Midnight Mage

18

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“You almost died tonight,” I objected.

“No, I didn’t. Every last drop of blood could be drained from me and I would still live, a comatose and withered husk. Unless someone took my head, that is.”

I glanced down at his chest. “What about a stake through the heart?”

“That only kills young ones.”

I looked back into his eyes, then trailed my gaze down his imperfect nose, over his mouth and the shadow of facial hair on his jaw. They were all merely pieces of the whole, minutiae of one of the most complex, formidable men on the planet. A being old enough to have experienced a measure of sorrow miles beyond the norm.

I imagined losing Michael, over and over again, and touched upon a small fraction of what the Prime was talking about. If I’d had to watch my loved ones grow old and die ad nauseam, I could easily envision locking my heart behind walls of indifference.

Hell, it’d been locked for fourteen years. What was another thousand?

“Do you even care?” I asked, my voice raw. “About finding my dad? About anything?”

“Yes,” he murmured. “I care.”

The curtain of impassivity dropped from his eyes and my brain finally caught up with the implication of our positions. My breasts were pressed against his chest, his hands lightly gripping my hips. My heart pulsed hard—once, twice—and flooded me with sensation.

Heat. Want.

Electricity erupted from my skin. Riven groaned, but not in pain.

“I’m sorry,” I gasped and shoved off his chest, scrambling backward so fast I tripped and fell on my ass. My breath expelled in a rush, pain zigging up my spine.

I sensed movement and looked up at Riven—no, the Prime—standing with his hands in the pockets of his slacks, an indecipherable expression on his face.

“Time to wake up, Alfea.”

"Alfea, TIME TO WAKE UP.”

Fingers stroked my forehead, imparting a pulsing warmth. I cracked open my eyes to see Declan leaning over me. He smiled, pale eyes sparkling.

“Hey,” I said weakly.

He disappeared and appeared again with a glass of water. Lifting my shoulders with one arm, he held the rim to my lips. Cool water cleansed my tongue and throat.

I swallowed reflexively until the glass was empty. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, depositing the glass on the side table. “How do you feel?”

I glanced past him, seeing a stormy sky outside the windows of my room in the compound. “Like I was bulldozed then set on fire.” I paused. “My hair? Did I dream…?”

“It was no dream,” he said gently. “It’s white. Kinda sexy, actually. Really shiny and soft.”

His teasing brought more memory back, of the Prime and a beach. Has it been real? In turn, I was forced to acknowledge there was only one way Declan could be touching me with impunity.

I lifted my arms and stared at the new, thicker bracelets on my wrists.

“Dammit.”

“It was for everyone’s protection,” said Declan softly. “You were unconscious and throwing sparks whenever anyone came near you. You killed the engines of five cars on the way back to the compound.”