Page 26 of Clash of Sin and Secret

“Not even a little. I’m helping.”

“God save me from men who think they know what’s best for me.” She rolls her shoulders back and circles me like a wolf on the hunt.

I gauge where she is mentally while waiting for her to make a move.

When she lunges, I feint left and then strike right. My fist grazes her shoulder as she pivots away from my reach, spinning her from the force. She grits her teeth, something wild flashing in her hazel gaze.

“There’s something off with you, beautiful. I sense it and worry that if we don’t get it under control, you might detonate again.”

“Got me all figured out, do you?”

I shift my stance again, working to figure out how to break through whatever wall she’s built around herself today. “What was going on with Zane and Huntley when I walked in earlier?”

Her expression darkens, magic crackling around her fingers.

“If it’s none of my business, tell me, but if you need to vent, I’m here.”

Anger flashes across her features, and without warning, she lunges.

I dodge, but she’s fast. She grazes my side instead of connecting full force—but then energy lashes between us like lightning arcing through the sky. It slams into my chest and sends me staggering back.

The impact rattles through my bones and stings like a bitch, but it doesn’t do damage—not really. The same magic coursing through her lives within me.

Someone else hit by that blast would be hurt or killed, but I absorb it.

Her frustration gets away from her and she screams. Energy hemorrhages out of her and I’m bombarded by the full strength of her powers. I’m blown off my feet, and crash back into the mats.

The squire magic connects us, and I don’t resist.

I open myself to it—to her—and stabilize the chaos within me rather than allowing it to blow us both apart.

When she’s out of juice, she seems to snap out of the fighting frenzy. Eyes wide, she rushes over. “Tucker! Are you okay?”

An energy buzz zings around inside me, ricocheting in every direction like angry wasps protecting their hive. “I’m okay. But next time, you could believe me before you fry my internal organs.”

Her expression shifts from panic to guilt. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“It’s your powers, kid.” Jack jogs over from where he watched the whole interaction. “Sacred Scribe magic is meant to become an integrated part of its host. That’s not happening. You need to stop fighting this and accept them.”

She drops onto her ass beside me and sighs. “And what if I don’t want that?”

“That’s your call, but it’s time to make it.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Zane

The Toronto skyline glitters against the inky blanket of night, a stark contrast to the darkness consuming my mood. I reach into Huntley’s mind, unable to shake my fury from earlier.“I can’t believe you were Scottie’s first, and, given all that’s happened between us since then, you never bothered to mention it.”

Huntley is riding shotgun in the front seat of the SUV and doesn’t turn.What good could it have done? She was gone. You moved on.

Like fuck I did. I’ve been dead inside all these years, biding my fucking time and working to prove that I deserve to earn her trust back.

None of that would’ve changed if you knew the two of us had sex.

Except now I don’t know if I can trust you.

Are you angry or jealous?

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