“Still glowing.”
He swore, then closed his eyes again. Breathed deeply.
Sean caught her eye and raised his brows.
Krysta shrugged. No bulge strained against the front of Étienne’s slacks, so it wasn’t lust.
He opened his eyes. “What about now?”
“Still glowing.”
Again he swore and repeated the process.
“Sweetie, you aren’t nervous, are you?”
“Of course not.”
On the other side of him, Sean mouthed, “Yes, he is.”
This time, when Étienne’s lids lifted, they revealed warm brown eyes bereft of the glow. “Now?”
“You’re good.”
He nodded. “Thank you.”
She rang the doorbell.
Footsteps approached from inside. The locks turned. The door swung open.
Krysta donned a bright smile. “Hi, Mom!”
Wings spread, Zach rode the breeze, swooping and twirling as he raced the motorcycle eating up the asphalt below.
The slender figure guiding it nearly scraped her knee on the pavement as she leaned into a curve, taking it far too fast. Her long, midnight braid flapped and danced in the wind, bouncing off the sheathed shoto swords strapped to her back.
Garbed all in black, she wasn’t wearing her long coat tonight and, no doubt, would have generated a great deal of attention if any other drivers on the road could keep up with her long enough to notice the multitude of weapons she bore.
Slowing, she turned onto David’s drive and stopped before the security gate.
Zach’s gaze lingered on her long legs, outlined nicely by fitted cargo pants, as she straddled the bike and typed in the code.
When the gate swung open, she shot forward once more.
Zach swept his wings down, propelling himself forward and following her progress through breaks in the trees that formed a canopy between them.
Completely distracted, he nearly crashed into a large owl. Feathers flew as the owl panicked. Talons threatened. Zach banked, reversed, dodged, and lost sight of Lisette. By the time he caught up with her, she had stowed her helmet away and was striding up the walk to David’s front door.
He waited until she entered, then spread his wings and gently floated down to the rooftop.
A heavy weight slammed into his middle, knocking the breath from him, breaking several ribs, and lifting him from the roof.
North Carolina vanished, replaced by icy tundra being swept clean by a blizzard.
Zach grunted in pain as his back slammed down into a glacial surface as hard as stone. Several bones in the wings he hadn’t had time to retract broke, snapping like twigs. Ice pellets peppered him, stinging like needles and abrading skin left bare save his usual leather pants.
Squinting against the white, he focused on the figure kneeling above him, face dark with fury, eyes glowing gold.
Seth.
“What—?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?” Seth bellowed over the howling winds. “Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out?” His large hand closed around Zach’s throat and held him down.#p#分页标题#e#
Zach tried to teleport and couldn’t. Seth must be doing something to block or hamper his gifts.
“I warned you,” Seth said. “I warned you I’ve been exercising and growing my powers while you and the Others sat on your asses. Did you think I lied?”
When Zach opened his mouth to respond, Seth lifted him and slammed him against the ice again, breaking more bones in Zach’s wings.
“Just tell me why!”
“Why what?” Zach growled as agony overwhelmed him.
Lightning streaked through the sky and struck the glacier a few yards away.
He had never seen Seth so enraged.
“Don’t fuck with me! Why did you restore Donald and Nelson’s memories? Why did you help the mercenaries prey upon my Immortal Guardians?”
Zach shook his head, unable to speak past the fingers clutching his throat.
Roaring, Seth rose to his feet and waved an arm in a circle.
The wind ceased blowing. The snow it had been carrying fluttered down to the ground, settling upon Zach and decorating his eyelashes as silence engulfed them.
Shit. Seth could control the weather?
Zach started to rise, but found he couldn’t.
Seth held him in place telekinetically, his power a frightening and tangible force. “Only you or an Immortal Guardian could have done it. And my immortals wouldn’t betray me. Just tell me why you did it.”
Zach shook his head. “Your problem, Seth,” he gasped, “has always been . . . that you think yourself . . . invulnerable. Is it . . . so hard for you to believe . . . that one of your precious . . . Immortal Guardians might have betrayed you?”
“You deny it was you?”
“I deny nothing,” he snarled, his own fury now matching Seth’s.