Saved By Your Hot Book Boyfriend

54. The Hot Guy’s Twin May Be Evil

54

The Hot Guy’s Twin May Be Evil

Ziros

—A Few Days Earlier—

I don’t know what the hell happened, but it’s obvious I won’t be getting my claim back.

Gold . I used to have the richest claim in the west.

Now it’s covered in houses.

That’s right. There are huge, fancy houses all over every inch of these hills that used to belong to me. And I may be a demigod, but even I know better than to go ripping houses from their foundations.

Not if I can help it.

I turn, shaking my head as I disappear into the raging wind.

But I’m not done yet.

There’s one more place I have left to check.

One place not even that damn brother of mine knew about.

My cache.

Hidden deep in the mountains, I’ve got enough gold stockpiled to last a human lifetime.

The cave entrance is still there, overgrown by so much vegetation, even I’d never have found it if I hadn’t stumbled—literally—into it while playing miner all those years ago.

Carefully, I pull back the berry vines and manzanita, moving the remaining heap of crumbled stones with a gust of wind…

And grin at what I see.

You

— Back to the Present—

You groan, head aching as you sit up, wondering if you’re late for work—and realize that instead of your bedroom ceiling above you, there are stars. Lots of stars, mixed with a heavy dose of light pollution from the skyline surrounding you.

Yeah, you’re definitely not late to work, considering it’s still the middle of the night.

So…that’s the bright side. Because it slowly dawns on you that you’ve been kidnapped, and really you’ve got to look on the bright side in these sorts of situations, because what else can you do?

Especially considering your mouth is still stuffed with a fabric gag, and you discover your aching wrists are bound behind you.

This…this can’t be good.

And there in front of you, perched on a low rail overlooking the pitch darkness and crisp night air beyond, is your kidnapper.

He’s handsome—for a kidnapper, anyway—the kind of guy who would make an excellent book boyfriend with his chiseled jaw and sharp features, angry, red eyes glowing.

Yikes.

Red eyes!?

Or maybe that’s just the glow of the fireball he’s tossing in his hand, gazing out over the rooftop where he’s got you tied. Not tied to anything, so if you can get to your feet, you could run, considering those aren’t bound.

But…you survey your options with a frown. You can’t see any other buildings from where you’re sitting, and the wind feels colder and somehow thinner than usual—though that last part could be your imagination. Either way, it’s clear you’re not on some low building. You’re high above the city.

Your head spins, stomach lurching as you imagine the ground far below.

How is it you always seem to find yourself in these sorts of situations?

“So you’re awake,” your kidnapper says, cutting the silence. He makes no move to get up from his perch on the low rail—just keeps tossing the fireball in his left hand, catching it occasionally with his right before lobbing it back.

Even his hair is red, glimmering in the glow of the magical flame. He’s obviously not human. Could he be a sorcerer like you?

“Mwho vare wyou?” you mumble through your gag. “Hahnd vwhat voo vyou hwant with bhe?”

Your kidnapper smirks, as if he finds your attempt to talk funny.

Jerk.

You struggle against the bonds tying your wrists behind your back, but that just causes the ropes to dig further into your skin.

“Call me Sy,” he says, lazily tossing the fireball and continuing to catch it. “Z is my twin.”

Well, that would certainly explain the resemblance.

It doesn’t, however, explain why he decided to kidnap you and tie you up.

“My brother is a menace,” he continues, and you narrow your eyes at him. If you were ungagged, you might give him an earful about how kidnapping and tying someone up sure seems like a lot more of a menace. “He’s been causing destruction across the plains for days.”

You wince.

Oh.

Is that what Ziros was talking about when he mentioned it being dangerous to be around you?

Okay, so maybe Ziros’ wind power does make him a little bit of a menace, but it’s not like he wants to be or anything. At least, you’re pretty sure.

Maybe once upon a time, he did, but the Ziros you know is actually a total sweetheart beneath his sexy vampire-demigod exterior.

“Anyway,” Sy says, standing from the ledge and walking back toward you. “You, little human, are bait .”

You glare at him.

Also, just because Ziros and his twin brother are unreasonably tall doesn’t mean you’re little. Sheesh.

Speaking of little. If only Sy hadn’t taken your sword. Then you could cut your way out of your bonds.

You struggle, twisting your head and tugging at the gag with your shoulder, finally able to dislodge it enough to speak freely.

“Hey, I know morally gray guys are all the rage right now in dark romance, but how about setting me free instead?”

Sy frowns, stuffing the gag back into your mouth. “Sorry, human. Afraid I can’t do that.”

Well. It was worth a shot.

