Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
“Because I wouldn’t trade a moment of what Anka and I had together. For any reason. It’s my own bloody fault for not protecting her, but I adore her. Love her. I never knew true happiness until I mated with her. Would I give up all that bliss because I’m hurting now? Never. You have the advantage, idiot. I didn’t find Anka until I was nearly three hundred. You’re not yet thirty. You and Sydney could have nearly a thousand years to enjoy each other.”
“Or she could fucking die tomorrow,” I shout. “She constantly puts herself in harm’s way. I do everything in my power to keep her safe, but she doesn’t want my protection. She’d rather ‘make a difference’ for magickind. How can I keep her safe from a monster like Mathias? Magically, I’m no match for him. Knowing my mate is in his clutches would kill me.”
“I’m living proof that it won’t.”
“It was close.”
“Stop being a bloody stupid git. You don’t want the pain or the mourning that goes with losing a mate, so you’re going to toss her aside?” He growls and lifts me by my shirt. “Love rarely comes more than once in a lifetime. If you piss her away, be prepared for centuries of emptiness. And without your longer lifespan, you’ll see her grow old and turn to dust so quickly your head will spin. Then you’ll stand alone, a young wizard on the outside, an old, withering man on the inside, wishing for just ten minutes with your one true love. And she will be gone. I’ll be standing there to say I told you so. Because ten minutes with your beloved is better than a lifetime without her.”
Chapter
Sixty
Sydney
Caden’s absence feels like a dagger twisting in my gut. I’m so frustrated that I want to hurl Bram’s priceless knick-knacks against the wall. But after my firsthand close-up of Lucan's devastation and the heartbreaking account of Westin’s death, I can’t really blame Caden.
I want to be furious. Mostly, I’m sad.
Maybe if I could end this war sooner, take down Mathias… But even with the evil wizard gone, Caden and I have a mountain of issues to tackle. They aren’t insurmountable. It will take time, of course. And it won’t be easy. But aren’t they worth climbing if we end up together?
Indeed.
The night stretches on as I pace my room, ideas swirling and colliding. After hours of filtering through everything, two remain. First, I must find that magical book and discern once and for all if the feelings Caden and I share stem purely from those pages. If so, I have to undo the spell, consequences be damned.
Second, I have to help magickind in a more meaningful way. Transcasting Mathias’s return is just the beginning. Bram hasn’t let me convey details about the attacks—yet. But if people knew the extent of Mathias’s atrocities, they might unite against him. We need an advantage.
One sits in the dungeon below.
I glance at the clock. Nearly three in the morning. No time like the present.
Down the dark stairs I travel, creeping into Bram’s office. In a secret compartment behind the sofa he showed all the females “just in case,” I find the Doomsday Diary. It seems mad to me that anyone would attack a manor so seemingly secure, but it’s Mathias. I can’t discount any possibility.
Under the dim desktop lamp, I frantically flip through the pages, searching for my previous entries. They’re gone, vanished as if they never existed. Bloody hell, this book makes no sense. Then again, it is magic.
Staring at the blank pages, my heart races. What do I write? How do I unravel this mess I’ve made? And more importantly, how do I protect the magical world I’ve grown to love—and the man I can’t bear to lose?
My hand trembles as I lift the pen. Whatever I write next could change everything. For better or worse, I’m about to find out.
Finally, I craft another message to my “Magical Diary,” wishing that I hate Caden and that he loathes me as well. We’ll give each other coal for Christmas, dead roses on Valentine’s Day, and snarl like pit bulls every day in between. Then I stare at the page, waiting for the diary’s inevitable response to sleep, dream, and anticipate because the fantasy I imagine will soon be my fate.
Instead, the book writes back something entirely different.
To wish for enmity, you are too late. This fantasy you imagine cannot be your fate.
Because true love has claimed your hearts, you are sworn together, never, ever to part.
True love? A smile bursts across my face. Hearing that my fantasies didn’t incite false feelings is a huge relief—and makes me all the more impatient to get on with task number two. The sooner I rally magickind around Bram, the sooner Caden and I can work through our differences. That means talking information out of Zain.