Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
She was amazing. No condemnation at all. He searched her mind to see if any was hidden from him, but there was nothing but compassion and admiration. He shook his head as he placed his fingers on her temples and briefly chanted a plea to the universal gods to remove her headache. He wasn’t a master healer, but he could get the smaller jobs done.
Xaviero had a son who not only watched him and recorded every dark spell but also did the same with his uncle Xavier. When I say recorded, he had a good memory, and he would write the spell in his book when he could. Unfortunately, as you know, sometimes you forget a small important detail unless you have a photographic memory. Even that can be unreliable when under stress.
Great. Now there’s four of them. I presume he’s just as bad as his father and uncles.
Afanasiv nodded slowly, keeping his gaze fixed on their prey. Olga was busy ensuring there wasn’t a drop of blood on her anywhere to be seen.
Yes, Barnabas is a cruel man and yet appears to be civilized and young. He often chooses to play the part of a college professor. Once he invades the woman’s life, she is lost unless she seeks help and someone powerful enough can drive him away.
Could he be behind this? Could he have tricked my aunt?
Anything is possible, my lady. He kept his voice as gentle as possible.
You said “triplets.” That means they have another brother, but you didn’t mention him. Is he dead, as well?
Xayvion. As far as I am aware, he still lives. He was with his brother Xaviero when the trap was set once your people were attacked. He begged his brother to flee with him, but Xaviero refused. Xayvion is able to continue with the original plan if he wishes to do so, which is to wipe out your species and mine, and conquer the human race so the mages rule.
I am grateful Xaviero didn’t even come close to wiping out our species. Fortunately, we have council members who worked it out with your prince.
Abruptly, he changed the subject. Did your aunt Olga die? It is possible her form is being used as a different kind of puppet, one we have not seen before.
No, she is alive, or at least she was. She plans all the balls and events the royal family holds. We would never think of them, and the family really needs to entertain, not just sneak around fighting off enemies no one ever sees or knows about. My parents and then Aunt Olga always said it was important that we made certain to create good times for our people and share those good times with them.
Did she marry? Was she in love with someone who possibly died, and she couldn’t stand the thought of waiting for him?
No. She never married. She took lovers, especially during the . . . um . . . heat cycle. But she never said if she fell for a man. Or a woman, for that matter. Vasilisa rubbed her face against his shoulder, unaware she looked to him for comfort. This is going to really hurt my brothers. They loved her so much.
You loved her so much, sívamet, but this is not the woman you loved. She is a replica of her, yes, but that is only the outside shell you see. Inside, she is not your beloved aunt. Think of her as an illusion.
Vasilisa lifted her head and nodded. One hand came up to his jaw, her fingers feathering lightly along the hard edge. You managed to say the right thing. Thank you.
I have no doubt that you would have figured that out sooner or later, but I’ll take credit, as I’m certain I will make many mistakes.
Olga abruptly turned away from the demon she had killed and walked briskly through the snow toward a little-used path through the trees. Brush parted for her and closed behind her, cutting off sight should any try to follow her. Vasilisa and Afanasiv took to the air, careful not to display too much energy or allow it to leak out around them.
Lycans were very sensitive to energy, particularly to Carpathians’ low-key energy. They were one of the few creatures that could sense the presence of a Carpathian hunter in the vicinity. Vasilisa was used to hiding her presence from her fellow Lycans. The change in her had taken place slowly. She had time to practice the things she needed to before she was fully Sange rau, which was what Lycans called the mixed blood of Carpathians and Lycans. They were rogues, killers. They destroyed entire villages in a single night, leaving no one alive. It took hunters banding together and suffering tremendous losses to bring a single Sange rau down. That was not the same thing as what Carpathians thought mixed bloods were. To them, they were guardians of all, unless they had already turned vampire, and then they were referred to as the Sange rau.