Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“She won’t regardless,” I say in a harsh voice. Making an effort to calm myself, I continue. “An Alit is incomplete without his power. That’s not what I want for Elsie.”
“I see,” he says, more surprise flickering in his silver eyes. “You actually care about her.”
“She’s my mate.” I drop my arms to my sides and walk to him. “Of course I care. But enough of the chit-chatting. We’re wasting time. Where’s Vitai?”
“Last I saw him, he was going fishing. Let me see.” Kian closes his eyes and opens them half a beat later. “He’s by the lake. I’ve summoned him.”
I nod my gratitude. It’s quicker to use Kian’s mind-reading ability to reach out to our brother than to go through a dozen or more portals opened by my sister. “I need you to do something else for me.”
“Yes,” he drawls. “The Earthlings. I already gathered that from when you opened your mind to me.”
“Father would’ve arranged for them to be taken to an available quarter. Make sure they’re fed and treated for injuries.”
“What’s the plan?” he asks, his usual disinterested manner back in place.
“The plan is for Mother to send them back to where they came from.”
“Tricky,” he muses. “Opening portals to Earth is forbidden.”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“I don’t envy you,” he says with a chuckle on his way out. “Luckily for me, I was born second. Just as well I don’t have to deal with these sticky issues.”
I sit down on the bed when he’s gone, taking Elsie’s hand in mine. Vitai arrives a short while later, wearing water boots and a commoner’s tunic. His shoulder-length hair is untamed and tussled from the wind. Mud mars his arms where his sleeves are folded back. A few muddy stripes are painted across his tunic. He resembles a pond lily hunter or a plough hand on the fields.
I look him up and down. “If Mother sees you like that…”
He dismisses me with a shrug and walks to the bed. “What happened to her?”
“A Phaelix hit her on the head.” I suppress the anger that simmers beneath the surface of my calm. “The blow must’ve been hard. It broke skin.” I hesitate. “She said she’s lost her power.”
Shock washes over his expression. “That’s a first.”
“I know,” I say, my mood dark. “Will her power return when you’ve healed her?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” he says, stepping closer.
I give him space, letting him work, but I hover close by in case Elsie wakes up. It’s impossible to stay too far away, especially after almost losing her a second time.
The healing takes a while. Sweat drips from Vitai’s face when he’s done. I dismiss him with an inadequate and hurried thank-you, wanting nothing more than to finally be alone with Elsie.
“Let me know about her power when she wakes up,” he says as he turns to leave.
Once he’s gone, I seal the exit.
On cue, Elsie’s lashes lift, and then I’m staring into those arresting blue-green pools.
“How do you feel now?” I ask in a voice gruff from uncharacteristic tenderness.
“Like my old self,” she says with a small smile. “Thank you.”
“Of course. You didn’t think I’d let you suffer?”
“Not only for healing me.”
“For what else?”
“For saving me.” She looks away and says under her breath, “Again.”
She doesn’t sound entirely pleased about that.
I climb onto the bed and, stretching out on top of her, keep my weight on one arm while gripping her chin in my free hand to turn her face toward me. “Why did you run away, Elsie?”
She purses her lips.
I search her eyes. “Did I not give you pleasure? Did you hate it that much?”
“You did,” she admits, averting her gaze. “I didn’t hate it. But you were disappointed.”
“I was.”
Her mouth drops open as her gaze snaps back to mine. She tries to pull free, but I hold fast.
“I was disappointed that the bond hadn’t been completed. You clearly rejected me.”
“Oh! Oh—” she splutters, fighting me harder. “Are you saying it’s my fault?”
Gripping her wrists in one hand, I pin them above her head. “Calm down, Elsie.” I make my voice hard. “I wasn’t the one who had a problem with accepting our bond.”
She arches her back, writhing beneath me. “Last time I checked, you came inside me. You said consummating the mating would secure the bond, and it was fucking consummated.” Animosity glows in her eyes. “There was no resistance from my side, you know that. Well, not at the crucial point.” She stops her futile efforts to escape and says through gritted teeth, “Let me go.”
“Never.” Never again.
Her chest moves with rapid breaths. She’s not shouting, but the soft words she throws at me have a more potent effect than any outburst could’ve. “I hate you.”
My smile is sardonic. “And there you have it.”
“Go to hell,” she spits out. “Maybe you should look inside yourself before pointing a finger at me.”