AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I gestured toward the gym. “They’re waiting for us to fight.”
“You.” His eyes widened, and his gaze traveled the length of my body, taking in my Subliminal shorts and sports bra. He finally seemed to comprehend my outfit. “You’re the mystery opponent?”
I gazed at him coolly. “Do you have a problem with that?”
The crowd’s cheers grew thunderous, but it was nothing compared to my pulse drumming in my ears.
He let out a short, surprised laugh. “I’m not fighting you.”
“Scared you’ll lose again, only this time in front of your adoring fans?”
“Scared of hurting you,” he said softly, reaching for me. “I have to win this.”
I backed away from him. I couldn’t do this if he touched me. “So win.”
“Aren’t you worried about everyone else figuring out that it’s you?” he asked. “Regulars will notice you’re not watching the fight.”
“Frankie has that covered.”
My boss had created an illusion of me that would remain in her office, reading a book. No one would find that suspicious behavior for me, even for a big fight night. The illusion could handle simple replies that shut down conversations before they could happen.
Thank the tide for fae magic.
“Bree, you know how I feel about you.” The pleading in his voice just about killed me. “Please back down.”
The time had come to smash his hopes and drown his dreams.
“You know what I am, Nic.” I grabbed my mask and headed for the steps that led to the gym. Resting my free hand on the railing, I raised my gaze to meet his surprised one. This was it, the kill shot. “Did it not occur to you that what you’ve seen and everything you feel are lies?”
His entire body tensed, and crimson light flared within his eyes. The Red Dragon had awakened. “Stop. I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Do you?” I smiled cruelly, hating myself for every second of this charade, this betrayal. “How well do you think you actually know me, Dominic?”
“Better than you think I do.”
When I allowed someone to truly feel my magic rather than block them from sensing it, the experience was far from pleasant. A rather revolting sensation, or so I’ve been told. At least for landlubbers who weren’t used to the slick, intimate caress of a sea creature like me.
I cast my magic out like a net, looping it around Dominic’s mind, and encouraged him to kneel with a single lyrical note, “Fa.”
A startled grunt escaped his lips before he fell to his knees. His eyes opened wide.
My hands trembled, so I gripped the railing tighter and hoped he was too stunned to notice.
“That was just a taste, darlin’.” I climbed the steps and grabbed the door handle. With my back to him, I squeezed my eyes shut, holding back the tears threatening to spill.
No, I wasn’t just a sea creature…
…I was a monster.
CHAPTER 27
Dominic
Istared at Bree’s back. Her magic still pinned me down, gliding through my mind with a salty aftertaste. She was much more powerful than she let on, possibly more than even she knew.
One word, one simple musical note, had taken me to my knees.
But I was unwilling to accept her words as truth. It didn’t make any sense. None of this did. “Why?”
