Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“I might as well be lounging in a five-star hotel,” I quipped before my voice sobered. “You did what I asked? Does that mean you checked in on Peter and my family?”
“Yes, and I have a few things to report, but first, do you have anything for me?”
I scratched the back of my head. “Um, yeah. Kind of.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What does ‘kind of’ mean?”
“Can you tell me your news first? I think that will be better,” I said, chewing my lip. I was so tense I broke the skin, the familiar, coppery taste of blood on my tongue.
She stared at me in suspicion. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I just think it will be preferable if you speak first.”
Belinda folded her arms, eyes still narrowed. “Okay, well, your parents are both on the move. From what I could tell, they’re working with the Guard to capture the guy who spiked your drink, but his whereabouts keep changing.”
My anxiety increased at that news, mainly because if the person was who Vasilios said he was, then he was dangerous and unpredictable. Who knew what kind of powers a full-blooded demon from Oreylia possessed, especially one who could transform into a wraith at will? I wasn’t overly worried, though, my parents were a force to be reckoned with, and with the Guard behind them, they had numbers on their side. Red Armand seemed to be working alone. At most, he had the half-witch Vasilios mentioned with him.
“What about Rebecca?” I asked to distract myself from how my heart clenched in anticipation of hearing about Peter. I missed him every day. Every minute spent away from him felt like a decade.
“Your sister seems fine. It appears she pushed your parents to tell her the real reason you were sent to prison. She knew something fishy was going on. She also told Grace, so now they know you’re undercover.”
A small smile tugged at my lips. I should’ve known Rebecca wouldn’t simply accept that I was being sent away. At least she and Grace weren’t driving themselves mad worrying about me.
“Actually,” Belinda went on, “Rebecca and Grace were hanging out when I visited them, and I caught some interesting vibes.”
“Interesting how?”
“Interesting, considering they’re cousins,” Belinda elaborated.
I realised what she was getting at. Grace had a crush on Rebecca, and Rebecca, well, I still had no clue how she felt. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to ask her how her date went, since the very next day my entire life was thrown into chaos.
“They aren’t blood related. Both of them were adopted,” I told her.
“Oh. Well, that makes it slightly less weird. Is there something going on there? Seriously, I never would’ve guessed.”
“That’s none of your business,” I said, folding my arms.
“Okay, no need to snap at me. You were the one who asked me to spy on them.”
“I didn’t ask you to spy. I asked you to check on their welfare.” I paused, inhaling a deep breath for courage. “And what about Peter?”
“Ah. Right. Peter,” Belinda said, glancing away and feigning interest in the tiny widow with the minuscule view of the sea.
“You did check on Peter, right?” I asked. Her demeanour had me worried.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“Of course, I do. He’s my boyfriend.”
“All right, well, I did manage to visit him, and it looks like his family has fallen on hard times. His dad lost a ton of money gambling and pulled a disappearing act, after which his mother fell into a depression and took to her bed. Peter’s been juggling school and taking care of his kid brothers.”
I stood, pain coagulating in my chest. I always worried his father would fuck up in some monumental way, but I’d hoped I’d be there to support Peter when it happened. My stomach hurt just thinking about him caring for his brothers all alone. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through, especially since I knew it had been tough for him to accept me going on the undercover mission.
“I have to leave,” I said, my mind racing as I tried to figure out how to get out of the prison and back home as soon as possible.
“Hey, settle down. You still have work to do here.”
“Yes, but Peter needs me. I can’t believe I left him. It was so completely selfish.”
“No, it wasn’t. I don’t know anyone who would’ve willingly entered this hellhole when they easily could’ve refused and stayed home. You made a sacrifice coming here, and besides, Peter seems like he’s handling things just fine. Angela Petrovsky has been helping him care for his brothers.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Angela?”
Belinda nodded. “She was at the house with him when I visited. It looked like she was cooking for his brothers and doing other jobs around the place. She’s a good friend of yours, right?”