Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats 2)

The young man merely shrugged, and placed his hands on Cam’s forehead. Marco didn’t like the sight of another man’s hands on Cam, but if Eduardo could help her, he’d do whatever it took.

He squeezed Cam’s hand and waited. But Eduardo didn’t do anything. “Why aren’t you healing her? The longer we wait, the greater the chance she could die.”

Eduardo met his gaze, the other’s man face calm beyond his years. “This isn’t an easy task, and I had to prepare myself. I’m ready, but I need you to remove your ice staples and refrain from touching this woman while I do my magic.”

He should just do as he said, but Marco didn’t know this man, and sure as hell didn’t trust him. “I’ve never heard of a first-born needing others to sever contact before they healed someone. What are you trying to pull?”

“You’re here to find a Talent, aren’t you?”

“What does that—”

“Well, I’m the Water Talent, and I can both heal and destroy, so let me do my job.”

Diego grabbed Marco’s shoulders. “Let him do his work, my friend. Eduardo is the best healer I’ve ever seen, and the longer you argue, the greater the chance your woman will die.”

Eduardo added, “Please, trust me.”

For some reason he couldn’t explain, Marco felt compelled to trust this man. The only other time he’d felt that way had been with the leader of DEFEND, Neena Chatterjee.

Since there was so much he didn’t know about the Talents, it was possible that this man shared her ability to induce trust.

He looked down at Cam’s face and noticed she was paler than before. Something had to be wrong internally, and with the nearest healer who knew how far away, this man was the best chance Marco had to holding Cam in his arms again, alive.

Please let this work. He kissed Cam’s hand, released it, and scooted back a few feet.

Eduardo nodded, and closed his eyes.

At first, nothing happened. Then water started flowing over Eduardo and onto Cam, until he’d covered her from head to foot. Marco was tempted to pull Cam out, but before he could act, the water froze, encasing Cam in an ice coffin.

Despite knowing all of the legends, despite his years of special training, Marco’s first reaction was to get to Cam. But because he was an Elemental Water Master, he knew that elemental ice didn’t have to be cold. Cam shouldn’t freeze to death.

Still, his heart tightened as he stared at Cam’s distorted form through the ice. He may not have known her for long, but he couldn’t imagine anyone else he’d rather have at his side.

Cam was caring and kind, to a degree most people could never hope to match. First, she’d comforted the widow, Maria Vega, in front of a possible enemy, and then she’d checked out the abandoned car just to make sure it wouldn’t harm someone in the future. Add these to her dedication to her teammates and her passion, and Cam became the only woman he would ever want.

He couldn’t imagine a future without Camilla Melini.

Then it hit him—because he loved her.

Marco barely had time to digest his newfound feelings before the ice surrounding Cam started to crack. He glanced to Eduardo, who was now glowing a faint blue and swaying. Just as he started to slump over, the ice covering Cam shattered.

Chapter Forty-One

Millie Ward looked across Victoria Harbour and couldn’t help but stare at the buildings alight against the night sky. The mosaic of glass, steel, and stone of the massive skyscrapers had its own kind of beauty. She could understand why so many millions of people would visit each year despite Hong Kong being one of the most expensive cities in the world.

But Millie wasn’t here to stare at pretty buildings. She singled out the tallest one, the ICC building, and studied it. That was the one they needed to break into to rescue Petra’s friend.

She glanced at Petra, who was standing at her side. “Right. Since you’ve picked a bloody noticeable building to break into, I hope your contact comes through.”

Petra never took her gaze from the structure. “If she doesn’t, then we’ll just have to try something on our own.”

Millie usually relished a challenge, but this assignment had too many unknown variables for her liking. “I just hope that this man friend of yours is worth it.”

Petra remained silent, and Millie went back to studying the buildings across the water. She’d learned on their travels here that Petra didn’t like talking about Dr. William Evans. Apparently, everything Millie needed to know could be found in the assignment file.

But to her surprise, Petra finally answered her. “I hope so, too.”

Before Millie could reply, Petra’s phone rang and she answered it in a language that sounded like German. Since Millie didn’t know more than a handful of phrases in that language, she watched Petra’s face as she talked.