it seemed. He’d had to scrabble, suffer, for every morsel that eased the hunger in his belly. For every night not spent in a dirty alley under a cardboard box.
He didn’t feel twenty-three—he must be a hundred.
“Trust me, you are, despite all that power the Unseelie asshole is attempting to harness in you. I don’t say that as an insult,” he said seriously. “What I mean is that in you, Malik has found a young, extremely powerful Sorcerer on the cusp of becoming all he is meant to be. As strong as you are, Kalen, you’re nowhere near the level you’ll be in a few years, then a few decades. With you, it’s like when the very first coach ever saw Michael Jordan in action and said, ‘My God, that kid is going to be the greatest player in the NBA one day.’”
In spite of himself, Kalen snorted a laugh. “What a comparison.”
“But true. The Unseelie king knows you’re a rising star and he wants you on his team. I can’t let that happen. Do you understand?”
You’re going to be the greatest Sorcerer the world has ever known, your power beyond comprehension. And that means there are those who would seek to control that power, or take it from you altogether.
A lump lodged in his throat at the memory of his grandmother’s ghostly prediction, and he pushed it away. “Do you want me to leave after all? Or are you just going to take me out now and be done with it?”
“Just finish telling me how Malik manipulated you earlier.”
It didn’t escape his notice that Nick hadn’t answered the question. “He promised me power, told me all I had to do to get it was surrender to him. He was . . . very seductive.”
“In a sexual way?”
Kalen felt sick, and fought it down. “Yeah. The bastard touched me, and suddenly I wanted everything he was selling. God, Nick,” he choked out. “What’s wrong with me?”
Once a whore, always a whore, my pet. Malik’s smug voice intruded into his head. Don’t forget you belong to me.
Kalen shoved the Unseelie out with great effort.
The commander pushed from his desk and walked over to stand by Kalen’s chair, gripping his shoulder. “There’s not a damned thing wrong with you. Like the rest of us, you’re trying to get a foothold on fighting the Unseelie, only for you it’s worse because he’s taken a personal interest in recruiting you. That means he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. Creatures like him wield seduction like a weapon.”
“I know. Just like I know him messing with me was nothing but a mindfuck, but that doesn’t make it better.”
“A mindfuck? How so?” Nick retreated to park his butt on the desk again.
“He sent Beryl to me in my room, or the illusion of her since she was still locked up, and by then I was lost,” he said miserably. “She seduced me, but when it was over, she just vanished. And here’s the weird part—I was still dressed and I wasn’t even fully hard. No evidence of sex at all. It was so real at the time, and yet it never happened! I’m losing my fucking mind.”
Burying his hands in his hair, he held on as though he could keep his scrambled brains inside. “I called him Master, and I liked his approval. No, I wallowed in it and would’ve done anything right then to please him. So I guess you’re right about the cub thing, huh?”
“Jesus Christ.” Nick’s gaze pierced him to the core. “Then what happened?”
Kalen lowered his hands to his lap, fists clenched. “He told me to let Beryl out of her cell. He said she had a task to perform before she left and that she was never meant to stay with us. I didn’t know he meant for her to die, but I should have. Then I let her out, took her up to the ground level, where she attacked Sariel. Rowan and Aric went after her, and Aric killed her.”
The commander fell silent for so long, fear balled in Kalen’s gut. Finally he gathered his courage and asked once more.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“Would you submit if I said yes?”
Kalen nodded, the bottom falling out of his stomach. “Yes, I would.”
“Why?” Nick cocked his head.
“Because you’re a PreCog and that means you can sometimes see the future. On top of that, you’re the commander and a good, fair man. So if the future is better without me