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Eyes made of liquid gold, like warmed honey, stared down at her. He raked his hand through tousled, sun-kissed brown waves that curled past his ears, glinting from the light of the fire. Leather traveling trousers and vest, not of Callum craftsmanship, conformed to every inch of his long, muscular legs, and a black cloak billowed around him, the contrast of dark and gold ensnaring her.

Evelyn’s magic bloomed, as did a foreign heat in her belly. The wide distance between them bristled with the static of her magic. Thankfully, only she could feel it, but she tried to rein it in. She didn’t like the way her body or magic reacted to his voice and amber stare. Not one bit. It knocked her off-balance worse than their earlier collision, and she’d forgotten her plan to find the commissioner and warn him about burning McKenna’s body.

“You’re not the commissioner,” he said.

“How observant of you,” Evelyn said, putting on the indifferent mask she’d mastered over the years. Stay quiet and say little. Best to remember that.

The man raised a single brow, his bearded jawline tightening as he assessed her.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said, stepping forward.

He stepped back, but only enough for her to pass by with a feather-breadth of air between them, their chests almost flush. Evelyn’s magic, relentless, fluttered with independent interest around him. It compelled Evelyn to chance one more glance.

She certainly would’ve remembered those eyes, looking her over as if he saw every truth, lie, disguise, and title she possessed.

“Have you seen him, perhaps?” he said in a rush.

Evelyn stopped. “Who?” she asked, despite reason screaming for her to stay quiet and say little.

She found no traces of magic belonging to him. The beautiful man before her was human. Yet, why did it feel like a spell was at play? Perhaps he was hiding his magic like her? The black leathers, the larger build, the sword. Evelyn recognized his profession.

A huntsman. They passed through Callum from time to time looking for jobs. No magic to speak of.

Evelyn shifted from foot to foot. No, she didn’t like this one bit. Nothing, no one, never a man before had caught her attention like this.

“The commissioner,” he said, walking farther into the small space. He took in the desk, peered down the hall.

“No, unfortunately.” Evelyn paused, looking toward the room with McKenna’s body. Goddess, the body needed to be burned before it was buried in the ground, activating the vampyr curse. Evelyn’s hesitation caught the man’s attention again. “He wasn’t here when I came looking.”

She needed to get out of this office, out of this room and away from the orbit of this man, whoever he was. He made her forget her wits.

Say little, stay quiet, find Commissioner Doyle, and leave Callum.

The wind blew in from outside, as if reaching out its hand and beckoning Evelyn to move on with her plans. Ready to be on her way, she stepped forward and her boot skidded across the floor—

“Wait,” the man said.

An unexpected something pulled at her magic, and she stopped.

Turned.

And faced his devastatingly beautiful amber stare.

Chapter Five

Kade

Suspended, off-kilter, Kade attempted to rally his thoughts and intentions.

Stars above, Evelyn Carson, Daughter of the Goddess, stood before him, and Kade had almost missed it. The wind pushed through the small room again, and the sweet scent he’d detected earlier assaulted his senses.

Vanilla and burning cedar. Evelyn’s scent.

Her gray eyes, a silvery shade of blue, bewitched him and his wolf. He stood there, his heart hammering in his chest as his feet rooted in the room, needing time to take her in, like a wonder he wanted to marvel at.

The sunlight made her obsidian hair resemble spilled ink, wavering between blue and black. Twisted into a low bun, loose strands framed her flushed face, high cheekbones, rosy lips, and austere brow. She wore a high-necked blouse tucked into wool trousers that were high-waisted and tapered around muddy boots. A deep blue cloak, tattered, worn, and rimmed with the same mud of her boots, draped over her tall and lean frame, bringing out the blue in her eyes and hair.

An ethereal beauty, like that of the full moon in a cloudless sky, encompassed her. For a breath, Kade wanted to revel in her beauty—No. He locked his knees tight and clutched his anger. This was the woman who’d abandoned her destiny and her people, the woman he’d been hunting for twelve months, scouring every village, town, and city on the continent of Sorin.