Sapphire Flames (Hidden Legacy, #4)

by Ilona Andrews

Lean and dark-haired, Leon was a ball of wiry energy. And he still wore the jeans and T-shirt I had seen him in last night. Either he fell asleep in his clothes, or he felt the need to be fully dressed at two o’clock in the morning for some nefarious reason. Leon didn’t have any other kind of reasons.

“Panic?” Runa asked in the kind of voice one normally proclaimed, Do you know who I am? “You did poison Conway,” Leon pointed out. “Oh my God! I poison one guy and now all of Houston thinks I’m a raging idiot.”

“Do you swear to faithfully and honestly fulfill your duties to the best of your ability?” “Yes. I swear.” To fulfill the “I don’t know what duties” by “I have no idea which means.”

I was unconscious for barely a minute, maybe two, and the two of them had nearly murdered each other.

How exactly did you manage that?” Alessandro gave him his dazzling smile. “It’s magic.” Smartass.

Your talent is a survival mechanism, like all magic. It seeks to keep you alive. It activates when it senses someone is a threat. Think back to your childhood. Some adults succumbed to your magic, but others didn’t. Do you understand me? Any man who truly falls in love with you and is invested in your survival will be immune.

Linus’ priority was the research and retrieving the serum. Runa’s priority was her sister. In the grand scheme of things both Alessandro and Benedict mattered very little. But Alessandro meant everything to me.