Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Not in a million years would I have guessed it was him. My breath snags, and for a second the ache in my temple dulls under the shock. Wynd. Standing here like he belongs. My chest tightens, panic breaking through the haze, and I start to stand.
His gaze snaps to me. “If you move, I swear to God, I’m going to beat the shit out of you.” He shifts more to the left, body angled toward Corinda, as if I’m already handled. “Answer me, Corinda. Is that diamond charged or not?” His voice is colder than I’ve ever heard.
Corinda looks down at the diamond, its glow wrong and sickly, already streaked with yellow, though it should be fresh. Her hands tremble so violently she can barely keep them open.
I shake my head, heat rising in my throat. “How long have you been trying?”
Her eyes flick to me, glassy, and her voice is dazed, hollow. “All night.”
“That’s what you get for being a murderous kidnapper,” I fire back, my chest tight with disbelief. I know she’s ambitious and maybe even ruthless. I never thought murder fit in the picture. My voice scrapes raw. “Did you kill your mother?”
Corinda pales further, the yellow light catching her skin until she looks carved from wax. Her hands drop to her sides, useless, and her bottom lip trembles.
I drag my eyes back up to Wynd, the sight of him still a hammer against my skull. “It had to be you. Nobody else could’ve gotten Sylveria’s body inside the Malice Media structure.”
“Yeah, I dumped her body, but I didn’t shoot her,” he says carefully, eyes locked on Corinda, voice edged like steel.
“Corinda,” I whisper, stunned. My pulse stutters. I’d like to say nothing surprises me anymore, but this—this does.
Her shoulders curl inward. “You don’t understand.” Is she in shock?
I would be if I killed my own mother. “No, you’re right. I don’t.” My gaze bounces between the two of them, the diamond’s faint hum clawing up my spine. “What is this? Some lovers’ thing gone horribly wrong?”
Wynd glares at me. “I am so fucking tired of you.”
Is there any way I can reach Corinda? “I don’t know much about people and energy,” I mutter, forcing air into my lungs, “but I think he’s using you.” My fingers twitch against the arms of the chair, searching for leverage. Because someone who could kill her own mother isn’t going to help me, but maybe I can make her turn against him, somehow?
Of course he’s using her. A side door clicks open and Stacia strides in, her heels sharp against the concrete. She has that stupid sparkly purse at her elbow. Cheap glitter falls on the floor as she moves, and I fight another sneeze. So it is allergies.
Wynd lights up like someone jammed a live wire into him. “Hey, baby, things are going exactly like you said.”
My jaw drops. “Stacia?” I turn my head and sneeze, then look back at the purse. The fucking glitter purse. That’s why I’ve been sneezing lately? Wynd has been hanging out near it and bringing cheap glitter into my world?
She glances at me first, then at Corinda slumped near the diamond, then finally at Wynd. She moves against him, leaving glitter on his arm. Her smile is sharp enough to cut. “We’re tired of being second fiddles around here. I’m taking over TimeGem, and we’re going after Malice Media for Wynd.”
I cough, air jagged in my throat. “You’re going to take out both Justice and Thorn?”
“I am,” Wynd says, lifting one shoulder in that lazy way that makes my stomach twist. “I’m a distant cousin, and I can charge garnets.” He grins. “Justice will think Kaz took you. Not me.”
Fear makes my ears heat. “What did you do with Kaz?”
“You don’t need to worry about him any longer.” Wynd’s tone is too calm. “His body will never be found, unlike yours. Unfortunately, I’ll be the one to find you, and I’ll comfort Justice before I slice his throat.”
“You get to shoot this one,” Stacia says to him, eyes bright. Then her mouth curves in a cruel smile. “Shooting Mother took more out of me than I thought. That bitch fought.”
Corinda stumbles, her knees buckling. She falls into a chair, head rolling forward as if the strength’s been drained from her.
“Did she just pass out?” Stacia asks, tilting her head.
“Yeah,” Wynd murmurs. “We’ve been forcing her to charge for about fifteen hours, and I think she might need a break.” He turns and crushes his mouth against Stacia’s in a hard kiss.
“I want to gag.” The words rip out of me before I can stop them. Every time I’ve sneezed or had my eyes water, Wynd has been around. I didn’t realize it until right now. “I take it you gave Stacia that ugly-ass purse?”