Page 8 of Possess Me at Midnight

With a sad smile that tells me she no longer values her life and a lingering glance toward the hall where Lucan disappeared, Anka exits the house and teleports away.

I close the door, steel myself, then return to the table. “We need a plan. Immediately.”

Duke nods. “Everyone, pack your belongings. Caden, you and Sydney talk to Lucan. Tell him Anka has gone and calm him down. Ice, can you and Tynan secure our weapons cache? We can’t let them fall into Mathias’s hands.”

His air of authority clears the room quickly, though Ice lingers for a last look at me before he complies.

Once he’s gone, Duke guides me to the nearby library and shuts the door. “We need to move quickly. How soon can we secure the house with our magic?”

“Not soon enough. Bram’s magic is complicated—deliberately so. He insists on having control, so his magical protections are layered and locked to prevent anyone else, even me, from modifying them. I can allow friends in, like Anka. But unraveling his protections so we could add to them would take days, even as they weaken.”

“And we have hours at best.” His jaw tightens. “We abandon the house, then.”

The finality in his voice makes my throat constrict. This is my home, not to mention Bram’s pride and joy. It’s filled with a lifetime of memories. Another thing Mathias will take from us. I swallow hard against the threat of tears. We don’t have time for them.

“I know this is a lot of responsibility for you," Duke murmurs, as if talking to a child.

“Don’t placate me.” Resolution and fury stiffen my spine as I point out, “The book must be protected at all costs.”

“Agreed. Since a female must possess the book to transport it, you, Olivia, or Sydney must carry it. If a man tries, its magic ensures that it will dissolve instantly and return to its last female owner or the resting place in which she put it. But if Mathias captures the woman carrying it…”

He doesn’t finish. He doesn’t need to. We both know what horrors await any woman Mathias claims.

“I’ll take it,” I volunteer.

“Sabelle—”

“Olivia hasn’t come into her power yet, and Marrok is both mortal and human. If Mathias’s minions killed him, Olivia would be virtually defenseless.”

Duke sighs heavily. “He’s a legendary warrior but still a human without magic. Mathias would delight in tearing him apart. And Sydney is thoroughly human as well.”

“Indeed.” Since becoming magickind’s news correspondent, Sydney is a very tempting target. Coupled with the fact that her mate, Caden, is newly transitioned and still grappling with his magic, giving them the book to safeguard isn’t wise.

From the look on Duke's face, he has similar thoughts. “I can’t send you alone.”

“Duke…”

“If you take the book, you need at least one warrior to protect you. I’ll take your brother and make certain he’s cared for.”

“No!” The thought of being away from Bram, not knowing if he lives or dies, fills me with panic. “He comes with me.”

“Be reasonable.”

“Be merciful. He’s practically my last living relative.” My absent, selfish mother doesn’t count.

Duke rubs his forehead with his hand. “You’re making this difficult.”

“Go with Caden and Sydney. Make certain her transcasts continue. Magickind needs the regular news she provides via their mirrors. Send Tynan with Marrok and Olivia for extra protection.”

“That leaves you with Lucan and Ice.”

I suck in a breath. Bloody hell, I’ve painted myself into a corner. Being alone with either man could be dangerous. I most trust Ice to protect me…but not myself to resist him. “I’ll take Lucan.”

“He’s admitted that his temper is uncertain. Given everything transpiring with Anka, he could quickly regress into a dangerous state. You’ve been granting him energy. If he turns feral again, he may refuse sex from anyone else and force the issue. We can’t risk that. Take Ice as well.”

As much as I want to be self-sufficient, imagining that I could, by myself, protect the book and care for my brother while dealing with a wizard who might slip back into uncontrollable mate mourning and fighting off pursuing Anarki seems foolish.

“Bram wants Ice nowhere near me.”