Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“For a while I thought they’d killed you, too. It took Henri, Hugo, and I a while to make it to here. I looked for Liv. I tried to go back and find her. I tried to reach her any way I could, but until that day when she sent for me, I got nothing. I heard rumors but I didn’t believe them. Even when she tried to capture me, I didn’t believe it. I fought the people who love me. Hugo knocked my ass out and dragged me back here. I didn’t believe it until she tried to catch the kids. She tried to catch your son, Kelsey. I don’t know if she was going to kill him then and there or present him to her master, but she was going to take him by force. She’s not Liv anymore.”
But I’d seen little pieces that were still Liv. “Yes, because she’s missing a piece of her soul, and until that piece is back in place, I will not believe our Liv is completely gone.”
“You would pick her over Fen?” Casey asked, his eyes flaring in obvious surprise.
“She’s not.” Fenrir strode into the room, Evan’s hand in his as she walked by his side. “She would never do that. What my mother is doing is being the loyal, stubborn bitch she is. Her loyalty is legendary, and I only use the word loyalty because she would get grossed out if I used the right word.”
“Love,” Evan said. “The word is love. And given all the things the wolves say about Fenrir being the one who will one day break the world, I’m all for Kelsey being the loyal, don’t-just-kill-a-person-because-they-might-be-evil guardian she is.”
Trent stood in the doorway, his gaze warm on me. “She’s that kind of a woman. She would never choose Liv over her children or me or you, Casey. She’s saying that if Liv isn’t whole and she has a chance to fix her, she’ll take it. Fenrir and Evan, you should understand if you see Liv, you don’t play around. You take her out if you have to.”
Trent always had my back, and that wolf understood me. “But if I see a chance to help her, I will take it. Pain does funny things to a person. Liv lost a part of herself, and she wasn’t used to feeling that kind of grief. I played a part in this. While she was suffering, I was planning a wedding.”
“And she was selling her soul to Myrddin Emrys,” Casey countered.
“I don’t think it started that way.” I remembered those days because they’d literally been last week. “She was working with Nimue to try to find her power again. Do we know if Nimue had anything to do with convincing Liv to part with a piece of her soul?”
I was sure at some point Sasha had gone over what part the legendary Lady of the Lake had played in all of this, but I hadn’t been in that meeting and I hadn’t gone over the notes yet. The queen believed Nim could have a thrall stone, one forced on her at the same time stones had been placed in the king and Devinshea.
“No one has seen Nimue in years.” Casey sounded tired as though even thinking of the past caused him pain. “I don’t know if she’s dead or if Myrddin got rid of her the way he did you and the royals. I seriously doubt she was the one who convinced Liv. I do remember her being seemingly kind to Liv. Liv believed she was starting to feel a bit of her old power when she was working with Nim.”
I didn’t like the idea that Nim hadn’t been seen in years, but I had to leave that to the royals. I had other problems. “That’s my point. She wasn’t trying to go bad. She was trying to get something back, something important to her, and none of us understood. None of us knows exactly how it felt to be tied down on that altar and to have something essential ripped from her soul. Do what you have to when it comes to Liv, and I’ll do the same.”
“Do you honestly believe she can come back from this?” Casey asked.
“I hope so.” I couldn’t stand the thought of losing her. “Even if it’s only for a moment. Even if it’s only to say good-bye.”
“My mother once ran a job on the Hell plane to save her friend. The one who shot her, who tried to trick her into giving up Summer to a demon,” Evan said quietly. “She could have left Sarah there to rot. No one would have blamed her. Instead she saved her, and Sarah became instrumental to my mother surviving many a battle. From what we can tell, Sarah likely saved the world when she risked her life to steal the bag of holding from where Mom had hidden it. If Myrddin had gotten his hands on the grimoire and the Sword of Light, the door would already be closed and there would have been nothing for her to come home to. It’s one of the things Albert always taught us. The grace we show others can become the ground upon which we stand. It can be cold and shifting or warm and solid. That doesn’t mean everyone is worthy of a second chance, only that we shouldn’t write someone off immediately. I agree with Kelsey. She’s not Olivia Carey without her whole soul.”