Gripping his biceps, she stroked her way up and down his c.o.c.k, and the inferno-hot pleasure singed him.

She tightened around him. Her cheeks grew pink, then flushed a darker rose. Her nipples swelled, her head tipped back, and she looked like the ultimate G.o.ddess of pleasure. Smart, brave, loving. His.

Caden's heart swelled with need, with love. His body did the same. Grimacing, he tried to stave off the o.r.g.a.s.m about to overwhelm. But Sydney's pace quickened. She dug her fingers deeper into him as she bounced on him, chanting his name. Caden curled his arms around her and fused his mouth to hers as her s.e.x clamped down on him. He swallowed her scream of pleasure and joined her over the abyss, in an ecstasy that not only suffused him with a warm satiation-but a jolt of power so intense, it nearly overpowered his system. And love. G.o.d, so much of it. That love gave him a new dimension of strength.

He was determined that, while that may have been their first time making love as mates, it d.a.m.n well wouldn't be their last.

Quietly, they dressed, pausing to kiss. He touched her, wrapped her in his embrace to rea.s.sure her, then sat on the bed to cuddle her in his lap.

"Caden?" she turned worried brown eyes on him.

He knew everything on her mind. It was on his too. But d.a.m.n it, he hadn't come this far, been born with the sort of magic that his mother, as a good seer, had praised, and found this amazing woman, only to have her ripped from him.

Time to fight.

"Shh. It's not over."

"Your time alone is." A man's voice intruded on their intimate coc.o.o.n. Shock. Then he opened the cell and motioned to Sydney. "Come with me."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

SYDNEY TREMBLED AS SHOCK HELD her by the elbow and dragged her toward the middle of the house. "Where are you taking me?"

"Where Mathias asked me to."

His complete lack of inflection, of guilt, incensed her. Rage bottled up inside her, then she wondered why she was keeping a cork on it. She was going to die, regardless. Why not tell Shock what toilet sc.u.m she thought he was?

"So you enjoy watching innocent people be tortured to death? Or you just don't care?" He glared down his shoulder at her, his expression unreadable. "You're playing games you don't understand."

"You're betraying people who count on you."

"More than you know," he muttered, then tugged on her elbow and dragged her behind him.

As she feared, Shock lugged her back to the cold sitting room of black, gla.s.s, and chrome in which she'd been earlier. There, Mathias sat, waiting, his expression cool but impatient. She had the distinct impression he was concealing the depth of his rage. And it scared the h.e.l.l out of her. The Doomsday Diary sat on the table in front of him. The half-dressed witch who'd taken the book from Sydney slept in a corner. At least she hoped the woman was asleep.

Shock shoved her into a chair across from Mathias.

"These meetings are too frequent, my dear," he said.

"Rhea is unable to use the book. Everything she writes disappears. I cannot see the words at all. Care to explain?"

Sydney glanced at Shock. As long as the traitor was here, she stood no chance of keeping her thoughts to herself. "I just wrote what I wanted in the book and . . . poof."

"It came true immediately?"

"No. It took a few days."

Mathias glanced at Shock.

"She's telling the truth as she knows it." Shock supplied.

Mathias relaxed against the back of the sofa. "It's possible that larger magic takes time to collect and organize."

Shock nodded. "She was looking only for a s.h.a.g. Hardly difficult magic, but she's not a witch . . ." A feral grin stretched across the evil wizard's mouth as he turned to her. "If you need a man in your bed, I'm more than happy to oblige."

Ewww. "I don't."

"I can change your mind . . . whether you want it changed or not. Regardless of whether your new mate is languishing in the cell downstairs or not."

How did he know?

"Your magical signature," Shock said. "You now have one that brands you as Caden's. Most anyone magical can see it."

Sydney liked that idea, and hoped that she'd have years and years with this signature-and a happy life to go with it. But she had to get out of here first.

Shock merely raised a brow at her, but thankfully kept commentary to himself.

"You used the book twice with success. Rhea could not use it at all," Mathias mused as if solving a puzzle aloud. "Of course, you're a smart girl, and she's a stupid s.l.u.t. But she's magical and you're not. I know it works for witches, or Morganna le Fay would have never created it. There is something I'm missing. What?"

