Page 42 of Eternal Devotion

“Can I trust you?”

“Of course.”

His lips flattened into a tight line before he asked, “Are you a hunter?”

“Am I a… What?” I frowned, unsure what he meant. “I play a priest.”

He waved a dismissive hand and huffed. “Never mind. I didn’t think so, but I wanted to see your reaction first.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s not important.” He nodded, stood straighter, and lifted his chin. “All in then. Enough dallying. Ensley, my uncle has been… kidnapped. I’ve been sent here to find him.”

10

Mordecai

The previous day, I determined the likelihood of Ensley being one of Valerius’s hunters was slim. I sensed his purity and innocence regarding the evils of the world. Monsters and magic were part of his games, not his reality.

I missed those simplistic beliefs.

Bluntly asking was risky, but if he’d shown signs of knowing what I was talking about, I would have played my cards differently. Who was to say I wasn’t interested in joining their ranks?

Regardless, that avenue proved unnecessary.

My initial plan of using Ensley’s interest in gaming to my advantage wasn’t sustainable. After his departure the previous night, I called home and endured headache-inducing hours of listening to a fledgling give a crash course in gaming lore while directing me through plausible scenarios that might encourage Ensley to share valuable information about his city to help me locate Iulian.

It was mind-numbing, and Cristofer’s laughter in the background was enough to make me want to fly home and punch him, and I wasn’t a violent man.

The whole plan was falling apart. I hated technology and couldn’t grasp the purpose of video games no matter how many times the fledgling explained it. In the end, I succumbed to the fact that I was not cut out for this level of subterfuge. I lived a simpler life and required a simpler plan. A certain level of honesty was necessary if I was going to get information in a timely manner.

So, I’d gone with a modified version of the truth, knowing when this ordeal was over, I would have no choice but to leave Ensley with a gaping hole in his memory—like all the men who had come before him, only worse.

I didn’t want to tinker with his mind. The mere idea of using my powers on him made me sick. Twice already I’d been forced to fog his brain. For protection, but they were minor incidents. Inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Those uses I didn’t mind so much, but what I intended to do was extreme.

In the end, he wouldn’t remember me or the time we shared. I liked Ensley, but no matter my feelings, we couldn’t have anything sustainable.

I would not share my curse, and his mortality was an unsurpassable barrier.

“I’m sorry…” Ensley blinked several times in evident confusion. “Did you say kidnapped? Your uncle was kidnapped?”

“Yes.” The rain started again, a steady downpour that plinked off the metal railing and soaked us through. Ensley didn’t seem to notice. “All I know is that he’s in the city and well-guarded.”

Ensley gaped, seemed to absorb the information, then turned his gaze inward and huffed. “Temporary.” The single word was uttered more to himself than to me. “I get it now.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Nothing.” But he pulled away, and I wasn’t sure why.

A soft rumble of thunder gently rolled across the land, and I glanced skyward as angry storm clouds moved rapidly over the city. “We should get inside.”

Ensley didn’t respond, so I tugged his arm, encouraging him to walk. He planted his feet and refused to move. Ordinarily, I could nudge a human into doing my bidding or implant a suggestion they automatically obeyed without question, but not while the sun was up. Storm or not, daylight hours rendered me weak or useless where my powers were concerned.

“Ensley?” Every intimacy would make severing our connection harder. Regardless, I threaded my fingers through his and gave a gentle tug of encouragement. “Come, love. Get out of the rain before you do catch your death.”

That got his attention. Alert and gazing deep into my eyes, Ensley’s confusion seemed to deepen.

Let me have this for a short time, I thought, but I wasn’t sure to whom I pleaded.