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)
“That’s mine.” Luna was transfixed, her eyes wild as she moved past Aengus; even if he held her down, it was inevitable.
The ring—just like our shared pain—was hers.
I held it out as the red glowed and pulsed like a living, breathing thing; the library moaned around us like it was tortured—and a small part of it was. How many times had the library experienced this, only to have heartache in the end?
I wasn’t the only thing cursed in this town.
No, the whole fucking town shared part of my burden.
But my house? My house wasn’t just my prison or a dark fortress—the house itself had lived numerous lives and experienced numerous deaths, and always hoped for the day it could finally be laid to rest—a final rest. Even though it had grown and changed over the years, the very heart of it, the spirit of it, was the same.
I waited until Luna was in front of me. I wasn’t sure if I did this every time, but it felt right like I needed to fall to my knees and hold it up, showing her that I was hers in this life and in the next, no matter how many times, even if it meant only seconds or minutes, we still had each other.
And always would.
Our blessing.
Or maybe our blessing within our curse.
“I’ll always love you,” I whispered as I held out the ring, and for one brief moment, we were in the forest again, she in her long, flowing ice-blue gown and me in my black robes, dancing under the stairs while the smaller fairies sang from the trees.
It had seemed as though the world rejoiced when I asked her to be mine.
How was I to know that weeks later, the world would mourn with me the lives lost?
Her smile was brilliant, her icy eyes filled with unshed tears. “I love you too.”
The minute her fingertips grazed the ruby, her eyes rolled in the back of her head.
I caught her as she fell forward; somehow, the ring was already on her finger.
Heart in my throat, I moved away from her so I wouldn’t siphon anything else and watched in jealousy as my brother lifted her into his arms and held her close.
I saw nothing but murder.
Felt nothing but rage.
And yet, his eyes were full of compassion, not lust.
She made a noise and lifted her hand to cup his face; a look of pure joy crossed her lips and then a frown. “You’re not Benjamin.”
“No,” he rasped. “I would be a sad replacement.”
“Aengus.” She tested the name. “It’s good to see you again.”
He held her tighter like he was afraid to let go; the room was tense with a choking sadness that descended like a poisonous fog.
She would know my shame now.
She would remember the first time and then only the end of every other time she saw her own blood on my hands.
I used to want to be the last thing she saw on this earth.
Now? I couldn’t imagine a worse wish for someone I loved.
He slowly set her to her feet.
I hung my head, afraid to even look at her, knowing what she did.
“Ben?” Her voice quivered. “Did you know that would happen? That this ring would unlock past lives?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “It always does, Luna, but you can’t force it. Once it starts glowing, you have no choice, and neither do I.”
“Does this mean we don’t have a lot of time?” she asked, looking between both of us.
I licked my lips, sharing a look with my brother before answering. “I don’t actually know. I only remember the blood on my hands and yelling that I couldn’t save you… but I imagine it’s not a great omen that it’s been less than a week, and the ring was already glowing.”
She nodded and looked over her shoulder. “I think I’m going to need some time to process what’s in my head right now… is it okay with you guys if I come back tomorrow?”
“It’s been a long day for all of us,” Aengus agreed. “I’m just going to go enspell Jasper again now that we know he’s been keeping things from us. With our luck, we can solve all of this before I have to start making it a daily thing.” He walked over to Luna and kissed her on the forehead. “Go easy on him.”
“Never.” She winked, earning a cackle from my brother, who wagged his eyebrows at me while walking past.
I scowled after him and looked anywhere but at Luna. “Let me walk you back to the inn?”
“What about the little girl?”
“I’ll keep her safe.” I flicked both wrists and waved my hand as a blue flame grew into a bubble surrounding her and then disappeared altogether. “Only you, Aengus, and I will know she’s here. For now, she will sleep.”