Sydney wasn't even certain herself, but Sabelle and Olivia's theory that the woman using the book had to be wishing for her heart's desire made sense. She had when she'd wished for Caden. Who knows what Mathias's witch wh.o.r.e had wished for?

"She doesn't know." Shock's tone was both annoyed and dismissive. "She's human. She stumbled into magic and got lucky. That's all."

Sydney frowned. If Shock could read her mind, why hadn't he regurgitated her every thought to Mathias?

"Any chance she's able to mask her thoughts from you?" Shock snorted in answer.

"Take her to my bed. I think I'll enjoy finding out how much energy this feisty human can give me before she dies."

Zipping her gaze up to Shock's face, Sydney's heart beat triple time. Oh, dear G.o.d. The last thing in the world she wanted was to endure a moment of Mathias's touch. But to die in his bed . . . she shivered.

Now Shock was the only thing standing between her and death. His bland expression didn't give her much hope.

"In order to bed her, you'll have to break her mate bond. That will likely kill her. Let me spend a little time with her. I have ways of getting deeper into a woman's mind." "Unpleasant ones, I hope?" Mathias perked up.

"Absolutely."

Mathias paused, then smiled. "Take her, then. Don't bring her back unless you've extracted everything from her mind-or she's dead."

As soon as Shock magically shoved him back in the cell and locked him in again, taking Sydney away with him, Caden broke out in a cold sweat. d.a.m.n it, now what? He doubted he could break Shock's magical seal on this cell. But he couldn't sit here while the traitor and mate thief took Sydney to his boss like a lamb to slaughter. Even the thought made him want to roar the entire house down.

He knew more than a little martial arts, but every attempt to kick at the walls or bars proved fruitless.

He'd looked around the cell for a trapdoor, back exit, ceiling vent . . . nothing.

He was going to have to get creative with magic. d.a.m.n it, he scarcely knew enough to be dangerous. He had the instincts to complete simple tasks, and had been so foolishly adamant about not learning more.

Swallowing hard, Caden forced his recriminations away and willed himself to think. He had to know something that would help her. Sitting trapped while his mate died at Mathias's hands was not an option.

But he'd never done big magic.

Except at transition. His one special power.

Hope soared, but he tempered it. He had to be logical. The fact was, he'd been almost high on magic when he'd cloned himself, he really had no idea how he'd done it. Common wisdom said that a witch or wizard should not reveal their special power unless it meant the difference between life and death.

Saving Sydney was his life or death.

Vaguely, Caden recalled fusing his clone back to his body by visualizing the event. He hoped, prayed, the reverse worked.

Sitting on the cot on which he'd so recently loved Sydney, he squeezed his eyes shut. In his mind, he pictured his clone morphing separately from him-on the other side of these bars. His entire body tensed as he clutched the bed frame.

His arms shook, and he could feel the veins swelling as he concentrated. Seconds became a minute. A minute became three. But nothing happened. He cursed under his breath.

Then he felt his insides ripping in half.

Caden clenched his teeth against the horrific sensation of someone opening his chest and sucking out his insides. His whole body trembled. His head exploded with pain.

Suddenly, it ended, and he slumped back against the wall, utterly drained, wishing he had something to show for his effort.

"I'll come back with help." The voice sounded eerily like his own.

His eyes flew open wide, and he saw himself-his other self-standing outside the cell.

Thank G.o.d. He'd done it.

"Save her," he rasped in exhaustion.

His clone nodded and disappeared. And he b.l.o.o.d.y hated it, but now all he could do was wait.

At Shock's urging, Sydney rose on wobbly legs. She'd never imagined he was a good guy, but now she'd find out exactly how bad he was. Even if Shock didn't lay a hand on her, she had no doubt he could think of a hundred magical ways to torture her.

"Faster," he snapped. "You're keeping me from my fun, and Mathias from valuable information." The cold calculation of his command p.i.s.sed her off. If she was going to die, she might as well let the b.a.s.t.a.r.d know how much she loathed him.

"How inconsiderate of me not to run to my death. Must be a real b.i.t.c.h for you." Mathias laughed, the sound scratching an icy path up her spine before his expression fell into pure menace. "You'll give her extra pain for that, I hope?"

"With pleasure."

"Wait!" Mathias barked. "A disturbance in the security. I think the Doomsday Brethren have arrived.

