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“But he’ll take it and kill me”

Zain pulled her close and stroked her cheek “Think of yourself as an important sacrifice for a very worthy cause You’ll make the news”

Fear lanced Sydney Oh God! She had to fight

“Don’t try anything, or I’ll roast you and make what I did to Aquarius seem like a sunburn”

She drew in a deep breath, battling her fear She refused to be bullied “Do it I won’t give up the book”

“Then I’ll kill everyone you ith at that silly human tabloid Do you want that many deaths on your conscience?”

Bastard! Zain had her and he knew it As he pushed her up the stairs to Bram’s office, Sydney tried to think of a way out of this mess But he’d boxed her in completely Holly and the others were all human and no match for what Zain could unleash on them

Quickly, she deposited the video caed out the hidden book onceand dismayed, she handed it to him

CHAPTER NINETEEN

WITH A GASP, CADEN sat straight up in bed He looked around the darkened roo rong

Bounding out of bed, he grabbed his jeans and shirt, thrusting them on as he ran down the hall to Lucan’s roo, he raced toward the front of the house, wondering if his brother had slipped out, gone to challenge Shock for Anka, decided to end it allInstead, he found Lucan sleeping fitfully on the sofa

As Caden’s gaze latched onto his brother’s face, Lucan opened his eyes “What is it?”

Hesitating, Caden wasn’t certain what to say Lucan ell enough—in one piece, anyway But Caden knew so

“I have this sense of forebodingthis dread” It throbbed inside him, an echo of someone else’s real fear

Lucan rubbed his hand over his shadowed jaw “Have you opened your ical senses?”

“My what? No”

Lucan sighed “Close your eyes Look inside yourself for yourthat sparks and burns at your core”

His eyes slid shut, and he shook his head “It’s not in one place; it’s everywhere”

“Find the heart of it Look inside,” Lucan snapped impatiently

As Lucan said the words, Caden focused deeper inward There it was As soon as he found the heart of hisexponentially, as if it had been waiting for hiiant Desperately, Caden tried to shrink it, shove it aside— so

“No!” Lucan commanded “Grab onto it Let it take you”

“Hell no! It’s going to drown me It’s massive”

“Excellent” Lucan ju”

“I don’t want it! Damn it, I just want to be normal”

“You’re not,” Lucan snapped “And the sense that so often involves a wizard’shappened to Sydney, I suggest you give your senses free rein Now”

Caden caught his breath Sydney in trouble? Yes, he sensed it Her fear and panic Her regret Her cry for help And for her, he’d ic

Most of the night he’d spent pondering Lucan’s ad his ic had urged hied the er

Without hesitation, he looked inward again,down his ar on As it did, he looked outward for Sydney, trying to feel her, find her

He did, and horror washed over hi furiously

“For a ot her Mathias!”

Lucan cursed “Don’t panic Close your eyes See if your ic can locate her”

He concentrated, frowned Vague ied back at hi questions But no location

“I-I can’t I don’t kno You couldn’t do it when Anka was taken froed by that monster, as Anka had been? If an experienced wizard with a long-term mate bond had been unable to find her, what hope did Caden have?

“He took Anka suddenly,” Lucan explained “I felt only a vague sense of uneasiness before the bond was broken”

“We aren’t mated How can I find what isn’t technically ic would cross rare lines Try”

A deluge of thoughts and e with Sydney Dread The sensations that kept pouring across the tenuous thread of consciousness he shared with her Determination

There! “A house Remote” Frustration crashed over him “That’s all I can see It could be anywhere”

“Have you teleported on your own yet?”

“No”

Lucan sighed roughly “Remind me when this is over to beat you within an inch of your stubborn life Close your eyes Envision yourself getting as close to Sydney as possible Focus on your sense of her, not the appearance of the location Your instincts should guide you to her”

His first time to teleport, and he wasn’t even sure where he was headed? No ti, Lucan slapped his shoulder “Best not to dwell on that”

Perfect But as a fresh surge of terror clawed at his ical senses, and he actually felt Sydney’s fear like the taste of blood in his o”

Lucan grabbed his arm “I’ll pop in on Bram He’ll help”

Caden shook his head “He coerced e for helping o, he ousted me”

With a raised brow, Lucan predicted, “I think you’ll be surprised But if I’o to Shock He’ll know best where Mathias is keeping Sydney”

The gesture stunned Caden “You’d do that? Even though the bastard has your mate?”

“To keep you with yours so that you could have your happy ending? Yes Shock may ork for Mathias, and if so—”

“He claient”

“Not relevant now, except that if he’s truly on our side, then getting him to help me find Sydney should be much simpler Go I’ll sort the rest out”

Suddenly a screa raw The tione He had to act now