“You are not listening!”

“Have you,” A stab of anger shivered through his body. He focused all his attention on Izel . “You seem angry, Izel,” he began pleasantly. “Perhaps you would like to divest some rage.”

A scowl squished her features, and her lips firmed into a tight line.

Xochiti tilted his head to the side and squinted. “Is it grief for your brother?”

She stepped back.

Intrigued, Xochiti followed. “No. This is something very different.”

“Enough!” A translucent wave of pink shimmered in the air.

Chuckling, Xochiti held up a hand and the thin barrier dissolved in a flash of fire. “Leave me, Izel. I have work to do.” A heartbeat later he was once again alone in the chamber. Anger simmered in his gut. He frowned trying to pinpoint where or who it was. He closed his eyes tasting the anger. His frown deepened.

Why would she be angry?

Voluptuous curves and a sensual smile filled his mind. In a thought he stood in the back of a lecture hall. A smooth brown-skinned woman stood in front of a wooden lectern. Her long curly hair was swept into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and she wore a simple navy dress with cap sleeves and a soft skirt that just brushed her knees.

“I suggest you pay attention and make notes. The quiz will cover from the time Cortez and his party landed until the demise of Montezuma. The Aztecs were a very progressive culture. Yes, some of them were very bloodthirsty, hoping by sacrificing humans and the like that it would instill fear into their enemies.” She shifted and her gaze seemed to find him. “Backtracking a bit here. Know the creation myths. Especially the ones regarding Quetzalcoatl. I’m very interested in his voyage into the Underworld to retrieve the sacred bones. and his fight to get out.”

Xochiti held his breath. There was no way she could see him, but her body language seemed to say she was aware of him.

She, Selma, a woman he’d long since… He paused, trying to think of the right word and the only one springing to mind was discarded. He had discarded her as easily as a scrap of metal.

No, that wasn’t right either. Walking away from her had never been easy. She’d always been in the back of his mind and the shadows of his heart. And now the anger simmering in his gut was coming from her.

Why?