Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
My spell starts to give way and Lucas slowly moves. Osiris holds his hand out and Lucas goes still again.
“That portal was created for the vampire and the vampire alone. Anyone else would have burned.”
“Sorry?” I offer and then hold up a hand, summoning flames of the blue hellfire. “I am the mother of dragons. I don’t burn.”
“Dragons?” Osiris echoes.
“You need to get a TV and cable down here so you can appreciate my pop culture references.”
“I’ll get right on that.” His eyes narrow and he steps forward, holding out his own hand, summoning a large ball of hellfire. “How?”
“I don’t know,” I tell him. “I had been summoning hellfire from, uh, the other Hell, but when I sealed the Gates, I didn’t think I’d be able to summon the fire anymore. And then blue flames kinda appeared.”
The horse shifts back into its spirit form, gathering into a dark ball. All four Horsemen are in individual cells, but instead of physical walls and doors, they are contained by magic. The spirit starts to vibrate and then explodes, hitting the sides of the invisible cell, causing the warding to flicker. Almost immediately, it does it again.
“Do you understand now why the horses need a rider?” Osiris asks, still eyeing me curiously.
“Yes, but why does it have to be him?” I turn to Lucas, heart hurting all over again. I’m more than ready to get back on the horse, holding it together so Lucas can go home and have more time with our daughter. “Let me try again,” I practically beg. “We can take turns. It’s better than nothing.”
“You would willingly stay so he could return to earth?”
“Yes. He could have a day and then I’d have a day, and we will spend what little time we have between them together.”
“Perhaps,” Osiris says slowly, still looking at me as if I’m the last piece to the puzzle, yet I don’t quite fit. “One would have to return. Always.”
“I’ll do it.” Lucas and I got less than twenty-four hours together, but I’ll take that over anything, and it hurts just thinking about it. Is this what we’re damned to become? One of us freed while the other stays in literal Hell? Seeing each other for only a fleeting moment before getting ripped apart again. How many times can my heart break before it’s shattered beyond repair?
“The spirit rejected you,” Osiris states.
“He just needs to get to know me. I’ve been told my personality can come off a little abrasive when we first meet.”
“If you were able to control the spirit, I would allow your arrangement.”
“I can. I will. Just…just give me one more chance.”
“You are not the right fit.”
“I can be,” I stammer, desperate not to lose Lucas, again. “Please, just please let me try—” I cut off, remembering the amulet I repaired. My father coached me through it, and we had hoped to use it to contain the Horsemen long enough to transport them. I started experiencing a lot of pain after using my angel powers to magically surge the thing back together. My father had to leave, and Julian stayed to help put the nursery together.
And I don’t remember who took the amulet.
“There’s this…this vessel. It was made by and then destroyed by archangels. I was able to fix it and we had hoped to contain at least one of the Horsemen in it. We knew it wouldn’t hold forever, but it would hold for a while,” I offer, wanting to scream in frustration. “What if I can get it and we’re able to trap the dark energy in it. Lucas can stay with me, technically as a Horseman, and will be able to be in the daylight, and you have one less evil being to deal with.”
Osiris considers, tipping his head slightly as he looks me up and down. “Bring me the vessel and we can see if it can be done.”
“What?” I ask, needing to hear him say it again.
“We can see if it’s possible to trap the dark energy,” he explains again.
My lips part and I suck back a sob. “Really?”
“Really. I told you, I do not wish to utilize the Horsemen but ultimately seek to destroy them. Weapons like this tend to fall into the hands of men at some point and I do not want to see the world destroyed.”
“I completely agree. And I’ll help destroy them. Once Lucas isn’t a Horseman anymore, that is.” My lips part again but I’m at a loss for words. “I can’t believe you’ll help. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“This is no easy undertaking, and I would like something in return.”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Join me in matrimony.”
Did he just say what I think he said? No, no way. But he did, didn’t he? “I’m sorry. I must have misheard you because I thought you just said you wanted me to marry you.”