Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 132582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“You have a smart mouth on you,” he spits back.
“I’ve been told.”
Killian’s frown deepens and his nostrils flare.
“Killian, you will be nice to Willow from here on out, do you understand?” Maeve twists in her seat to get a look at him. “If not, I’ll toss you overboard. Do you hear me?”
Killian’s eyes don’t move from mine as he says, “Yeah, mum. I hear ya.”
I pull my eyes away, glad when Veno drives onto flat land again. A winding trail leads up a green hill, and at the top of the hill is a house. It’s not very large, like the homes in Vanora, but it stands out with its copper roof and tan walls. The door is wide, rectangular, with copper trimmings.
Looking through the back window, I spot Caz’s car trailing behind us, and a bright white car behind his that has Alora. Veno pulls over next to a large tree and parks, and I draw in a breath as Caz parks beside us and immediately climbs out of the car. He marches to my door and snatches it open.
“Out,” he demands.
I’m tempted to tell him to ask nicely, but I feel we’re closer to getting me home and I don’t want to delay it any more than necessary, so I climb out. Plus, after his rude words last night, I see now that I really shouldn’t be here.
He slams the door behind me and gestures toward the house, and as he does, Alora walks past us in a bronze dress and sandals, focused on the front door.
There are two windows on either side of the door, both covered from the inside by dark curtains. One of the curtains shifts to the side, and I see a dark figure, but just as quickly as I see it, the curtain moves back and settles in place.
“Beatrix!” Alora calls from the bottom of the stoop. “I know you’re here!” She pauses, waiting for a reaction, but nothing happens. “There’s something that must be discussed and it’s quite urgent, so if you could open the door, that would do us all a world of good!”
Caz stands beside me, shoulders squared and chin up as he faces forward. Proll walks ahead, standing next to Alora. He grunts, and Alora shakes her head and lifts a hand to him, as if telling him, “No.”
What would he do? Break the door down?
There’s a moment of silence, as if we’re all holding our breath, and then I hear a deadbolt clink, another lock, a chain rattling, and the door slowly opens.
A woman appears on the other side—petite and old. Her skin is a very dark brown with a gray undertone. She appears to be in her sixties or even seventies, but in this world, there’s no telling how old she really is.
The woman walks onto her porch, and a smile spreads across her lips as she says, “My queen! What an unexpected surprise.”
“Oh, cut the crap, Beatrix. I gave your transmitter several contacts. You may not have answered, but I’m sure you saw them.”
“Did you try to contact me?” Beatrix gives a sheepish smile. “I don’t think I’ve checked my transmitter in days. The damn thing is hard to keep up with, and you know I’m not good with devices.”
Alora rolls her eyes. “As my message stated, there is a couple in crises.”
I frown at Alora. “We’re not a couple.”
“Right. Well, there is a…friend of the Blackwater Monarch who needs your assistance. Apparently, she is from another world, and I believe you will know how to get her back.”
“Another world?” Beatrix takes another step forward, narrowing her eyes as she scans me. “She smells like the other world.”
What? How can she smell me?
“Will you perform a reading on her?” Alora asks.
Beatrix pulls her eyes from me to take a sweep of Caz. “She may come in, but he may not.”
“What?” Caz snaps.
“There is a darkness in you. I don’t want it in my home. You’ll taint the whole place with it.”
“Alora, what is the point of me coming all this way just to be dismissed?”
Alora raises a graceful hand at Caz, giving him a stern look, before passing her gaze to Beatrix and softening a bit. “Beatrix, you will allow him into your home just this once, tainted darkness or not. It will only take a few minutes.”
“You know, my queen, when you gave me this land a great distance away, you promised I would be left alone, so long as I did what you asked.”
“And you have been left alone for the most part, but unfortunately, I need your help again. There is no one else we can turn to for this that I trust, Beatrix, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” Alora steps forward, her face turning serious. “I believe they’re Tethered. And not just a simple Tether. A Cold Tether.”