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)
“They’re crap!”
I’m tired of Zain’s coy answers. “Are they? I understand the opposition telling lies and whatnot, but if you’re anything to go by… What you did to my friend Aquarius was unforgivable. And you threatened to kill me, too!”
“Worthless pawns, both of you,” he spits. “Just like your wizard lover.”
Zain’s remark is meant to get under my skin. I refuse to show that it does. “Why should anyone get behind your ‘cause’ if you simply intend to kill people?”
“Mathias is brave enough to challenge the establishment. He should be hailed as a hero.” Zain lunges at the bars.
They rattle and clink. Dirt and grit fall from the ceiling. Is the plaster disintegrating?
I glance up to where the bars join the ceiling. They’re working free.
Biting back a gasp, I wonder… Has Zain noticed, too?
Chapter
Sixty-One
Quickly, I realize yes. Zain has noticed.
He might not be able to do magic, but he can use his brute strength to escape. Fear laces my veins as I turn to run.
Two steps later, the bars rattle. Then they thud to the ground. I keep moving, but Zain grabs a fistful of my hair and whirls me around.
“The delicious energy from your determination and anger was just what I needed.”
He wears a sick, almost sexual smile that turns my stomach. I look away, my mind racing. What the hell have I done? How can I alert Bram and the others?
“Look at me,” Zain snarls, yanking my hair until I have no choice but to meet his gaze. His eyes gleam with malice in the dim light. “Now, be a good girl and fetch the Doomsday Diary.”
“Why?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“For Mathias, of course.” His lips curl into a cruel smile.
“But he’ll take it and kill me.” The words tumble out before I can stop them.
Zain pulls me close, his breath hot on my cheek as he strokes it with mock tenderness. “Think of yourself as an important sacrifice for a very worthy cause. You’ll make the news.”
Ice floods my veins, fear clawing at my insides. I have to fight, but how?
“Don't even think about trying anything,” he hisses, his grip tightening painfully. “Or I’ll make what I did to Aquarius seem like a mild sunburn.”
He’s too weak for that. I refuse to be bullied. “Do it. I won’t give up the book.”
His eyes narrow dangerously. “Then I’ll kill everyone you work with at that silly human tabloid. Do you want all those deaths on your conscience?”
My heart plummets. With that threat, Zain has me cornered, and he knows it. Bastard!
As he shoves me up the stairs toward Bram’s office, my mind races. But I can’t think of an escape. Holly and the others are all human, defenseless against the horrors Zain could unleash.
With shaking hands, I set the video camera on Bram’s desk, then retrieve the hidden book once more. My fingers tremble as I hold it, the weight of my failure crushing me. Tears sting my eyes as I hand it over, silently praying for a miracle I know won’t come.
Zain’s triumphant leer is the stuff of nightmares. As his fingers close around the Doomsday Diary, I realize with sickening clarity that I might have just doomed us all.
Caden
I jolt awake, heart pounding, sweat-soaked sheets tangled around me. Panting, I sit up in bed and scan the dark bedroom.
Something is wrong.
I leap out of bed, yanking on clothes as I race to Lucan’s room. Empty. Panic claws at my throat as I sprint to the front of the house. Has he gone to challenge Shock? Or worse?
Relief floods me as I spot Lucan sleeping fitfully on the sofa, but the dread remains.
“What is it?” my brother asks, bleary-eyed.
“I can’t explain…this foreboding. It woke me.”
Lucan’s eyes sharpen. “Have you opened your magical senses?”
“My what? No.”
“Close your eyes. Find the spark at your core.”
I try, but panic overwhelms me. “It’s bloody everywhere.”
“Look deeper,” Lucan urges.
Suddenly, I locate it—a sleeping giant awakening, expanding with every heartbeat. Christ, it’s going to overtake me. I fight to contain it.
“No!” Lucan grabs my shoulders. “Don’t fight. Let it take you.”
“It’s too much!”
“Excellent.” Lucan jumps to his feet. “Size matters, magically speaking.”
“I don't want it! I want to be normal.”
“You’re not," Lucan snaps. “This foreboding often involves a mate. If you want to know about Sydney, embrace it.”
Sydney in trouble? Yes, I sense her fear and panic. Her regret. Her cry for help. It pierces my resistance.
For her, I’ll scale skyscrapers and move mountains.
I’ll even embrace magic.
Most of the night I’ve pondered Lucan’s admonishments about embracing my mate. My heart wants to so damn bad. Logic urges me to resist.
But Sydney is in danger. That changes everything.
I look inward again, tentatively reaching for that spark. It explodes through me, burning down my arms, seizing my mind. I stretch outward, searching for her.