Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“Is this…a Guild holding cell?” he whispered, his mind spinning and dread spiraling.
Niamh smirked, then tsked as she left again. The door closed behind her but didn’t lock. That, at least, wasn’t Guild protocol. They locked in the questioner just in case the subject got loose.
The red wooden legs dragged across the concrete floor. “Yes,” said Jessie.
She placed the chair close to him and sat. He drank in her face. It hadn’t been long since he’d seen her last, but it felt like ages.
“This is exactly how you would’ve ended up had we not gotten to you in time.” She clasped her hands in her lap. “Nessa would’ve been taken to a different place. A horrible place, by the sound of it. Not that this one is good.”
“How…” His voice was pleading. “Why…” He cleared his throat and realized his face was wet from crying. “How’d you find me? Nessa hasn’t been able to find their holding cells.”
“How?” She quirked an eyebrow. “By paying an exorbitant amount of money for a private jet in the middle of the night, getting flown to your wilderness location at breakneck speed by Tristan from an airstrip we weren’t supposed to use, and letting him grab Nessa while I took on a team of mages by myself, waiting for the rest of the gargoyles. I’m in a huge fight with my mate over this. He’s livid that I got Tristan to take me ahead to then fight on my own until help arrived. Livid. Banging it out isn’t going to work for this one. The rest of the crew got carried by gargoyles, except the basajaunak, because they were too big and would slow everyone down. They’re pissed they missed the fight, and they’re now talking about training regimens to increase their speed and endurance so they can be at least as fast as gargoyles.”
“But…” Sebastian couldn’t stop crying. He couldn’t even understand how happy he was to see her, a joy that permeated every cell of his body. “How’d you get here?”
“Oh, here?” Now her eyebrows settled low in anger. “We had an impromptu fact-finding session in the woods. That’s what I’m calling it, because ‘torturing the enemy to punish them and also get information’ isn’t something I want to say very often. But my crew is, like…a nightmare incarnate, and this is apparently how mages work—for now—and so I’m trying to harden myself to it. Niamh let Edgar help her make a fucking exhibit out of the leader. An exhibit, Sebastian, like an art installation. Out of a body. What’s next? A blanket made of human hair? If I gave them half a chance, they probably would. They’re not normal. How gruesome must it have been back in the old days?” She shuddered. “For the record, I hate all of this, even though my gargoyle seems to revel in it. And also for the record, I let it happen because Austin said I had to. That Niamh needed to deliver the right message. Given he is so mad at me, which I blame you for, I didn’t argue.”
Magic flared through the room, pounding Sebastian with Jessie’s frustration and pain and fear and worry. He’d caused all that, and while it hurt and he was sorry, the fact that she cared this much about him made him sob.
He’d missed her so much. He hadn’t realized how much he loved her and the others. Needed them, even Edgar.
“So,” she continued, “we got all the details of this place, including setup and magic and defenses. We pretended to be the extraction team with stolen clothes, and they let us in. Then we grabbed them, forced them into their little cells, and now…” Her lips tightened. “I chose to see you. I don’t want to know what the rest of my team is up to.”
“Fact-finding,” Sebastian helped.
Her beautifully expressive eyes narrowed, then softened, and a sheen filmed them. “Why, Sebastian? Why didn’t you confide in us rather than setting us up? I let you go so that you could regain your feet, but instead, you pushed forward without enough knowledge. Hiding yourself from us. Not hiding yourself from the enemy. You put yourself in needless danger while making the wrong choices for us.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m disappointed in you two. You’ve broken my heart.”
Nail, meet coffin.
He lowered his head, overcome with emotion. Maybe the torture would’ve been better. It would’ve stopped him hurting instead of making it so much worse.
She stood, then pulled a knife from the back pocket of her jeans and cut his bonds. “We tied you up at my request. I wanted you to have a moment to think about your choices and where your line of thinking got you. You needed this lesson, Sebastian.”
He didn’t argue with her. She was right, after all.