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[Closing Doors]

SEBASTIAN

"What you're telling me is your first mate—the one who mysteriously died—told you I was in danger?" Sierra asked. She quirked an inquisitive brow, and then she began to laugh. "Sebastian, you understand what death means, right?"

"Of course, I know what death means. It sounds ridiculous—believe me, I know—but it's the truth. When she told me, I didn't understand what she meant right away when she said to find her. Yeah, find who? Even Rory didn't understand until he put two and two together when he saw Sasha for himself. He, too, was skeptical. Hell, even my own mother cussed me for soiling Sasha's name."

"And within reason! If my mother told me she saw my dead father and he gave her a message, I would say she was insane too," Sierra remarked.

"Anyway, that was what sent me on the path to find you. When I left the bar, I was about to head back home and conjure up a lie to tell my mother why I returned without my second mate."

"Okay. Then what changed you