“Commoner, my ass.” Tessa surprised me with her temper. “Marcus is a royal prince. What the hell are you?”
Warmed by her defense, I placed myself between her and the sorcerer. Sin Garu was dangerous in any state he appeared.
“What is it you want, sorcerer?” I asked, wanting his focus on me and not Tessa.
“I just wanted to exchange greetings. I keep missing Darius. I thought it remiss on my part not to have greeted you sooner, so here I am. And I so wanted to meet you, Tessa.” He grinned, showing sharp, white teeth. “Such passion. That fiery red hair, those sky-blue eyes full of life.” His gaze roamed over her. “Such luscious breasts. I’ll bet she tastes?—”
“What do you want?” He couldn’t miss the icy threat clear in my tone.
“Your brother would have ripped my head off by now,” Sin Garu chided. “You’re not as much fun. But I’ll bet she is.”
I didn’t react, aware of Tessa pressed against my back. She was tense, but thankfully, left the verbal sparring to me.
“Fine.” The sorcerer sighed. “I sense I’m not welcome here. I’ll leave.” He eyed Tessa with hunger. “But before I go, I just wanted to say I’m glad you avoided a prison sentence. We have much to talk about, you and I.”
I wanted to hurt this evil, the reason for my father’s death, for so many injured, lost, alone. I suddenly recalled a spell I’d overheard Aerolus practicing the other day.
I murmured it under my breath and watched as a thin trickle of blood ran from Sin Garu’s nose. He winced and wiped at accompanying bloody tears. His head had to be aching from the elemental grip I’d placed around his mental magic.
But he only laughed. “Well played, River Prince. You’ll pay for that.” He started to say something else but choked and coughed up blood instead.
The vision of him flashed then winked in and out.
“What’s happening?” Tessa whispered, peering over my shoulder.
“River Prince?” Sin Garu appeared once more, barely there. “The Djinn bedamned. You both belong to me and no one else. When next we meet, your last broken breath will be begging for mercy. And you, Tessa, will be mine for as long as you can survive it.”
With his threat hanging in the air like a dark cloud, Sin Garu vanished.
I stared at the ceiling, nonplused that the borrowed spell had worked. I still had a tough time believing Sin Garu had been there at all. I turned to Tessa, but she answered before I could ask.
“No, he was there. I saw him, plain as day.” She studied the ceiling then focused on me. “Explain to me what just happened here.”
I noticed her hands trembling. But when she saw me staring, she clenched her fists tight, unwilling to appear vulnerable.
Trust Tessa Sheridan to handle wraiths, Storm Lords, and an impromptu visit from the leader of an evil army bent on death and destruction. I couldn’t help smiling with pride.
Unfortunately, Tessa must have mistaken my grin for amusement.
She exploded in a temper that rivaled anything my brother Darius, the hot head, could manage.
As she ranted and raved about my stupid sense of humor, the right and wrong time to be brave, and denounced every other aspect of the male species in general, I couldn’t help wondering how I, of all my brothers, had been gifted with such a woman.
The visit with Sin Garu made me see that avoidance wasn’t the answer. Ready or not, I would have to face my responsibilities, first here on this plane and then at home. Evil didn’t set schedules. And women, I thought as I studied the passionate human in a tirade, were just as dangerous to a man’s sense of order.
The more I watched her, the more I wanted her. The more I…loved her?
Confused, hopeful, and damn it all, terrified, I transferred my pent-up energy to the lake beyond my house.
Past Tessa pacing in front of the living room bay window, I could make out a crowd gathered around a raging fountain of water that had no reason for being. Except to let me release the stimulation from a revelation long in the making.
“Are you even listening to me?” Tessa snarled and stepped forward, poking me in the chest.
“My affai,” I muttered in weary acceptance. “I can’t ignore it any longer.”
She paused, her mouth wide with surprise.
Before she could ask me a thing, I shut her up with a kiss.
