bram says they are a traditional lot I think they’re 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?”

“I’ve 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?”

“It’s the only way I can help I’ll 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 she’d 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, he’d want her dead Caden couldn’t help but adness but

“No Absolutely not”

“It’s not your choice, Caden You’ll be returning to Dallas alone, re room and into the hall She was headed to the back door, where she’d join all the others and embroil herself deeper into this morass He’d failed Lucan with his inability to return Anka He’d 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 doesn’t bloody mean I don’t care”

“No, the fact you won’t be honest about your reasons for avoiding ic tells me you don’t”

Darabbed her shoulders and brought her against him “I won’t 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 Anka’s Since you and I are through, and you’re unwilling to stay and fight Mathias or fight for us, we have nothing to say”

A tennis-ball–sized lump of apprehension stuck in his throat After a few days here, she didn’t have a proper grasp on ickind’s 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 don’t!”