Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
That powerful connection inside me is so much stronger now. I can always feel it, find it, and hold onto it where before I’d never been able to connect with it at all.
Now? It’s all too easy to part the midnight ocean, splitting it on either side where we stand, creating the perfect path to walk a little deeper.
“You’re doing amazing,” he continues, walking alongside me.
He’s calm, not even a flicker of panic in his eyes as the walls of ocean roar on either side of us. I don’t know if that’s because he trusts me to hold it or if it’s because he knows he could keep it at bay if I lose control, but either way, I’m proud.
And I don’t feel like I’ll lose control. I feel the opposite. Like I could hold this for hours if I needed to.
The certainty is a win, but my chest deflates a bit. I bend to pick up a seashell, ensuring it’s not alive before I palm it. I’ve been collecting shells ever since we got here, but plucking them from the ocean floor is a bit more precarious. I’d never want to take something living from its home. Luckily for me, there are plenty of empty shells here. I grab another of my favorites, a black lion’s paw shell, before I can face him again.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, somehow spotting the shift in my mood.
“Nothing,” I lie.
“Let’s head back.” He motions to the beach, concern etching his features.
I can’t help but wonder if that concern will travel back to the states with us. Because the entire point of the king sending us out here was for me to learn to control my powers. I’m nowhere near close to mastering it, I know that will take decades, but control? I have control now, way more than I thought I would this fast. There’s no telling when we’ll head back now. Of course, we’re here for Aurora to get a break too, but mainly, it was for my benefit.
And now that I’m close, I’m terrified we’ll return to the residence and Dagon will go back to ignoring me. Losing himself to the hunts and battles and nothing more.
It makes a pit open in my stomach.
“Come on,” he says. “No one is expecting you to hold an ocean back forever,” he continues. “Not this early, anyway.” His smile comes effortless this time, a shift I’m not even sure he notices. He extends his hand toward me. “Give it another hundred years or so.”
I force a laugh, taking his hand and letting him lead me back to the beach. “Then I’ll be as good as you?” I tease.
He glances at the ocean I’m still controlling. “I’d say fifty,” he says. “But I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
My brows raise. He says that like he’ll be there to challenge me. Hope rises in my chest, but I do my best to hold it back.
I dove headfirst into this thing with him on a seize-the-moment-and-enjoy-the-night basis. No need to dwell on a future that isn’t certain.
I let the water go slowly, loosening my grip on the power so the ocean folds back together like it was never disturbed in the first place.
“Let’s get you in the hot tub,” he says, tugging me back toward the mansion. “Your muscles could use a good soak.”
I smile, shaking my head. Of course he knows I’m sore. Knows that holding my power isn’t merely a mental exercise but a physical one too. It’s another comfort, having someone who understands this journey I’m on, in more ways than one.
And as he helps me into the hot water, settling me between his spread legs so he can rub my aching shoulders, I can’t help but let that hope inside me grow a little more. Because this…the two of us? It feels a hell of a lot more than the pure physical release it started as.
CHAPTER 11
Dagon
The feeder building is doing its best to look like anything but a feeder building—three stories packed with rooms occupied by humans who volunteer their necks or wrists for the vampires who live on the adjacent island. Cassandra’s family has the kind of wealth I immediately distrust. Luckily for us, Cassandra is now family, mated to Talon, so there’s nothing to be wary of. Still, it’s hard to wrap my mind around this place, despite seeing several of them since awakening.
We didn’t have these establishments back in my day. Sure, there was the occasional volunteer, but mostly we had to feed and erase memories—one of Saint’s many talents. I don’t miss those days. At least in these modern times, these people are consenting and getting compensated.
I keep a watchful eye on Saint from where I stand across one of the lush rooms, this one decorated in rich red brocade and gold details. I don’t know if it’s the volunteers’ style or if Cassandra’s ancestors designed the space and never allowed any changes to be done, but either way, it’s better than the sometimes sterile, hospital-like feeder rooms in Edgemont. I never thought I was an ambiance kind of guy, but the low lighting in here at least lets me blend into the shadows a little.