Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 192(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 192(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
“Nothing’s the same,” I said under my breath.
But then Lorne climbed into bed and spooned me, and the comfort of his touch, his sleek, warm skin sliding over mine, made everything instantly better.
“I take it back,” I said under my breath. “As long as you’re with me, I’ll be all right.”
“We’re gonna get back. You’ll see.”
I hoped with my whole heart that he was right.
SEVEN
Something warm nudged my cheek, and though my eyes were heavy, I opened them to see what it was. It took me a second, even lifting up, bracing myself on my elbow and focusing, to realize what I was seeing on the balcony.
“Is that a fox?” Lorne asked from behind me.
Turning to him, I noticed that Argos was sitting on the other side of my husband, staring at the room’s door.
“What’s with him?” I asked.
Lorne glanced at our cat, then refocused on me. “I told you. I get to sleep because he stays up and watches over me. I firmly believe that his presence helps remind the cottage of what it really is, if that makes any sense.”
“It does.”
“I think the magic is in a fog or something, and it’s not sure where it is or what it’s supposed to be doing. There’s so much going on here, so many souls inside, and not all of them are good. It’s this constant confusion, and then, all of a sudden, there’s Argos, and the cottage says, Oh, I know that presence, I’ve felt it before, and memories are triggered.”
“And when it does, when it has that moment of recall, the barriers, the protections, all the wards go up in response.”
“Yeah.”
“Which is how the outer room is not safe, but this one is your sanctum.”
“That’s right.”
“Argos doesn’t normally watch over anyone.”
“That’s not true. He watches over Amanda’s boys.”
“Funny… I forgot about that.”
“Yeah, don’t forget. You have to remember everything right now. It’s important. I think if we lose any small piece of our memories, that would be bad.”
I nodded.
“And what about the fox?”
“The fox?” I asked, jolting and opening my eyes.
Was there anything more annoying than waking up from a dream, in a dream?
“Why?” I nearly yelled but because Lorne was sleeping, I kept my voice down.
I sat up, and at the end of the bed was Argos doing a good impersonation of a sphinx and, like in my dream, staring at the door.
I could see underneath, in the light that was there, that shadows were moving. That meant people were in the outer room, but no one tried the doorknob. Nothing bumped, banged, or even made the wood creak. It was strange, and when I checked on Argos, his eyes were closed. He was watching but also resting. The threat, if there was one, couldn’t have been imminent.
Movement to the left caught my attention, and when I looked toward Lorne’s small balcony, a fox was sitting outside the closed French doors. The same fox from my dream, but obviously not one from the natural world and not at all like the ones I had seen on Corvus when I was with the hunters. Shimmering in the moonlight, this fox was bright red, gold, and silver, and its tail had to be at least twelve feet long.
I got up, put on Lorne’s dressing robe, and dashed to the doors. Glancing over my shoulder, I noted that Argos had no interest in me or the fox, and opened one side so the animal could enter.
The moment a perfect, dainty paw was set onto the area rug, the fox transformed into a truly beautiful woman. Young, twenty at the most, her skin was a tawny gold mix, and her hazel eyes caught and reflected the light before returning to hazel as she faced me. I made sure to keep my gaze locked with hers, as she was naked, but her thick, curling orange-red hair fell like a shroud to her thighs and covered quite a bit of her. Clearly, I was in the presence of a goddess and went quickly down on one knee.
“My lady,” I greeted her.
“Sionna,” she said, her voice as beautiful as the rest of her, low and sultry. I could feel the power rolling off her, and instead of trying to hold it at bay, I breathed in the rich, herbaceous scent of her, of forest and musk, spiced bark, fermented berries, and wet earth. Just seeing the flash in her eyes, I knew she could be deadly, but she had come to talk, not eat me, bones and all.
“How may I serve?” I asked her.
I was surprised when she sat down beside me, curling her long, shapely legs under her, meeting my gaze.
“You saved the vixen in the forest.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you?”
“Because where I’m from, this is my land, and there is no hunting of any kind on Corvus, other than the natural cycle between predator and prey.”