Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
I gasp and open my eyes. The sensation dims and fades.
“Now do you understand?” Druin asks.
I blink a few times. It’s as if I’d been under a veil. Or even underwater. “What was that?” I press a palm to my cheek. “What—”
“Mates. A bond stronger and rarer than any other. You’re Blooded by fate. The bond you feel will only grow with time.”
“And this is what, in a book somewhere? Like vampire lore? Is that how you know all this?”
He arches a brow. “You think I read books for fun?”
I don’t know how to answer that. I mean, I read books for fun. Or, at least, I used to.
“Common knowledge, Georgia.”
Right. Common for vampires. Not so much for me. I could ask more questions, but I know it would only lead me back to Valen saying there’s more to blood than what I can see under a microscope.
Druin returns to brooding, and I decide to head back to the library. Maybe Druin isn’t in the habit of researching vampires, but I’ve developed a bit of a specialty in the area, and there’s always more to learn.
8
“Sun’s almost up.” Juno’s voice wakes me from where I’ve dozed off in one of the library chairs. “And your loverboy hasn’t returned.”
I sit up, immediately feeling the crick in my neck and a slight pull in my lower back. The book I’d been reading falls to the floor with a thud as I look around and find Juno standing in the stacks. “What time is it?”
“About 7:30-ish, I’d guess. We get this sort of sensation when the sun’s coming. I don’t know how.” She shrugs. “I don’t think human bodies have any idea about the earth turning or the sun threatening, but we do. It’s like a whisper in my ear, almost a needle poking my eardrum and telling me Death is waiting close by.” She taps a finger on her chin. “Or maybe sort of like when I was a human and I really had to pee. Like that.”
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to write that in my notes.” I stifle an eye roll, only because I don’t want to fight with her. There’s too much pent up anger in me to do much more than sarcastic commentary.
I stand and stretch, then head for the door. Druin must be losing his shit since Coal isn’t back. A niggling voice in the back of my mind says I’m the one who sent Valen after him, maybe sent him into danger. What if they’re both caught? My stomach turns at the thought.
“You know—”
I yelp when I realize Juno is on my heels, her voice as sharp as it is unexpected.
“Jesus, don’t do that!”
“What?” she asks innocently.
“Sneak up on me.” I march through the rooms and head for the staircase.
“I wasn’t sneaking.” She dogs my steps, though she’s still so silent I glance back every few moments to see if she’s still there.
When we reach the landing, I turn on my heel and face her. “What?”
“Why are you so combative?” She cocks her head at a surly angle.
“Are you seriously asking me that right now?”
“Yes.” She crosses her arms.
The movement is so familiar, so classically Juno that an ache rips through my chest.
“What’s your problem? I thought you’d be glad I was alive. I thought—”
“That what, we’d live happily ever after? Two plucky sisters in a death-ravaged world? Oh, but one of the sisters is the villain of the story, oh and also a vampire?” My voice ends so high that I have to take a deep breath.
“Villain?” Her eyes widen with incredulity. “You think I’m the villain?”
“Of course you are!” A hysterical laugh bubbles out of me.
Her mouth drops open. Then her eyes narrow. “That’s rich coming from someone who fucks Gregor’s Specter every chance she gets.”
Now my mouth drops open. “What—”
“You heard me. You were fucking him in DC behind my back, weren’t you? I was trying to save the country from annihilation, and you were too busy sucking vampire dick to notice!”
“Me? It was you!” I spread my arms wide, the tangle of emotions I’d been shoving down and down and down refusing to stay buried. “You ruined this country! You sold us out! Not Valen. Not Gregor. You!”
“That’s a lie!” She steps toward me, her feline eyes flashing. “I don’t know what nonsense Valen has been feeding you, but I—”
“Cut the shit, Juno! Tell the truth for once. For fucking once! You wanted to be president so badly that you would’ve done anything to get there. And you did. Just admit it!”
“I admit I did what I thought was best—”
“No!” I step to her, finally meeting her toe to toe for the first time in our lives. “You did what was best for you. And you can sugarcoat it and lie to yourself all you want, but I see you. Valen didn’t need to lie to me for me to realize what you’ve done. Candice’s blood was enough!”