Free Shadowstorm (Sorcery and Science Book 6) by Ella Summers Page A

I’m trying to keep your brother safe.”
    “I am.”
    “Then what’s the problem?”
    She sighed. “Well, maybe there are other people I care about.”
    “Fine. Tell me which ones you like, and I’ll round them up and lock them in here with you.”
    “Maybe you are one of those people.”
    Jason stared at her in silence for a good minute before replying, “That is not an option. I must eliminate any threats to those people important to me. That is not possible from inside this house.”
    “Precisely.”
    He sat down beside her. “That’s different.”
    Terra leaned back against the sofa’s armrest and looked at him. “No, it’s not. Everett is my friend, and he needs help to figure out this thing with the Revs. Whatever happened to them, it’s part of something bigger. There was an Elition sand slate in that box of Xenen artifacts. It doesn’t add up, Jason. I should help him.”
    “I thought you were helping him because of your so-called plan.”
    “I can do both.”
    “Everett is a grown man and can take care of himself. Long before he met you, he was already foolishly digging his nose in matters sure to kill him.”
    “As are you,” she pointed out.
    “You’re not coming with me either,” said Jason. “Not as long as the Selpes and Avans are experimenting on Elitions. The Avans infiltrated an Elition school, corrupting those children to serve their own vile purposes. And the Selpes have something called Bellflower.”
    “Project Bellflower?” she asked. “As in the folder we had to steal in Gemma last summer?”
    “Maybe. I need to look into it.”
    “If you’re really going to dig into all this, you’ll need someone to watch your back so you don’t end up in one of those labs yourself,” Terra said. “The Selpes and the Avans want to capture you every bit as much as they do me.”  
    “But they never will,” he replied.
    The sting of guilt rushed through her. The Selpes had captured Jason just four months ago, and it had been her fault.
    He squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll kill them first. Trust me. I’m good at that.”
    The image of Veronica Frostwater’s dead body, bleeding out all over the floor, flooded Terra’s mind, and she felt sick.
    Jason stretched his arms back and propped both elbows up against the arm of the sofa. “Does talking to me depress you so much?”
    “No.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to drive out the chill that had set into her body. “No, talking to you does not depress me. In fact, call me crazy, but I actually like to spend time with you.”
    “Good.”
    “Good?”
    “Precisely.”
    She laughed. She just couldn’t help it. “Jason, sometimes you’re so weird.” She poked his leg with her foot.
    His hands shot forward in a flash, catching both her feet without even displacing her fuzzy green socks. She tried to struggle free, but he held her in place. She tried to kick him, but he sat on her legs.
    “Jason Chanz, what in Aurelia’s name do you think you’re doing?”
    “Keeping you safe, Terra Cross,” he replied coolly, unmoved by her attempts to escape.
    “I can do that myself just fine. Let me get my sword, and I’ll show you.”
    He slid back just enough to free her legs, then he pulled them onto his lap. “You fight beautifully. Like a dance.”
    “Are you mocking me?”
    “No.” Jason slipped the socks off her feet and tossed them at her head.
    She ducked to evade the fluffy assault. “I don’t believe you.”
    “You should. I enjoy watching you move. It’s…distracting.”
    Not that it had ever helped her beat him. She sighed.
    “Terra, I need to figure out what the Selpes and Avans are up to.” As his eyes drifted up in thought, he began to rub her feet. “What are they planning?”
    Terra was pretty sure he wasn’t asking her to answer that, and she couldn’t have anyway. All she could think about was how Jason Chanz, the world’s most notorious assassin, was giving her a foot massage —and