Page 126 of Possess Me at Midnight

“To talk to Rykard alone, wizard to wizard.”

Something is wrong. Very wrong. The certainty that some harm has befallen Sabelle digs its icy claws into my gut. I swallow fear, shrug off Mathias’s touch, then turn to Bram. A long look passes between us. Whatever our feud, Sabelle is vital to us both. In that silent exchange, Bram agrees to find and protect his sister while I deal with Mathias—hopefully for good.

As Bram darts into the stately manor, I watch. Dread chills me to the marrow. “We’re alone. Say whatever it is quickly and be done.”

“Back to the challenge ring!” Blackbourne calls. “Or forfeit.”

“Shall we? Can’t keep the Council waiting,” Mathias quips.

Dodgy bastard is up to something. I grit my teeth and shove down my terror for Sabelle’s sake as I march across the expanse, grab the sword, and climb inside the ring.

Mathias sidles up to me, ignoring the sword, and drops his voice. “I assume you have feelings for that lovely little siren you Called to. If you’d like to see her alive again, you’ll forfeit the match as soon as Blackbourne resumes it.”

I freeze. Then fury detonates through my system. Violence takes over, complete with the urge to kill.

“What the fuck did you do to her?”

“Nothing.” He smiles. “Yet. Should you wish to keep it that way, you’ll bow out. If not…” He shrugs. “Well, let’s say Gailene enjoyed my company far more than Miss Rion will.”

Visions of my sister’s body, twisted and broken, besiege me. I force the visions away. I can’t think about the pain and horror of the past if I want to have a future with my princess.

Clutching the sword, my fingers crush the handle. Veins bulge. My temper surges until I hear nothing more than pounding in my ears. I restrain the urge to kill Mathias—barely. I only manage because I have to know what the bastard has done to Sabelle.

“She’s still inside Blackbourne’s manor since no one can teleport out,” I snarl. “If you tried, you would be disqualified.”

Which means Rhea is holding Sabelle prisoner and probably has instructions to kill her unless Mathias signals otherwise.

“Stop assuming I had any intention of following these foolish rules and agree. You have less than thirty seconds to decide her fate. If you fail, she’ll die before you can leave the ring to save her. And don’t count on her brother. The darkness I’ve unleashed inside Mr. Rion is quite helpful.”

Christ. How the fuck am I going to save her?

I reach for my phone to call Bram, hoping against hope I can reach him before the darkness overtakes him.

Mathias’s hissed warning stops me cold. “Don’t be stupid. Forfeit now.”

All I can do is pray Bram isn’t as compromised as Mathias believes. Until then…I’m goddamned trapped. But ultimately, that doesn’t matter. Nothing does, except Sabelle’s safety.

I close my eyes. Forfeiting not only means I lose a needed Council seat, but I’ll also give up both mating with Sabelle and avenging my beloved sister after two long centuries. But Gailene would never have wanted me to risk my life—or anyone else’s—for her memory. She would merely want me happy. In love.

Little good it does me. I foolishly left Sabelle upstairs, believing Mathias would use the opportunity to schmooze Blackbourne and further his political aspirations, not abduct a fellow Councilman’s sister under their collective noses.

How fucking naive I was.

I’ll pay for my foolishness for the rest of my life. But I don’t deserve Sabelle if I can’t win this battle, and I would forfeit again ten times over if it means saving her life.

Please, God, let her be safe. Even if she hates me for not protecting her. Even if Bram refuses to allow me to ever speak to her again. Just knowing she’s alive and well will be enough for me.

I don’t hesitate. “I’ll forfeit.”

“Clever boy,” Mathias lauds softly. “After you’ve conceded the challenge, I’ll leave with Rhea and Miss Rion. I need one other item from you before I return your beloved: the Doomsday Diary. At midnight, you will meet me at Hyde Park with the diary. I will exchange the book for Sabelle.”

Those words hit me like a freight train into a brick wall. Mathias sought the book all along, not a seat of influence he has to share with six others, but the ultimate power to destroy or enslave magickind at will.

Bloody hell. Has Mathias discovered the means to use the Doomsday Diary?

The evil wizard knows from imprisoning Caden’s mate, Sydney, and stealing the book that only a female can write in it. Rhea, Mathias’s whore, placed the bloody inconvenient tracking spell on the book that nearly got Sabelle and me killed after the Anarki attacked Goldcroft Manor. But if Rhea knows how to use the diary, why didn’t she? Mathias is many things, but not stupid. He must know that he needs a very powerful witch to manipulate the book and perform the awesome feats Mathias demands.

What witch is more powerful than Merlin’s granddaughter?