Page 5 of Hot Zone

Tessa glanced around, startled. Everyone was staring at the sorcerer, mouths agape.

Quickly, she glanced back at him. What was going on? He looked fine to her, just standing there with his hands out.

His contemptuous gaze raked across the crowd, passed over her, then jerked back.

Across the heads of the assemblage, the two of them locked gazes. His black eyes drilled into hers with an intelligence, a razor sharpness, that stripped her bare. And she had plenty to hide.

As the stare stretched out, it was as if he willed her to come to him and submit to him. But she was no wilting lily to be so easily intimidated. She was a military officer, a combat veteran who’d braved the mostly male ranks of the U.S. Army and earned the grudging respect of men determined to despise her. At least until they’d discovered her little secret. It turned out that the army rank and file weren’t quite ready for psychics to command them.

The sorcerer was staring at her as if he already knew about her gift—or curse, as it were. His hands fell heedlessly to his sides, his gaze still locked on hers.

Another gasp went up from the crowd, and then cheers and wild applause erupted, along with shouts to do it again.

Still he stared at her.

Okay, he was starting to creep her out, here.

“A monster! A monster!” the crowd shouted. “Make yourself into a monster!”

Tessa took a step back, then another. An intense need to get away from this man and his sledgehammer charisma overwhelmed her.

He took an aggressive step forward, but Artemesia grabbed him by the arm and pulled.

Impatiently, he shook off the queen’s hand, still staring at Tessa.

Thankfully, he didn’t pursue her as she backed away from the fireplace. From him.

Clearly irritated, he glanced down at his queen, who was saying something inaudible to him.

Tessa seized upon his momentary distraction. Turned. And fled like a big dog from the Sorcerer of Halicarnassus.

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