Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I hugged her again, Valor and Lyric joining me. “That makes so much sense,” I said, releasing her. “You’re going to be the best mom.”
She smiled at me, and Ransom tucked her under his arm, whisking her off to the dancefloor. Lyric and Alek followed shortly, then Valor and Lachlan, until it was just me and Benedict standing by the drinks again. Everyone mingled in a sort of happy peace that made warmth dance over my skin. Vampires and witches, dancing and drinking and laughing. Who knew?
“Are you all right, mate?” Benedict asked, drawing me closer.
“More than all right,” I said, smiling up at him. “I just wish Avi was here,” I said and settled my head against his chest.
“Me too,” he said, holding me close. He pushed me away just enough for me to look up at him, a grin on his lips. “When she’s better, we’ll just simply have to do this all over again.”
I laughed. “You’d do that? Bind yourself to me all for the sake of another party?”
He cupped my face in his hands. “If that’s what will make you happy, then yes.”
I arched my brow. “I must have you wrapped totally around my finger,” I teased. “If you’ll choose to do it all over again.”
Benedict brushed the quickest of kisses over my lips. “I will always choose you,” he said, and I shuddered in his embrace. “Today, tomorrow, forever.”
I parted my lips, a stuttered sigh escaping. There was no way I could follow that up with the right words, so I simply concentrated all of my unflinching love and happiness and sent it curling around the bond.
Benedict’s eyes churned as he deeply inhaled, feeling the force of all of me soaring into him. And when he kissed me, I felt it all come back to me as we settled into our own perfect piece of forever.
Hawke
Every muscle in my body hurt, but that was nothing new. Pain had been my constant companion for as long as I could remember—which was a long fucking time—but the past few weeks had taught me all new depths to agony I was capable of feeling.
Hunger gnawed at my stomach with the same ferocity as the nausea that kept me from feeding. The last attempt had only resulted in a mouthful or two before my stomach turned traitor, and the worst part was that everyone was in my fucking business. Alek. Lachlan. Ransom. Benedict. Hell, even Ajax had been on my ass about feeding. What the hell did they want from me? It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried.
I balanced the tray containing Avianna’s repast in one hand and knocked on her door with the other. Apples, slices of perfectly done Kobe beef, fluffy mashed potatoes, tender young broccoli, and three different varieties of cupcake graced the plate. I’d picked out her favorite foods hoping to tempt her to eat a little more. There was even a bag of O-negative if she didn’t want to leave the room to feed.
Now if I could only get her to speak.
“Come in,” Olivia answered, and I twisted the handle, pushing open the heavy door that led to Avianna’s suite of rooms in the royal wing of the manor.
It didn’t matter how many times I’d been in this room, the scent of jasmine and lemongrass almost took me out at the knees. Maybe it was her royal blood, or maybe aristocrats like Avianna liked to bathe in obnoxious, expensive concoctions, but holy fuck did she smell good.
Gripping the tray with both hands, I kicked the door shut with my foot. The thing was made of steel—my boots weren’t about to damage it. The space might look frilly, but it could take a beating.
Kind of like the female who sat tucked into the corner of the couch, her black gown covering the legs she’d bent under her, her cerulean blue eyes meeting mine for a flash before she jerked her gaze away.
Avianna.
There were no words for what the sight of her did to me. I’d never been a big fan of emotions. They were messy, complicated, and got in the way. Numb and apathetic was my preferred state, but Avianna always managed to wring every emotion out of me with nothing but a glance.
A glance was all I was good for when it came to her.
Joy, that she’d somehow made it home after the twins, Saint and Samuel, had kidnapped her a month ago.
Rage that they still walked the earth, unpunished.
Wonder that beauty like hers existed in a world that had only shown me death.
Frustration that no matter how hard I tried, no matter how many times I’d apologized for not tracking her down that night, she still wouldn’t speak weeks after her return.
Envy for whatever man might actually be able to touch her one day.
Exasperation that she wouldn’t do what her brother, the king, asked in order to keep herself safe.