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)
I have to see the man, know what spooked Caden. Trying to fight something I can’t see is impossible.
“When Caden left, I told him I would be by once they were both settled in at Lucan’s house. I think it’s time you see the dangerous side of magic,” Sabelle says.
I hardly need more proof to understand magic’s potential peril. But perhaps this will unravel the rest of the Caden puzzle.
“Please.”
“No pictures. No story. I simply want you to understand, not report.”
Naturally. If I reported on Lucan’s condition, it might spur Mathias to take the mates of other Doomsday Brethren.
“Just Bram,” Sabelle provides. “Marrok isn’t a wizard, and none of the others are fully mated.”
“Fully mated?” I ask.
Graceful as always, Sabelle ascends the stairs. “Typically, when a wizard Calls to you, you Bind to him, and you’re mated. But sometimes a wizard Calls…and he’s Renounced.”
“How can he be partially mated if the bond wasn’t established?”
“To him it was. When a wizard speaks those words, his mate is imprinted on his heart, regardless of whether she reciprocates those feelings. He’s bound by that Call. Until the woman dies, he is hers exclusively.”
My jaw drops. “And one of these big warriors—”
“Shock. He Called to Anka shortly before Lucan did. She eventually Renounced him.”
Another jaw dropper. Lucan and Shock quarreling over the same woman?
“For over a century. When Lucan slipped into mate mourning, we called Caden here to care for his brother. He’s afraid because he knows you’re his, but has seen firsthand the tragic possibilities of mating.”
Sabelle reaches the top of the stairs and heads for a corner room in the family wing, where I’ve never been. When the witch pushes her way into a glamorous space, my jaw threatens to drop once more.
Sabelle’s bedroom is a symphony of luxury. Sumptuous cream silk bedding, kissed with golden accents, spills across the bed like liquid sunlight. Rich, melted chocolate hues provide a sensual contrast, warming the pristine walls and elegantly swagged drapes. Crystal candlesticks catch the light, scattering prismatic sparkles across plush, inviting furniture. Every inch exudes opulence and femininity—a perfect reflection of Sabelle herself. It’s the kind of room that I’d never want to leave.
“It’s lovely,” I say.
Sabelle smiles. “My haven. I just need to grab a few things. Should only be a moment.”
Why not just summon objects?
The beautiful witch sends me a chiding stare. “I’m saving my energy for what’s to come.”
She grabs a cape, a length of silk rope, and a pair of handcuffs. My brows raise.
“I don’t know what I’m facing over there,” Sabelle explains. “Here, we had Lucan well restrained so he wouldn’t be a danger.”
Suddenly, I’m not sure I want to see Lucan. But Sabelle grabs my arm. Blackness and that topsy-turvy feeling invade my stomach. A weightlessness leaves me at odds and ends.
Then the floor appears beneath us, and we zoom into a room straight out of Tuscany, with walls like an autumn afternoon and drapes the color of wine, accented by a gleaming hardwood floor.
The only thing out of place is the snarling man secured by padded cuffs to all four corners of the bed. His dark hair has been pulled back, revealing a face that would normally be considered handsome. It’s so like Caden’s with high cheekbones, a wide mouth, and a sculpted jaw. But instead of the familiar vibrant blue, Lucan’s eyes are angry black pinpricks. No warmth or passion, as feral as a wild wolf’s.
Lucan snaps his unfocused gaze in our direction and roars, struggling against his bonds. The bed groans in protest. Surprise zaps me. I step back—way back.
“Losing Anka did this to him?” I ask.
Sabelle nods solemnly.
I’ve never met Lucan, but I ache for him and the pain he is obviously enduring.
“Because she’s no longer mated to him? Doesn’t that release him? Or does he suffer because the break was against his will?”
“It doesn’t matter why the mating ends. Magic makes the ties between mates stronger than humans. Unlike divorce, there’s a magical connection that doesn’t simply disappear because the union is over.”
“Even under all his madness, he misses her?”
“Lucan doesn’t remember who he is, but he knows Anka at a core level. I can only give him energy by tricking him into believing I’m her. I use her soap and shampoo, wear her clothes, whatever I must.”
Under all that torment, Lucan waits for his one true love. And she might be gone forever. Tears well in my eyes.
“But if Anka is free of Mathias and she left Aquarius, why hasn’t she returned to Lucan?”
“She doesn’t remember him. Magic’s way of ensuring survival of the species, I suppose. She’s currently mateless and in need of a male with whom she can recharge her energy. If she remembered Lucan and suffered as he does, she would never allow another to mount her and potentially impregnate her. Conceiving is possible but difficult if unmated. But if she had Lucan in her memory and heart, she’d likely never mate again.”