Sparkle? He stopped himself from snorting. The woman with the great ass and warm brown hair—that was all he could see of Cinn from this angle—sounded almost scared. Not that it mattered to him. All he wanted from her were a few more steps back.

“Because I want you to be more than you think you can be. And yes, I speak in clichés, because they tend to be true. I want you to feel safe to talk about your work, knowing that everyone around you understands the woo-woo aspects of what you do and respects you for it.”

“Woo-woo aspects?” Cinn sounded outraged.

Damn, she didn’t step back this time. He guessed Sparkle’s comment had cemented her to the floor.

Sparkle shrugged. “Admit it: your family doesn’t appreciate you. I bet you scare the crap out of them with some of your experiments. Don’t you think I know why you accepted a job in Texas? I’ve been around for thousands of years, sister. Not much gets by me.”

Thousands of years? Dacian upgraded the possibility that this Sparkle might turn into a pain in the ass. Someone who’d survived that long must have serious powers.

“Thousands of years?”

Shock drove Cinn back those two final steps he needed. Dacian concentrated his power on the chains attached to the cuffs around his wrists and then yanked. The chains were strong, but there was always a weak link. In all things. And not much could hold him when he focused his energy. Both chains broke. And before either woman could react, he’d bent down and snapped the chains holding his legs.

Between the moment he freed himself and the one in which he prepared to spring at Cinn, two things happened. Cinn turned to stare at him. He had an instant impression of warm brown hair shaded with blonde and big hazel eyes wide with horror. He couldn’t see her mouth, because she’d clapped a hand over it, probably to hold back a scream of terror. She had it right. He was a thing to be feared. And if there was a flash of bitterness in the thought, well, it didn’t matter. Only his freedom mattered.

And Sparkle spoke. “Uh, Mede, I think now would be a good time.” She sounded mildly concerned.

Distracted from his attack for a second, he glanced at Sparkle and then followed her gaze to a shadowed corner of the dungeon where a big black-and-white cat padded into view. It had the same damn eyes as Sparkle, a weird amber color. And that was all he had time to observe before he heard the voice in his head.