Abruptly , he released her arm. The silence stretched between them.Vivienne studied him for a long moment and her expression was unreadable. Then she sighed. It was a heavy sound, full of exhaustion and something that might have been guilt."Fine," she said. "But not here."She turned and called out to the security leader, who was still standing near the pillar, watching them with professional detachment. "You and your men can stand down. Return to your posts. I will signal if I need you."The leader nodded and gestured to his team. They melted back into the flow of employees, disappearing through a side door.Vivienne turned back to Zachary. "Come on.""Where?"She was already walking, her tablet tucked under her arm, her heels clicking against the marble. "There is a cafe a few blocks from here. Good coffee. Quiet. We can talk there."Zachary stared after her. "You want to get coffee? Now?"She stopped and looked back at him, one eyebrow raised. "You said you wanted an explanatio

They had him exactly where they wanted.Zachary knew it. The men in the pickups knew it. There was no point pretending otherwise. He was boxed in, front and back, two walls of black metal and tinted glass moving in perfect synchronization. A trap that had been laid long before he ever left Vivienne's building.He glanced in his rearview mirror. Marcus Zhao was sitting in the driver's seat of the pickup behind him, his face illuminated by the glow of his dashboard. He was pointing. Not with aggression, not with threat. Just a simple gesture, a finger aimed at a narrow trail that branched off the main road. His headlights flashed twice, a silent signal.GO THAT WAY, the gesture said. NOW.Zachary's first instinct was to fight. To slam on the brakes, to swerve, to do something aggressive and reckless that would break the box they had him in. His hands tightened on the steering wheel and his foot hovered over the accelerator.But he stopped himself.He thought about the other car

"Which is more important?"........ "The body or the mind?”Zachary had not known the answer then. He had sat in silence, his mouth slightly open, his brow furrowed, waiting for Yien to provide it. He had been so accustomed to being given answers, to being told what to think and how to feel, that the idea of finding his own way had felt almost foreign.'Just tell me,' he had thought. 'Stop asking questions and just tell me what I need to know.'But Yien never told. He guided. He suggested. He nudged. But he never simply handed over the answers."They exist to compliment each other," Yien said, answering his own question, his lips quirking slightly. "The body and the mind are not enemies, not rivals for control. They are partners in the strange, difficult work of being alive. In some cases, one tends to have a greater influence on the other. Fear in the body creates panic in the mind. Doubt in the mind creates tension in the body. They speak to each other constantly, in whispers and s

Seraphina's expression shifted. Her eyelids drooped, and her eyes went flat with exasperation."And you still can't channel?" she asked, her voice flat.He shrugged. "Seeing it and moving it are different things. I can see the river, but that doesn't mean I know how to swim."At that she almost laughed. He saw it in the way her lips twitched, the way her chest rose and fell with a breath that wanted to be a chuckle."No," she said, shaking her head. "Everyone cannot see Obsidian energy. Only those with the Energy Sight can. It's a gift, Zachary. A rare one. One that normally is passed down through the Paravous bloodline for generations but typically skips a few generations."She leaned closer, close enough that he could see the tiny lines at the corners of her eyes, the slight unevenness in her lower lip."The fact that you have it confirms that you really are my master's heir. You're a descendant of the Dragon Bloodline. The Sight is in your blood."She paused."But if you can use y

Without his say so, his eyes drifted to the side mirror.Marcus Zhao was there now, his black pickup having shifted from behind to beside him at some point while Zachary had been climbing down the living ladder. He hadn't even noticed the movement. One moment the truck had been tailing him, the next it was matching his pace, its driver's side window rolled down, Marcus's profile sharp against the grey interior. The man's presence was a warning.But how did he know? Zachary was innocuous about his channeling, so how did-'SERPENT BLOODLINE,' Zachary honeslty felt like breaking something as the pieces clicked into place. That particular bloodline limit were capable of sensory abilities and stealth with the talent to go unnoticed to their enemies until it was too late. It was no wonder the man had managed to sneak into an heavily guarded event so easily.Marcus could tell he was channeling. But even if he had sensory abilities, Zachary knew for a fact that his control was impeccable