Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Had I known then that my decisions would cost this—would I have still done what I had?
Would I still have taken her?
Rejected the Matchmaker?
Would I have still run, abandoning everything for love?
My heart said yes.
My head said nothing was worse than this prison.
A knock sounded on my door.
“Yes,” I rasped.
Jasper poked his head around the door and stared at my wrists with a sour expression. “It seems to be happening faster this time.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I grumbled. I had no way to hide them from him anyway. “Since I never remember anything past this part.”
“That’s what I’m for.” He shrugged.
“And yet every time you say that nothing changes, nothing’s different. I can’t believe that it’s always the same, always ending with death and blood.”
He sighed and stepped into the room. “The beginning and the end are all that matters, Benjamin. The middle may change depending on your choices, but you’ve made every choice there is to make, and the ending still drips in blood, so why does it matter that you kiss her under a tree first? Or that you meet her at a concert? Or that you fuck in the forest? One day this will end.”
I glared. “What makes you so confident after centuries?”
“It must,” he said simply. “Besides, you should be punished, and you know it. You pissed off the gods.”
“They piss me off on a daily basis. We should be even by now.”
“Mind your tongue,” he whispered, then gave me his hand to help me to my feet.
I took it and instantly felt better, greedily taking some of his energy because I would need it to get through the day—I would need it to fight any sort of attraction I had for her.
Or her death would be on my hands.
Again.
Fuck my life.
Chapter Ten
Jasper
He was asking too many questions again.
Always with the questions.
Jasper paced back and forth in the basement as he grabbed the ancient text and opened it to the spell.
He cut along his palm and let three drops of blood spill over the water in the glass jar.
The smell of the sea filled the air instantly, making him want to gag, not because of the smell but because of what it represented: Death itself. “I was sleeping.”
“He’s fully awake.”
“Of course he is. I can smell his arousal for her from miles away. It is happening faster.”
“Yes. His wrists are already bound with those pretty little braid tattoos.”
“He will fight it.”
“He always does.” Jasper sighed and stared into the water. A flicker of red hair appeared in the dark depths of the glass as he looked into the sea itself. “The problem is that he gets smarter every time, closer every damn time.”
She chuckled. “That’s your problem. We all have our jobs, Jasper. Your life is tied to mine. Ergo, make it work, and I’ll make it worth your while.”
Jasper nearly hit the glass jar in all his excitement. “You mean you’ll heal her? Finally?”
“I’ve kept her alive this long, haven’t I?”
“Yes, but—”
“Am I not a benevolent witch?”
She was such a bitch, but he needed her. “Yes, my lady.”
“Everyone wins the more time she spends with him—is she returning to the house?”
“Today, I believe.”
“Good. Make sure that all the windows are closed, no fresh air, and turn up the heat—the literal heat, you idiot. Her sweat will pump out enough pheromones to drive him mad with lust; they’ll be in bed together by tonight.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’m a beautiful woman, that’s how, and I know how sensual he is—he’ll never last.”
Jasper let out the breath he’d been holding in. “And this time, you’ll—”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get there. We still have a few weeks ahead of us that will be tedious, but yes, you’ve served well.”
“Thank you.”
“This should be fun. Let the bloodshed begin.” She laughed again. She loved toying with people. She got off on watching others suffer, especially the one man she could never have, though Jasper had stopped reminding her since the last time he said something about her jealousy, she’d tried to impale him with an anchor.
The drops of blood disappeared completely from the water as if they were never there to begin with. And Jasper set about making sure they were ready for their guest. After all, it would be rude to be inhospitable to Luna with all she’d been through.
He grinned the entire trek back up the stairs.
Chapter Eleven
Luna
It was official—small-town coffee shops were better than any Starbucks back in the city. I had proof in my right hand. After leaving the inn at the crack of dawn, I decided to stop off at The Bean and grab a latte and muffin, both of which had me feeling about a million times better than I’d felt the day before.
I still couldn’t figure out where all the exhaustion came from other than the insane thought that maybe I’d been more awake in my dream than I realized, meaning I hadn’t actually gone into REM?