Ziros , you think as loudly as you can. Please be careful.

Because as much as you want to be saved, you don’t want Ziros stumbling into a trap on your behalf.

Ziros

Her apartment is empty. And she’s not at the cafe.

It’s the middle of the damn night, and I don’t know where the hell else she should be.

I thought I was losing my mind, thought for sure I’d imagined her voice, but now I’m certain something is terribly wrong.

I leap from her apartment window, landing on the street below. “Where are you, my wild, crazy, beautiful human?”

That’s when I hear it again—her voice, ringing in my head.

Only this time, she’s telling me to be careful.

Where are you, human?

Nothing. There’s no response. Without the link between us, I can’t reach her on my own. She must be sending me signals using her own magic, something I can’t do even with all my power.

I have to find her.

I’ll just have to do it my way.

I stretch my arms wide where I stand on the dark, deserted street, autumn leaves and trash rattling across the pavement as a cold wind sweeps down between the buildings, my powers chasing across every inch of this blacktop jungle.

Until I feel her.

Her magic radiates down from above, bright and crisp in the night air.

“ Found you ,” I whisper, opening my eyes, triumph sparking through me.

And anger.

Because it isn’t just her presence I detect—it’s his .

“You damn bastard brother, what have you done this time?”

You

A cold wind sweeps down across the rooftop, making you shiver in your bindings.

Sy laughs, pacing back to the edge of the rail.

“So you’re here,” he says, and before you understand what’s happening, another rush of wind barrels up the side of the building, and there stands Ziros. He seems to hover for a moment, then his fist smacks into Sy’s face with a wham that sends his twin flying.

Sy laughs again, catching himself only a few feet away as he shakes out his jaw.

“You bastard ,” Ziros growls as he turns, taking in the sight of you tied-up and gagged on the roof. “What do you want this time?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Sy says, and that’s when you notice he’s pulled something small and black out of his jacket.

The book.

He’s holding the book.

The same book Ziros was originally imprisoned in.

“Here’s the deal,” Sy says, glancing at you. “You’re a menace. You can’t control your powers, and you know it. Someone’s gotta do something about it, and it might as well be me. If you want your precious little sorceress human to live, you’ll go into the book without trouble.”

Ziros glares, folding his arms, still standing on the rail. Behind him, the glow of city lights illuminates the night.

“You really think you can threaten me?”

Ziros jumps, another blast of wind rushing around you, so strong you feel yourself sliding, afraid you might be swept right off the roof.

He leaps for his brother, but Sy is just as fast. He dodges at the last second, yanking you in front of him like a shield.

“Not so fast,” he says, flinging open the book.

As soon as he does, you feel a heavy, magnetic pull drawing you toward the pages.

That’s when you realize, to your horror, it’s not the same book!

“This is a fresh enchantment,” Sy says. “Right now, it’s locked onto your precious little human’s magic, and it can’t be stopped—not even by a sorceress like her. The void won’t be satisfied until it’s fed. So give it up, brother, and nobody else has to get hurt. Go back to your prison.”

Ziros growls, eyes flashing as he leaps again, wind swirling around you as you cling—impossibly, especially considering your hands are tied—for dear life to the slippery surface of the roof below you, the book drawing you steadily closer.

“Ziros!” you try to scream, but the sound comes out muffled by the gag.

“It’s your choice,” Sy says, holding open the book again. “Either return to the void, or your precious human will be sucked in. Not even your wind magic can stop her!”

You stare at Ziros, terrified, not sure what to do.

Stop! You think loudly, not at Ziros, but at the book.

Maybe Sy is bluffing. Maybe you can break whatever strange enchantment this is.

After all, you are a sorceress.

Maybe it’s your desperation that causes it—magic explodes from within you, disintegrating the gag in an array of satisfying sparkles.

“Wait!” you yell, finally able to move as the bonds dissolve from your wrists. “Ziros is a good guy!”

You reach for Sy, intending to swipe the book from his open hands and slam it shut, but instead, like a hook has been wrapped around your middle, you find yourself only drawn toward it. Instead of grabbing it, your hand goes straight through and keeps going, sucked into the void of the pages.

Weightless, stomach flipping terror sweeps through you.

“Anzelika!” Ziros yells, leaping toward you.

It’s your name, your true name, but not even that’s enough.

The pull of the void already has you.

It’s too late.

And this time, you don’t have the magical tether linking you to Ziros. You have no lifeline to support you.

A mortal like you won’t last long in a prison made for a demigod.

Thick darkness swallows you whole, dragging you under. There’s nothing but a deep heaviness drawing your life away.

You’ll be lucky to survive a few minutes.