Total pages in book: 207
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
And then she felt it—-
Something inside of her starting to crack, like a monster about to come into the world and its sole purpose was to devour her.
Slowly, Soleil fell to the carpet.
She closed her eyes just as she heard the door behind her crash open.
Her sister’s screams—-
Her Papa bellowing for help—-
And then she felt him.
The marquis.
Ilie.
Outside, wolves began to howl, a cacophonous sound of despair.
The marquis had dragged her into his lap, shaking her. “What the fuck’s wrong with her? Tell me!”
“She’s cursed,” Fleur was crying.
Oh, Fleur. Always too impetuous for her own good.
“She needs a heartkeeper or she’ll die,” Aurora said in a rush, tears choking her voice.
And of course, Aurora, always thinking she needed to save the world just because she happened to be smarter than most.
“Open your eyes, damn you.”
He shook her, again and again, and still she wouldn’t have given in if she had not heard him speak again—-
“Damn you. Open them for me, please.” His voice broke.
Ilie’s chest exploded in painful relief as he saw Soleil’s eyes flutter open. The permanent wound over his heart blazed, his brothers in blood asking him what was wrong.
In the distance, the clock chimed.
Three minutes until midnight.
“Damn you,” he raged down at her. “Be my heartkeeper now.”
She smiled, and the sight broke his heart because it was like she was saying goodbye to him.
And now he remembered what Fleur kept telling him—-
Almost like God sending a damn message—-
A hopeless romantic.
Soleil was a foolishly hopeless romantic.
He whispered rawly, “You bloody fool.”
“Your w-words, m-milord.” She laughed then choked, and coldness wrapped around his heart when he saw that she had choked out blood without knowing it.
“Who the fuck cares?” he hissed. “Because it’s goddamn true. You’re a bloody fool, and you’re bloody selfish, to curse me like you’re cursed—-”
“N-no—-”
More blood.
“Yes,” he snarled. “You’ve cursed me.”
She was crying inside of her, but she was unable to make a sound because it was already as if the monster inside of her had taken control.
“I d-didn’t—-”
A tear slipped from the corner of Soleil’s eye, together with a drop of blood.
“Stop it,” Fleur screamed. “Stop making her—-”
The clock chimed.
Two minutes.
“If you go, then you’re cursing me to an eternity without happiness and love,” Ilie said harshly. “I’m half-demon, Soleil. Do you fucking know what that means? I’m a half-demon, and so the words that you want to hear will not come easy—-”
Tears and blood continued to mingle.
God. He could feel her life seeping out of her, and outside, the wolves in the kingdom went berserk at the pain Ilie was feeling.
I think...I could have made you say the words...if I had more time.
The words seemed to take everything from her, and Soleil’s eyes drifted closed.
No.
NO!
He shouted in his mind, Listen to me, goddamn you. You don’t need more time because you already have it.
And it was true.
Now, he knew it was true.
I would never admit it if this didn’t happen—-
And maybe that was why you had to be cursed—-
Why God, who fucking knows everything—-
He knew it was the only way I would know.
Ilie drew her up.
The clock chimed.
One minute.
He pulled her tightly to him. She felt lifeless, but he refused to believe she would leave him. Be my heartkeeper, ma lisse.
Take my heart.
Share your soul.
Spend eternity with me.
He rocked her in his arms, and he, too, bled tears of blood.
I love you, Soleil.
Be my heartkeeper.
Seconds away from midnight—-
The monster’s jaws snapped open.
Soleil choked out, Yes. I will be your heartkeeper.
The clock struck twelve.
And pain engulfed both of them.
Chapter Nine
Do you know you are causing a commotion in the entire world? But Adrijan sounded more amused than anything.
Commotion is a vast understatement, Mihail commented mildly. Scientists all over the globe are going crazy, trying to figure out the reason behind the howling phenomenon.
Is that what they have been calling it? Silviu chuckled. A howling phenomenon? And just because le Marquis di Lunare has deigned to fall in love—-
Fuck off. But even he was hard pressed to hold on to his anger as the demon duke and the rest of the Galere laughed. Even with his body still blazing with pain, struggling as it was to accept his heartkeeper’s soul, Ilie welcomed every damn bit of his discomfort.
After all, this pain was proof that Soleil was his.
More importantly, it was proof that she was alive.
Sensing the sober change in the marquis’ mood, Silviu asked, Are there any complications with the process? Little was known about heartkeeping, with most of the information either deliberately destroyed in previous wars or guarded zealously in the libraries of Sulphur.
Only that it hurts like the bloody hell.
Silence.
Ilie bristled. What?
You almost sound like you enjoy the pain, Adrijan marveled. As Mihail and Silviu politely coughed to cover their amusement, Adrijan continued, It is unlike you to be masochistic—-
Fuck you.
But it is true, my friend, Silviu interjected. You almost sound mellow, even though I know from experience that the pain of heartkeeping is unimaginable.