Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“I’ll hold you to that.” I drag my fingers down his face and see more in his eyes. More than affection. More than friendship.
It returns the hope I made myself let go of months ago.
“What is it?” He whispers the question.
“It’s really nice to have something good to hold on to in the middle of the madness we’re living right now.”
“Yeah.” He sighs and looks grim for a moment. “I’m sorry it’s happening this way.”
“I’m not.”
He raises an eyebrow.
“I’m not sorry, Giles. If it weren’t happening, just like this, we might not have found each other. I’d have my little crush, and you’d be doing your thing, and it might never have become anything at all.”
“I don’t believe that.” He shakes his head and moves to sit, bracing his elbows on his knees. I sit next to him, tucking the sheet under my arms. “We would have ended up here sooner or later. When it’s meant to be, it finds a way, Breena.”
“And do you believe that? That we’re meant to be?”
His eyes narrow on my face as he reaches out to frame it with his hands.
“I know, without a doubt, that you were made to be mine. That we were meant to live this life together. And that’s what I intend to do.”
He’s so sure that I can’t help but grin at him.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have been so embarrassed when Lorelei told you I’ve been in love with you all my life.”
“I hate that you were,” he says. “Embarrassed, that is. How do you feel now?”
I remember what we said about no games, so I square my shoulders and lift my chin. “I realize that what I felt for you before was absolutely a crush. I was enamored with and attracted to you. But now? Now that I’ve spent so much time with you and worked alongside you, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I’m completely in love with you, Giles Corey.”
There’s no great leap of joy with my confession. No passionate embrace or scream of excitement.
He simply takes my hand, kisses my knuckles, and then finds my gaze with his.
“I love you, too. And I will love you for as long as there’s life in me, Breena.”
“Keep that hood on.”
Jonas circles me, taking in the outfit Lucy helped me put together for my journey over the bridge that separates Salem from Hallows End.
“I might not need this,” I remind everyone. “Jonas’s clothes change with the times when he comes and goes out of the village.”
“Mine did, too,” Lucy says with a nod. “But we don’t want to chance it. If for some reason your clothes don’t change and someone sees you, we don’t want you freaking them out with your modern clothing.”
“I wish the invisibility spell was a real thing,” I mutter. “Or that I could shift like Xander and just fly through as a bird.”
“We have to go if you want to see the village before nightfall,” Jonas says.
“Be careful,” Giles tells me before I can walk away. He frames my face and kisses me hard. “Be very careful.”
“We will.” I smile reassuringly, not sure who I’m trying to convince, him or me.
“Come.” Jonas holds out his hand for mine, and I take it. I feel the energy shift as soon as we reach the bridge.
“Wow, Jonas.”
“I know.”
We walk over, and halfway there, it’s like moving through a force field. A bright light. Suddenly, we’re over the bridge, and I’m staring at a little town I’ve never seen before.
“Come. Over to the tree line.” Jonas leads me into a little copse. “Hide here for a moment while I do a quick walk-through to ensure it’s safe.”
I nod and do as I’m told, clinging to a trunk.
I know what houses from the sixteen hundreds looked like from history lessons, but seeing them in real life is amazing.
They’re one-room, dark gray buildings. Very small, with chimneys that climb one wall. They even have thatched roofs.
I see livestock in fenced yards. Wagons and horses.
But I don’t see any people. They must all be inside for dinner, which makes sense since it’s late in the day.
Finally, Jonas comes hurrying back and gestures for me to follow him.
“I don’t have to go far,” I tell him. “I already have some great ideas just from this.”
“Good.” He swallows hard, and I can tell this is incredibly stressful for him. “Let’s hurry. My house is at the edge of town. We can stop by there quickly.”
“Oh, I’d love to see your home.”
Jonas is a tall man, so I have to hurry to keep up with his long strides. I’m taking it all in, down to the color of the trees, grass, and dirt roads. When he pulls me into his house, I let out a long breath.
“This is incredible.” I wander to his fireplace and am not surprised at all when it comes to life without the help of matches. Jonas is gifted with fire. “This cauldron is beautiful.” I run a finger over the pot hanging above the flames.