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)
“Because he wants to talk to you.” Liv moved closer but stopped when I took a step back. “He only wants to talk.”
“Okay. Will you let Evan go if I come with you?” I couldn’t let Liv get her hands on Evan. If she did, she would have immediate access to the royals because the king would offer his immortal life for his daughter no question.
“No.” Evan tried to move from behind me. “I’m not going to let you take her. Myrddin will kill her.”
“I promise he won’t.” Liv suddenly looked fairly reasonable. “He doesn’t gain anything from Kelsey’s death.”
She was lying, or he gained something else by having me in custody. Probably access to the dark prophet. He wouldn’t need anything from Trent. Despite what Liv had said, Fenrir had shown every indication that he considered me his mother. If I was pack to him, he wouldn’t allow someone to take me. But I had to play this cool. “How did you find me?”
She crossed her arms over her chest like she knew I was trying to buy time, but she was willing to indulge me. For now. “I can always find you.”
I was going to do a few things to make it harder. There were tats I could get. I’d never had to protect myself from her before because I’d kind of liked having a witchy LoJack on me given my profession, but Liv was making that impossible. “Can they all find me? Did you share a nice ball of my hair with your friends?”
“I don’t have a ball of hair,” Liv said with a sigh. “And I keep what I do have for myself. I used a lot of it up in the beginning, you know. I did look for you. I didn’t understand that the Great One had to get rid of you. I thought you were gone, and I could find you.”
Evan was still behind me, but I could practically hear her brain working. She was a soldier, and she wouldn’t sit this one out. I had to pray that whatever Liv had done to keep us separated from Eddie would fail and that demon would show up with my hubbies who would likely want a word.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you, and you have to know I didn’t mean to make you feel alone because you never let me feel alone for a second.” She’d been the best friend I’d ever had. I loved her. Sometimes in life you get these people who fill in spaces in your soul, and she’d been one of those for me. She was my sister in everything but blood. “Even when I was utterly unlovable, you never left me behind. Liv, I love you. I am so sorry for what happened. I need you to understand that no matter what you’ve done, I still love you. You are still my best friend.”
I saw the moment I got to her. Her jaw tensed and her eyes went slightly misty.
Liv’s magic required that a part of Liv was still there. Myrddin couldn’t pull her soul completely out of her body because a witch’s soul was the base of her magic. He could pull out most of her goodness, but not all of it, and I could appeal to that part.
She still felt for me, and that meant I could save her.
“And I can’t wait to listen to Casey’s album.” Sarcasm had been a language for us.
Her eyes widened as though that had been the absolute last thing she’d expected from me. And then she laughed and for a second she was my Liv. “It was…I can’t even. I can’t believe he did that. He has a song called ‘Liv and Let Love.’ He’s such a dork. I…”
She stopped as though she couldn’t quite say what she’d been planning to say. Her expression hardened and her eyes closed.
That was when Evan threw a knife her way. I hadn’t even known she’d had it on her, but it sailed past me and was about to sink itself into my bestie’s chest when her eyes opened and a hardness hit her gaze. She brought her arm up and the knife stopped in midair.
If that had been the only thing that knife had done we would have been okay. Nope. It stopped and turned, the pointy end coming back our way.
“You should move, Hunter. I’m going to gut the princess and then maybe she’ll learn how to play nicely,” Liv growled. I didn’t know Liv could growl.
The knife started for us, and I decided to take Liv’s excellent advice. I moved. I turned, letting my every instinct flow, and wrapped an arm around Evan’s waist, pulling her with me. I couldn’t do what I wanted to which was tackle her. Being on the ground would leave us vulnerable, and I rather thought Liv was done playing around. I needed to get us out of here and fast. It was obvious she’d done something to make it so Eddie couldn’t transport—whether that was an actual spell to keep him underground or so much chaos he was trying to fix it. It didn’t matter. Getting the princess out safely was my job now.