With them out of the way, we won't need this chit anymore. If we kill all the warriors, Olivia Gray and Sabelle Rion will be alone, unprotected. Certainly one of them can be persuaded to help our cause."

"Don't touch my friends!" she screamed.

"You're in no position to issue orders." Mathias smiled tightly, then looked at Shock. "Why don't you go greet our company? Take the Anarki with you. I'll stay with our lovely guest." Sydney could just imagine Shock's greeting. The Doomsday Brethren trusted him-at least a bit.

Because of it, they could be easily duped-and quickly dead. Any chances of escape or a future for magickind would walk out the door with the big, bad wizard.

She grabbed his arm. "Please, no. Don't do this!"

Shock sent her a glare, shook off her hold, and walked out the door.

Caden shivered in the cold cell. But he shoved the discomfort aside and focused on the "movie" in his mind that was spooling from his clone. Soon, his replica made his way out of the bas.e.m.e.nt to the first floor-and Mathias's sitting room.

As he crept in shadow up the stairs and around a corner, a small lamp on the table illuminated Sydney, a small form in an oversized black leather chair, pale and hugging her knees to her chest. She stared at Mathias with undisguised hate.

Though she couldn't see him, he was d.a.m.n glad to see her alive.

Sunlight was beginning to creep through the east-facing windows above him. Soon, his hiding place would be compromised. He was going to have to think and act fast to get Sydney out of here and s.n.a.t.c.h the Doomsday Diary. No way was he leaving such a weapon in the hands of someone like Mathias.

He was only going to have one chance to surprise the evil wizard, and Caden didn't know if his clone could perform magic. Even if he could channel energy to the duplicate, did he have enough energy left in him to kill Mathias?

As the sun crept farther into the room, and he heard the sounds of battle erupting outside, Caden figured it was now or never. Either the Doomsday Brethren would fight their way inside and chaos would erupt, or the Anarki would come in and kill them all. If he was going to get Sydney out before things got dangerous, it had to be now.

Caden positioned himself into a crouch, ready to run. Sydney spotted him out of the corner of her eyes.

She stifled her surprise quickly, but Mathias saw or sensed something. Whirling, he pulled out his wand.

Using his instincts, Caden flipped a hand toward Mathias, picturing a fireball hurtling toward the wizard.

Invisible energy ripped out of his body, burning down his fingers toward Mathias.

The other wizard couldn't scramble a defense fast enough. He jumped aside, but the ball struck him in the gut. Mathias doubled over, clutching his abdomen. Sweat dotted his temples and his face strained with pain as he looked up at Caden with hate.

"You'll pay for that."

"Not today," he quipped, then pulled Sydney to her feet. "Grab the book and run. It's still dark; you can get out. Stay in shadow. Bram and the others sound like they're fighting on the northeast side of the house. Run out the back and stay close to the walls. I'll be there as soon as possible." Sydney shook her head. "I'm not leaving without you." He loved her more than ever, marveled that he had a mate who was his, but locked away in a cell below, the real him couldn't defend her and both he and the clone were running out of energy. Why the h.e.l.l wouldn't she listen? "You and the book are all that matter. Go!"

"We go together! Zap him again."

Her gaze flicked over to Mathias, beginning to straighten up, still clutching his wand with a groan. Below, Caden focused, trying to summon his energy to send to the clone to protect Sydney. His gut cramped, and he trembled, sweating and straining for something.

He had no magical energy left.

"Stupid neophyte," Mathias scoffed. "I'm looking forward to watching you die." Caden had no idea why Mathias hadn't yet blasted him. Either he hadn't fully healed from the injury Olivia had delivered to him last month, or the blast he'd just given the wizard had done more damage than imagined. Whatever. Time for some old-school a.s.s kicking.

Dropping into a fighting stance, his replica delivered a blistering roundhouse kick to Mathias's jaw. He reeled back, staggering.

Below them, doors banged against the limestone walls, grunts, shouts, and the sounds of fistfighting erupted below.

Mathias smiled. "Your friends are coming. Too bad they'll be too late." Fast as lightning, Mathias whipped his wand toward Caden's clone. A split second later, something hit him that weighed twenty tons, was as hot as lava, as destructive as acid. The spell spread throughout the clone's body. In his cell below, Caden absorbed the immense pain, felt the duplicate's organs shut down as he crumpled to the ground.