Blind Warrior (The Weavers Circle #3) - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,46

what she meant by that, so he nodded.

The air had gotten chillier, and he pulled the lapels of his jacket closer together and glanced at Grey to make sure he was comfortable. The Weaver lolled in his seat, not seeming to notice the cool air, his head cocked to the side as he listened to his friends. The gray at his temples gave him such a distinguished look, and Cort wondered if it was genetics that had caused him to gray early. He wanted to run his fingers over those gray stands. They suited him, made him look a little older than his twenty-eight years. But part of that was just the way he carried himself, with an innate confidence Cort found highly addictive. He found everything about Grey appealing.

Wanted to see the man naked and stretched out on a bed.

He glanced at Jo to find her watching him, her eyes still sparkling with some inner mischief. He lifted an eyebrow, and she grinned at him as if she’d read his mind.

Oh shit, could she read his mind?

If Grey had gotten his powers from her, it was definitely possible. He quickly turned his attention to Calder, who was now forming small balls of water over the pool. They looked like bubbles. Bubbles, that was a good thing to think about. Safe. He glanced at Jo again to find her watching him, and he felt heat creeping up his neck again.

He got the feeling he hadn’t fooled her at all.

Still, he watched the others and began to feel like he’d left reality. It was all overwhelming, this knowledge of magic and creatures trying to kill them. He’d always been a calm person, secure in the world as he knew it. And here he was learning that nothing he’d believed was true, that magic existed, that there were goddesses who existed—that a man could make water tentacles, and another could shift into animal forms.

He sat perfectly still even as panic filled him. It washed through him like a dark wave, and he tried to hide the feeling from Jo even as he knew she was too shrewd to miss it. Her next words proved it. “Grey, I think Cort has had enough of our little magic show tonight.”

“You tired, Cort?” Grey asked, sitting forward. “Why don’t you take me back to my apartment? I’m exhausted.”

“I thought we talked about you getting around on your own,” Cort teased, though he had a hard lump of fear in his throat.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay, then.” Cort stood and tried to smile at Jo, knowing it was tight and probably showed all the crazy thoughts tearing through him. “I enjoyed meeting you very much.”

“Such a polite man. Yes, you’ll do. You’ll do wonderfully.”

Again, he had no idea what she meant, but he was getting used to not understanding what anyone was saying. He took Grey’s arm and led him toward the stairs in the garage. Grey’s muscles were firm under his hand, and he tightened his fingers, finding a grounding he needed desperately.

Grey was silent all the way into the apartment. He shut the door, shed his jacket, and turned to face Cort while a few steps away. “I can practically feel you vibrating with some kind of heavy emotion. What is it?”

Cort stared at him, trying to form what he was feeling into words. All his emotions were backed up as if they were trapped by a dam that would break at any second. He opened his mouth, then closed it, sure everything would just come spilling out in a flood. He closed his eyes, opened them, and reached out to flip on the light in the dim apartment.

“Cort?” Grey walked to him and put his hands on his shoulders. “Talk to me.”

The pressure in his chest made it hard to breathe. “It’s all too much! The magic and the pestilents. It just hit me that everything I’ve ever known has been turned upside down. My whole reality has been…shattered.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in. Just breathe for a second. Can you do that?”

Cort took in a deep breath, but that dam just seemed rickety and ready to burst. He began to pant as colors swirled before his eyes.

“Shit, are you having a panic attack?” Grey tightened his fingers on his shoulders. “Look at me and try to breathe.”

“I am fucking breathing. Hard. I can’t believe this. Those…things are really trying to kill you, possibly kill me now. They have wizards