Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147891 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“Yes!” Beatrix bobs her head. “That’s him!”
The confirmation makes my heart sink to my stomach. “Oh, my God.” No. How could Manx do this? He was our friend. He loved Caz!
“Well, he has our boy!” Maeve snaps, and she lowers her gun, but only to grip Beatrix by the upper arm and yank her off the bed. Beatrix cries out in pain as she grips the area where she was stabbed by the men from the attack…the men who I now realize were probably under a spell of his.
“Maeve, we should handle this a different—”
“Alora, I have a great respect for you, but I would encourage you not to fuck with me right now,” Maeve snarls.
Alora backs away, blinking in shock, and Juniper cuts her a sympathetic look before following her mother out of the bedroom. She drags Beatrix by the arm until they’ve made it to her tiny living room. When I round the corner, I spot Rowan and Killian beside Caz’s body, which is now more blue than white.
“He’s dying here, Mum!” Killian shouts.
Maeve releases Beatrix’s arm and shoves her forward. “Do something right now. Make this stop.”
“I—I can’t! I’m nowhere near as powerful as Decius! He’s been alive since the beginning of time!”
Maeve presses the gun to the side of Beatrix’s head. “Do. Something. Now! I will not ask again!”
Beatrix panics, dropping to her knees next to Caz. She breathes raggedly, wincing as she surveys Caz’s body from head to toe. As she does, one of her brows inclines and she shudders a breath. “These veins,” she whispers.
“What about them?” I ask.
She traces a hand over his body, hisses, then jerks it away just as quickly. “I—I’m afraid I cannot touch him. It seems Decius has a Mythic repellent in his body. If I touch him, it may alert him and cause him to work faster.” She points to a shelf, at a set of vials. “Give me that slim, clear vial with the gold capsules inside it.”
Rowan moves quickly, snatching up the bottle and tossing it to Beatrix. She takes it, pulling out a capsule and splitting it apart with thin, shaky fingers. As she does, glowing gold dust sprinkles out of it, and she offers one half to me.
I can’t help my frown. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“You’re his mate, and Decius hasn’t gotten to you yet. You’re still connected. If you take this, there’s a possibility it’ll temporarily release whatever hold Decius has on him.” She glances at Caz again. “Right now, it seems Decius has his mind. He hasn’t gotten to his body yet because he’s still breathing. Here.” She shoves it in my hand, and I cling to it. “Swallow it.”
“What will it do?” Juniper demands.
“It will cause her great pain at first, as she absorbs both Tethers. Once you swallow it, Willow, you must touch him. Hold him, so that the veins on his body are shifted to yours. You do this, and the Tether will break…but only for a night.”
“How can we trust her?” Killian growls.
“We can’t,” says Maeve. “But we have no other choice. Willow, swallow it.”
I don’t hesitate bringing the half capsule to my mouth. This is for Caz. I’ll take his pain if it means saving him. The capsule is bitter and acidic going down, but I swallow, then I lie beside Caz, wrapping my arms around him.
Beatrix backs away, as well as everyone else, and I close my eyes, waiting for the pain to steal me away. At first, I don’t feel a thing, only the iciness of Caz’s body as I cling to him. But then a sharpness pierces my head, like a knife has sliced through my skull and is splitting it in two. I whimper as a dozen visions flood me. Then a million more knife-like slices drag across my body, up my arms, my legs, my chest, and as they do, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Goodness! What is it doing to her?” Juniper wails.
“Leave her! You can’t touch her!” Beatrix shouts.
“It’s going to kill her!” Rowan barks.
“No, it won’t! This only means it’s working!”
Everyone goes quiet as my screams engulf the room. I want to open my eyes, beg someone to take this pain away, but I don’t. I cling to Caz, who still lies frozen beside me, and scream until my voice is hoarse.
His memories run through my mind at warp speed. I can’t grasp any of them quickly enough. They coil around my brain, toying with me, flickering by like old movie films. There’s so much sound, so much color, so many voices.
And then it all stops.
Chapter 3
WILLOW
I hear nothing but my shallow breaths.
When I open my eyes, I’m in total darkness. I turn my head, noticing a bright blue dot in the distance. I walk toward it, my footsteps echoing on the dark ground, and the light, I realize, is in the form of a tunnel. Chains rattle and the air around me becomes colder the closer I walk through the tunnel. The dot widens with each step I take, the light growing brighter, and that’s when I realize it isn’t just a dark ground beneath me. Its ice, and it’s splintering beneath my feet.